Marshall Bissett, Chairman of the Parnelli Awards Board of Advisors, announced the addition of Butch Allen, Wes Bailey, Carol Dodds, and Anne Militello, to the board overseeing the Award Show and all that is associated with it. “I am delighted by the latest additions to the Advisory Board,” Bissett says. “We now have a very impressive roster of industry talent, representing the areas for lighting, audio, staging, video, and education. The Board is the engine that drives the awards show and I look forward to our first meeting.”
“While the previous show was sold out and could not have gone better, we’re still always looking to improve the process and the Parnelli experience,” adds Terry Lowe, Executive Producer of the Parnelli Awards. “These four stellar industry leaders will add significantly to our already impressive members serving on the board. They are especially valuable because they are diverse in specialties, experience, and even geography. I look forward to their expert input and perspective.”
Even though he’s too humble to admit it, Butch Allen is a touring legend, tracing a path from loading gear to creatively leading teams across all aspects of entertainment. His award-winning production and lighting designs (he’s been nominated for four Parnelli Awards and taken home two) speaks to his creative vision and passion for creative moments that move people. Artists he has designed for include Metallica, Carrie Underwood, Usher, Eric Church, the Eagles and many more. He now works as VP, Global Business Development at TAIT.
Wes Bailey joined 4Wall in 2003 working as a shop technician while attending college. He would join the asset management team creating the company’s inventory database. In 2007, Wes assumed the role of Director of Marketing for the company, spearheading the development of their UsedLighting.com e-commence website. After being promoted to VP of M&A and Product Strategy in 2015, he took charge of standardizing product strategy and operational standards for the company while also leading deal sourcing and integration for 11 acquisitions in under three years. In 2018 he was named President and COO of the company and assumed the role of CEO in 2020.
Carol Dodds was just awarded with the Parnelli Visionary Award this year for her pioneering work in video. She started out working in the shop of See Factor in New York and was one of the first women sent out on the road on a tour. In 1988, she started video directing on tours. She was invited on David Bowie’s 1990 Sound+Vision tour that visited 27 countries putting on 108 performances. In 1992 her video work was part of U2’s ground-breaking Zoo TV Tour. She spent more than a decade with the Eagles and then Jimmy Buffett. She also directed several concert DVDs for the likes of the Eagles, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and others.
Anne Militello is a veteran theater and concert lighting designer, fine artist, architectural and theme park designer, and educator. She has designed concert tours for Tom Waits, Robert Plant & Alison Kraus, Neil Young, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, and Pearl Jam, among others. As a Walt Disney Imagineer, she designed for Disney parks worldwide. Anne designed The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man for Universal Studios for which she received several top awards. She is the founder and Principal Designer of Vortex Lighting in Los Angeles and heads the MFA Lighting Design Program at CalArts School of Theater where she trains next generation designers. She’s been a frequent presenter at the Parnelli Awards.
Allen, Bailey, Dodds and Militello join other Parnelli Board Members including Marshall Bissett, Chairman; Rob Barber, Atomic Design; John Brown, Brown United; Shaun Clair, Clair Global; Michael S. Eddy, PLSN Editor; Joey Gallagher, Gallagher Staging & Productions; Mark Haney, Black Bear Productions; David Haskell, Gateway Studios & Production Services; Peter Hendrickson, Tour Tech East; Randy Hutson, PRG; Karrie Keyes, Pearl Jam Monitor Engineer; James Leasing, Parnelli Awards Associate Producer; Kevin Lyman, USC Professor / Warped Tour Founder; Stanley Miller, FOH Engineer; Debi Moen, PLSN Magazine Columnist; Danny O’Bryen, Screenworks/NEP; Michael O’Keefe, Technical Productions Inc.; George Petersen, FOH Editor; Dean Roney, Solotech; Dave Shadoan, Sound Image/Clair Global; Robin Shaw, Upstaging; and Chris Weathers, Live Nation. Posthumous Members include Patrick Stansfield, Parnelli Awards Co-founder (1943-2014); Bob See, See Factor Industry (1947-2015); Steve Gudis, The Production Department (1951-2020); and Nook Schoenfeld, Lighting Designer/PLSN Editor (1957-2022).
The next Parnelli Awards will be held on January 24, 2025, in Anaheim, CA during the NAMM Show. For more information, go to www.ParnelliAwards.com.
