Cast Q&A: Amy

Amy has double-jointed shoulders, and she once worked at Disney World! She'll be playing Aphrodite at Hero Quest!

Tell us about your acting history.
I've been performing for years. Some of my favorite roles were Cosette (Les Miserables), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and other princesses for different events for kids.

What do you like about your character? What do you have in common with your character?
I like that she makes people fall in love! I'd like help be a matchmaker!

What's the bravest thing you've ever done?
I moved across the country by myself to work at Disney World. It was hard to be on my own, and it was so different than I was used to!

Who is your hero and why?

My grandparents have always been my heroes. They are great people who always treat each other kindly. I've never seen them yell or treat anyone poorly.

What do you like to do?

I teach Special Education, and I love it! I also like to sing and act.

What's your ultimate adventure:

I'd love to go meet people from different countries and cultures. I'd like to experience what they do. I'd try new food and see performances and more!

Thanks Amy! See her at Hero Quest next week!

Cast Q&A: Sarah

Sarah loves working with kids and being outdoors. She'll be playing Clio, Muse of History!

What do you have in common with your character?

I love history, books, and learning!

What's the bravest thing you've ever done?

I can't choose just one! My dad is really adventurous, so I've had a lot of chances to do things outside of my comfort zone: jumping off cliffs, climbing a canyon wall 100 feet above the ground, and swimming in freezing pools to name a few. 

Who is your hero and why?

One of my heroes is my grandpa. He is brave, strong, and kind. And so smart. He always knows what to do! Growing up, my other hero was Rosa Parks. She was so brave for standing up for what she believed in.

What do you like to do?

I love to read and be outside. I love to hike, swim, and play with my dog Luna.

What's your ultimate adventure:

I'd like to go somewhere I've never been before and experience everything that place offers. I'd explore, ask questions,and take chances!

Thanks Sarah! See her at Hero Quest in August!

Cast Q&A: Adam

Adam likes photography, and he has 7 brothers and sisters. He'll be playing Ares at Hero Quest!

Tell us about your acting history.
I've been performing for almost ten years. Some of my favorites have been The Sound of Music, Les Miserables, and a Shakespeare competition.

What do you like about your character? What do you have in common with your character?
I like that Ares is strong, manly, and courageous. We're both determined, and we fight for what we want.

What's the bravest thing you've ever done?
I talked to a really cute girl even though I was nervous.

Who is your hero and why?

Severus Snape. He's brave, and he makes the ultimate sacrifice.

What do you like to do?

I like to sing and dance. And I love rock climbing.

What's your ultimate adventure:

The ultimate adventure I've been on was living in Ukraine for two years. It was hard, but I loved it.

Thanks Adam! See him at Hero Quest in August!

Cast Q&A: Joel

Joel likes laughing, running, and exploring. He'll be playing Hermes at Hero Quest!

Tell us about your acting history.
I've been performing since I was 14. Some of my favorite shows have been Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, and Little Shop of Horrors.

What do you like about your character? What do you have in common with your character?
Hermes is fast, and I'm somewhat fast. I also like that he is clever. We both like to joke around.

What's the bravest thing you've ever done?
I did a triathalon last year. I had to go through the night and it was pouring rain. It was hard, but it ended up being really fun, and I'm glad I did it.

Who is your hero and why?

John Stockton. He got to be a famous basketball player because he was smart and he developed his skills. He didn't have unworldly talent.

What do you like to do?

I love music. I like to play and watch sports. I also like to read and explore outdoors.

What's your ultimate adventure:

I would love to go on a backpacking trip in the Uinta mountains for a week or so.

Thanks Joel! See him at Hero Quest in August!

Cast Q&A: Miranda

We're excited to start a new Q&A series with our Hero Quest actors and actresses. First up, Miranda!

Miranda's been a princess, she can only cross one of her eyes, and she talks really fast when she's nervous. She'll be playing Hebe at Hero Quest!

Tell us about your acting history.
I performed a lot in junior high and high school. Some of my favorite shows were Miracle Worker, Into the Woods, and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. I was also a princess in the Princess Festival for 3 years!

What do you like about your character? What do you have in common with your character?
I love that Hebe is a servant to the gods and goddesses. Personally, I have always put an emphasis on service and helping others feel happy and comfortable, so I can relate to that especially.

What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
I helped my friend who was really sad and struggling.

Who is your hero and why?

My hero is my grandfather. After my dad passed away, he became a father figure to me and I've always looked up to him. He's really smart, and he's kind and understanding at all times.

What do you like to do?

I love to sing, dance, act, play the piano, play video games, take naps, and juggle.

What's your ultimate adventure:

Skydiving!

Thanks Miranda! See her at Hero Quest in August!

Real-life Heroes

Adventure Valley, and especially Hero Quest, is based around the idea of Heroes. Bringing to life the fictional heroes that we admire, and highlighting the things that make them so heroic. But I also like to talk about the real heroes in our lives.

