Vote PDA
PDA is blazing the presidential campaign trail once again. Since our conception more than 20 years ago, we have maintained a positive presence in the political process. In the beginning, our involvement was minor. We focused primarily on small events for local politicians including press conferences, town hall meetings and small gatherings. Our big break came in December 2001 when we were approached by the White House Communications Agency to produce a nationally televised speech given by President Bush at the Citadel. President Bush’s address to the nation was the event that really pushed us into the political production scene.
Over the years, we have been fortunate to play a major role in the staging and production for an abundance of political events. This season’s political race has resulted in similar activity and, no matter how prepared we may feel, we have learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to political production. With the primaries currently being held in the Palmetto state, our team is hard at work to produce flawless events and maintain our reputation as South Carolina’s leading political production team.
Working on the campaign trail is always an exciting opportunity for our crew. This year’s presidential primary race, here in South Carolina, has kept us busy with countless production jobs. Our current catalog of political clientele boasts nearly all of the 2012 presidential candidates, from Romney and Huntsman to Perry and Bachman. In addition to working with a variety of political figures, the campaign rally is keeping us on our toes as it leads us across the entire state. The Mitt Romney camp, in particular, has enlisted our help in Greenville, Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach just in the last week!
Sunday night, around 8pm, was another stressful yet exciting evening for us here at PDA. Just as we were beginning to slow down from the weekend’s events and prepare for another action-packed week ahead, we received a phone call from Senator Jon Huntsman’s crew seeking our assistance in Myrtle Beach for an impromptu news conference in Myrtle Beach. As it turned out, Senator Huntsman was announcing his end to running for President. PDA’s custom-made podium, lighting, U.S presidential flags and audio support made the national news networks the following morning.
Our biggest job this week is the CNN debate to be held tomorrow, Thursday January 19 . We started our load-in last week at the North Charleston Coliseum. PDA is providing audio, rigging, trussing, power distribution, and more. Our technicians, riggers and stagehands have been on-call since Saturday for the event. Keith Thornhill, PDA’s VP, is the production manager for the entire event. All of our work will come to fruition on tomorrow night as all eyes will be on South Carolina, when the Palmetto State may decide who will become their nominee.
Continue to check back on our blog for more political updates from South Carolina’s Political Production Team.
