Conversations with the Inspiring Alex Turney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Turney.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I, like everyone else, struggled to figure out what it is that I wanted to BE when I grew up. I jumped around from a couple of jobs early on mostly in hospitality and restaurants. I landed at one job that I fell in love with and it was managing for a restaurant in Louisville. During this time, I realized I loved working with people. I wasn’t sure where it was going to take me but I knew I had to do something that had human interaction daily. I began dating this guy named Steve, my now-husband, who’s parents owned Lionsgate Event Center. Eventually, Steve’s mom, Marie, reached out to me to fill a social media and marketing position at Lionsgate. I was honored and to be honest, it was a difficult decision because I was in a job I loved. But, I decided to take the leap and began working with Lionsgate. I quickly went from doing Instagram posts to tours to coordinating weddings to moving into the General Manager position. I’ve now been with Lionsgate for almost nine years and haven’t looked back once. Once I was offered the GM position I quickly started taking classes, reading books and doing everything in my power to make sure I knew what the heck I was doing. Over the past three years, Tom and Marie, the owners have taken big steps back and now are not here for the majority of the year. That amount of trust in me is phenomenal but, I absolutely adore my job.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Ha, of course, there have been struggles. Anyone who says it’s smooth sailing is lying to themselves and everyone else. The struggles aren’t always easy to talk about. We’re under so much pressure to make things look effortless and easy when indeed it is not. I think one of my biggest struggles has been finding the right TRIBE. When I began taking over Lionsgate, I sat myself down and thought out what I wanted Lionsgate to look like. What did we stand for? Who are our clients? All the standard stuff. But what I didn’t think about was what does a perfect Lionsgate employee look like and do their values match my values. Finding the right people to have along my side to uphold this crazy vision was difficult. I went through turn over, I made mistakes, I said things I regret and I LEARNED. Through all of that, I did my absolute best to continue being amazing for clients which sometimes meant getting 3 hours of sleep to be back for another client. I can’t tell you how much makeup and dry shampoo I’ve used in the past nine years to keep making magic happen. My advice is, keep going. Things are going to happen where you feel like maybe you can’t keep going. Most people give up at that point. But instead of giving up, just always view everything as a learning opportunity. I too, am human and will certainly continue to make mistakes but never stop learning. Stop and think, is there something I could have done differently or better next time? Today, I have a team that I love and adore. That’s not to say things are perfect but we care for each other, we look out for each other and we’re all moving forward together because we all share the same vision.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Lionsgate Event Center story. Tell us more about it.
Simply put, we are a venue for weddings and events. That’s the easy explanation. But what we actually do is beyond that. Lionsgate Event Center has been family owned and operated for 30 years now. We specialize in LOVE. From the second you come through the door, we want you to feel like family. Grab a glass of wine, sit in our comfy couches and let’s chat. We spend at least 2 hours on our first tour. We want to know the couple and what makes them unique. We want to hear all about their love story, how they met, what they do on the weekends and all about their pets (We love pets!!). After we’ve learned all about our clients, we show them around but that’s only a small part of what we do. We create relationships, friends, family. I think what I’m most proud of is when I sat myself down and said, what do I want Lionsgate to be my answer was comfortable. When reading through reviews and hearing from clients, we’ve achieved it. Words like, “the staff was amazing”, “everyone was patient and friendly”, “the staff listened”, and “we instantly fell in love”, those are the words we live for! After 30 years, we’ve certainly been talked about and it’s my goal to be talked about for being personable and caring.

For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I’m a firm believer that women can do anything they put their minds to and can go even farther if we support each other. Being a woman-owned and operated company should speak volumes to all the other women out there. If I can do it, you can too.

Pricing:

• Prices vary from $3250 to $9750

Contact Info:

• Address: 1055 South 112th Street
  Lafayette, CO 80026
• Website: www.lionsgatecenter.com
• Phone: 303-665-6525
• Email: alex@lionsgatecenter.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lionsgatecenter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LionsgateEventCenter/

Image Credit:
From The Hip Photo, Bertarelli Photography, Alicia Lewin

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