Last Saturday I went to Orem Summerfest with Devin and Jill. You know, I grew up in Orem and had never once been to Summerfest! The whole thing was great, and it is always nice to spend time with dear friends. On the way home, I was stuck in some neighborhood in post-fest traffic. I was starting to get really frustrated that I had been on this same road for 30 minutes, when a little boy ran right in front of my car (I was stopped behind another car) and got hit by a van coming the other direction. It was the one of the most traumatizing moments of my life! I immediately pulled over and got the blanket out of my car. The little boy was conscious and had gotten out of the road and way laying on the sidewalk. 

A couple of us called 911, and the first person to respond was a police officer. He immediately got to work calming the family and checking on the little boy's condition. I was so worried that the ambulance wasn't going to be able to get to us, because this little neighborhood was so crowded with cars. But within a few minutes, the police had redirected traffic and the road was totally clear. I guess they prepare for this sort of thing, because the paramedics that arrived first were on bicycles, so the traffic didn't slow them down. Watching them work with the little boy was so inspiring. They were caring, knowledgeable, and made everyone feel a little more relaxed. Next we were joined by the firetruck and the ambulance. All of the paramedics, police, and firemen worked together to help the little boy and his family. In the end, he didn't even have to go to the hospital because his injuries were not that severe. 

I was so touched by this whole event. Since that time, I have often reflected on how lucky we are to have men and women who dedicate their lives to helping others in these kind of capacities. I have traveled to many different places in the world, and no where are the law enforcement and emergency teams as dependable as they are here in America. 

What are some experiences that you have had with real-life heroes? What are the qualities that make someone a hero? Comment below!

See you at Hero Quest!

-Whitney

Let's Go Logo; Hero Quest Logo Reveal!

Hello my dear readers! (All two of you.) I must apologize for missing a post last week. The life of a 22 year old entrepreneur is one of pandemonium. And that is all that I am going to say about that.

So let's talk about logos. But let me start by expressing my love for in-laws. Do you know why I love in-laws? Because they add talents and resources to the family that were not already there. For example my family never had a piano player until my brother married Lacie, who is an awesome pianist, and now that gap in our family resume is filled! And our most recent family addition, my sister in-law Michelle, is a graphic artist! That is like the in-law jackpot for a girl trying to start a business off of favors. It honestly wasn't very long after the wedding that I started to recruit Michelle for Adventure Valley.

The Very First Adventure Valley Logo

She has designed all of our logos (and hopefully will continue to do so for the foreseeable future). If you've been to our website or Facebook page you have seen our main logo, which I love! She also did the logo for Christmas Expedition.

Christmas Expedition Logo

Most recently we have been working on our Hero Quest logo, and just got one finalized. It actually only went through a few versions--Michelle is amazing.

I gave her very little direction, because designing logos is so far from anything that I am good at. Basically she already knows the feel of our company, and our audience, and then I told her to add a super hero/greek mythology theme and set her loose.

First Go at the Hero Quest Logo

I was blown away by the first version. It captured the feeling I wanted so well, and with such little input from me! The one thing that was a little off when I first saw it was that is seemed more roman than greek; a distinction that I know would mean nothing to most people. I think it was mostly because of the red font, and the spears. So with that feedback she set to work again.

Runner-Up for Final Logo

The next round of logos were all so awesome that it was hard to choose between them. Devin and I independently picked the same two, but neither of us had a favorite! I don't really know how I chose, I think I asked for my family's input, and then mostly just went with my gut.

Do you love the logo! (<< Purposely not a question mark.) I do! What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Any funny logo stories? Share in the comments!

See you at Hero Quest!
-Whitney

Feeling Pretty Sure

Hello! How has your week been? Mine has been filled with ups and downs, but I suppose that is just what is to be expected. As far as Adventure Valley, however, everything is on the up and up!

The main thing that I have been working on is getting us some insurance! On the recommendation from my lawyer brother, our team had acknowledged the need for insurance a couple times. But for some reason it totally got left out of our business plan and proposed budget. (Oops.) That is actually the main feedback that our investor had when we presented to him two weeks back. He didn't say that we needed to find a way to fit it in our proposed budget though, so here's hoping he is planning to pay for the insurance outside of our budget.

Here's the thing, there is actually a pretty big market for event insurance out there. Did you know some people even get liability insurance for weddings and birthday parties? Who are you inviting to these things that you are worried is going to sue you? Anyway, the possibility for someone to get injured at events is real, and if it happens, I don't want to be stuck holding the cost. Unfortunately, (but actually totally fortunately) we have a train, and possibly a zip line, at our events. For us and our guests it means lots of added fun and excitement, but to insurance companies it means added risk, and for many of the basic event insurance companies it means denial for coverage.

As you know, we try to do everything in the least expensive way possible, and often times that means doing it ourselves. So I have been working on finding an insurance policy with help exclusively from my assistant, Google. But after working on this problem for a couple months, and even employing the help of my lawyer brother, I still had not made any headway on finding a policy that would work for us. This being an important enough thing, it was time to call in the professionals.

