Published: April 7, 2017
Brushes with fame — and staying grounded
Meeting stars has its perks, but there’s
work to be done, too
ndettmann@conleynet.com
262-306-5043
MILWAUKEE — Some of Milwaukee’s and
Wisconsin’s biggest events and fundraisers have had a West Bend man behind the
proverbial wheel: Tony Bilot.
Bilot, 35, a 2000 West Bend East graduate, is
the director of social media for Pritzlaff Events in downtown Milwaukee.
Pritzlaff specializes in event and wedding party planning. Bilot is involved in
the management, planning and production of any event a client or clients may
have. He’s also had his hands on some of the biggest projects in the state.
For three years, he worked at the AIDS
Resource Center of Wisconsin. There, he helped plan the center’s two biggest
fundraisers — the annual AIDS Walk Wisconsin and Make A Promise Gala, a charity
dinner for about 1,200 people.
Event planning isn’t all he does. He’s also a
catering supervisor at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Bilot’s intro to event planning came while
attending college at Marquette University.
“I needed a job,” he said.
On top of his studies, he also rowed crew for
the university’s club team. Rowing occupied about three to four hours per day,
five to six days per week.
“My parents said they would help me out with
school, but I needed a job,” Bilot said. “It was near impossible to find
something to work or find something to do while dedicating that much time to
rowing
and to studies and then also trying to
maintain a social life.”
He started working at the Bradley Center in
2001. A couple of his rowing teammates were runners in the suite level.
Two years later, Bilot started working in the
catering department and then elevated to a catering supervisor.
In 2007, Levi Restaurants took over food and
beverage at the Bradley Center. He’s been a part of that ever since.
“I loved that every day was a little bit
different,” he said. “It wasn’t a typical 95.”
In March, he oversaw the catering needs at the
Bradley Center during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, such as the meals
for the teams, volunteers and media.
One of his prized accomplishments in the field
is working Pride Fest on Milwaukee’s lakefront. He worked with that for 10
years (2005-15). He produced and directed the dance pavilion, which, in one
weekend, had more than 30,000 visitors.
“I worked with the sound people; I helped
design the stage,” Bilot said. “It was really neat because I got to run the
show. I called all the shots, but it was a huge success.
“It was fun to express my creativity through
events.”
His original plan was to go to medical school
and was about ready to attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“I don’t think event planning is something I
would’ve chosen to go into,” Bilot said. “It kind of chose me.”
However, event planning wasn’t a foreign
concept to him.
When he was in high school, he worked the
Volunteer Center in West Bend and was on the teen board. He also used to
volunteer at Riveredge Nature Center in Saukville.
One year, Bilot’s mother produced the American
Cancer Society Gala in West Bend at the old indoor mall where the Paradise
Pavilion strip mall is today.
“It was amazing,” Bilot said. “I got to help
her with a lot of the design and planning. That really kind of inspired me.
“I saw what you could do with a really raw
space and kind of create something so different and kind of change the way
people view the space. It was neat. It was nice to see the transformation.”
He’s also had the opportunity
to meet some of the world’s most interesting
people.
When the Bradley Center has hosted a concert,
Bilot is one of the people that meets with the artist or band members to find
out what they want to eat and how he can make their stay more at ease. And
while it’s great to meet them, it’s just as exciting to meet them as people and
not what they are on stage.
The biggest lesson Bilot learned early in his
career was to make those guests comfortable because they’re on the road several
months
a year and have several demands day after day.
The road can be a lonely place.
If someone likes peanut butter on their toast,
give it to them.
“That’s the one thing you want to have so you
have that comfort of home with you,” Bilot said. “Once I realized that, it kind
of came back at me a lot easier to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to make them feel
like they’re at home.’ “That helped me a lot in this industry.”
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