In August 2021, The Event Company planned and hosted a hybrid event for the South Dakota Area Health Education Center. Kevin Hines, a leading keynote speaker on suicide prevention and mental health, addressed the audience at the University of South Dakota. The event theme was focused on improving mental health, reducing substance abuse, and making the community aware of telehealth services.
Client Overview
The Event Company is an event design and production company that specializes in corporate, social, and non-profit events. A long-time client of AAE, they worked on this specific event on behalf of The South Dakota Area Health Education Center, an organization within the University of South Dakota. This mission-driven organization collaborates with a network of community, state, health care, and academic partners committed to meeting the healthcare workforce needs of South Dakota.

“We absolutely love working with the AAE team as our go-to for speaker recruitment, year after year, and for all of our clients. Thank you, team!”
– Addie Graham-Kramer, Founder and CEO at The Event Company
The Challenge
The client’s biggest logistical challenge was transitioning from a virtual format to a hybrid event approach. This narrowed the client’s usual pool of speakers because of the required travel to the event location. The client needed to find the perfect speaker with knowledge of the subject matter, fees within budget, and a willingness to travel.
AAE’s Approach
Because of the long-standing relationship built between The Event Company and AAE, agents were able to quickly and accurately provide the best speaker options within the client’s budget. The client could trust that if a speaker was recommended then that speaker would meet the needs and exceed expectations for the event.
“One of the biggest reasons why we continue to make our first call when it comes to talent recruitment to Jasmine at AAE is because of, not only her professionalism, but also the company’s”
– Addie Graham-Kramer, Founder and CEO at The Event Company
The Results
The Event Company rated their hybrid event 5/5 stars for meeting their expectations.