Luckily my father, who is also a business owner (admittedly on a much larger scale than myself) already had a contact inside an insurance brokerage that specializes in helping people find somewhat obscure policies. So I am finally making headway on this! I have an application and everything. I haven't gotten any bids back yet, so that still has the potential to steal this victory, but for now I am happy.

Now it's time to start getting serious about flyer distribution. One thing at a time, I guess. :)

See you at Hero Quest! T-minus 93 days!

-Whitney

Planning to make some plans

I've decided that Wednesday is blog day. Because I wrote my first post on Wednesday two weeks ago, and Facebook keeps hassling me to be more active on the Adventure Valley page. So I am committing to you that I will be writing these every Wednesday. And in return all I ask is that you come to Hero Quest this summer. Deal? Deal.

Devin and I did something a little scary this past week. We gave a business plan proposal to our investor. Of course I use the term 'business plan' lightly, because I honestly have no idea what an actual business plan looks like, but we sure did our best! Twelve powerpoint slides of pure genius if you ask me. You see, our investor didn't really see the vision for Hero Quest and he didn't feel confident that we were going to pull it off. Our presentation had to convince him that we could get the word out about Hero Quest, do it in a way that would appeal to our audience, and that we could actually create a product that people would love. I am happy to say that it was a success! He gave us the money we needed to get started on the production!

One of the slides from our proposal, summarizing some of the main aspects of Hero Quest.

Honestly the preparation and thought that went into the presentation was a reward on its own. Devin and I both knew that we wanted to do this, and that it is going to be a success, but we hadn't really answered the tough questions like "why?" and "how?". Even if we had already had the money we needed, I think the time we put into the presentation was invaluable. Now we have a solid timeline, budget, marketing strategy, operations plan, attendance projections and more.

We also had the chance to present it to some of our cast members and volunteers as a practice run. Again, I think this was more important than the actual presentation. For one, it instilled a lot of confidence in the people who are involved to see that Devin and I are dead serious about this and we don't just have passion, but an actual plan to pull it off. Plus, the myriad of ideas and questions from this group provoked us to think about things we might have missed and improve our plan ten fold.

From top to bottom this business plan was awesome for us. Since I can't give the presentation to everyone, I encourage you to come to Hero Quest and see our plan in action. I am confident we will convince you too.

-Whitney

PS. I used a really awesome free excel template to put together our timeline. Check it out here!

Looking Legit

Guess what I have been doing for the better portion of the last two hours? Creating an email signature. Was it worth it? Oh yeah.

One thing that I really want people to feel when they look into Adventure Valley is that we are a professional company, not just a bunch of kids trying to make something happen. (Although we are that too :). ) So I try to convey professionalism in everything we do; our events, our online presence, and even our emails. Truthfully we do not send out a lot of emails right now, but I wanted to be ready when we do. And it is for that reason that I dedicated my afternoon to creating a real email signature.

I already have an email signature at my day job. Of course it was provided to me by the marketing department, but I was the one that added it to my emails so I was already half way to knowing how to implement one for Adventure Valley, right? Wrong. It turns out that there is a lot more to making an email signature than typing it into the little signature box in Apple Mail.  So I turned to the internet.

After just a minute of searching "how to create your own email signature" it became clear that the preferred method was html. I am NOT a programmer. Yes, I work for a software design company, and yes I have seen html code before, but that does not mean that I knew the first thing about how to use it for my signature. But that is what google is for. It wasn't long before I found this great article with an html signature template and everything!

That leads me to the next problem. If you want a picture or logo in your signature (which I do) you have to have a way to host it online. I wasn't even sure if I knew what that meant. I found an article that mentioned you could host it on google drive, but that was a dead end. I also tried to upload it to the Go Daddy photo album that came free with our website domain. But alas, that too did not lead me to the direct link to the photo that the internet said I needed. Eventually I just typed in "how to host a photo online" and that led me to imgur. I didn't even have to create an account with imgur and I was able to upload my logo and even resize it and crop it. Plus, the direct link was showing in a field right next to my photo. Cha-ching!

So I was able to create my signature, using the template and an online html editor, but that is when the aformentioned article stopped helping. The directions on how to insert my html into the signature file must have been outdated because the file no longer existed where the article said it would.

What operating system is Apple even on these days? I checked my "about this mac", it's Yosemite. Wait, that's not a type of big cat... oh well. Anyway, one more internet search on "how to create an html mail signature on yosemite" and bam! I find a new article that not only shows me exactly how to find these very well hidden signature files, but also suggests a great fee html editor that was much easier to use than the online one that I had started this project with.

So there you go, proof that the only skill you need in life is the ability to use google, and that will lead to step by step instructions on how to do anything else.

And, here it is, the signature in all it's glory. Complete with logo.

Thanks for sharing this victory with me. AND for sharing my second victory today which is writing my first Adventure Valley blog post! ;)

-Whitney