Andréa Lyons (Photo by Darryl Wingo)
Andréa Lyons wanted to do more than throw a party to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her five-woman event management business, All About Presentation.
“We get to party every day,” says the energetic Lyons, pointing to photos that show staid ballrooms transformed into lavish, whimsical settings. In the past decade, her company has grown from throwing small birthday parties to planning major events for some 200 organizations across the country.
After anniversary brainstorming sessions, the All About Presentation team agreed to a “10Dollars10Days” campaign that ran Nov. 20-30. Each employee was asked to “creatively spread joy” by giving $10 per day for 10 days to someone they did not know.
The women wasted little time devising ways to spend the $500 total. Among Lyons’ purchases were Wawa breakfast treats for two young sisters, bags of popcorn for Peebles department store employees working on Thanksgiving Day and a basket of toys for a hospital emergency room. She also paid the 70-cent toll fees for 14 passengers on one of Richmond’s toll roads.
“It’s been exciting to be a blessing to other people, and I’m going to be more cognizant of what others are going through,” says Lyons, 36.
Ameera Vines, the company’s associate producer, donated $10 to a senior citizen who filled a prescription at a local Walgreens. On the final day of the campaign, Vines, who graduated from Chesterfield’s Manchester High before earning a mass communications degree at North Carolina A&T State University in 2014, returned to her high school and delivered 100 cards with words of encouragement to students from "someone who's been there," she says. “Each card had a handwritten note inspiring the student to keep moving forward and not to give up because it does get better.”
The company’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed, particularly because Lyons and her team chronicled their deeds on social media. The hashtag #10Dollars10Days was used.
“Y’all inspired me ... I started my #10dollars10days challenge,” wrote Regan Hertzler in one Facebook post. “I gave $10 to the customer behind me in the Starbucks drive-thru today. It may not have satisfied their whole bill, but hopefully at least half. I love doing that pay-it-forward kinda thing!!”
Binta Tyler, a physical therapist in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, shared similar thoughts: “I think this is such a great idea because it teaches people to look for little ways to help someone every day, because the opportunities are there, but we just have to look for them.”
Lyons is thrilled with the campaign’s outcome, even though she initially hesitated making it public on social media for fear of appearing boastful.
“But I felt that if I made it public, we had to make it something everyone can do,” she says.
Being inclusive and conscious of how others feel is likely connected to Lyons’ success in running a business so dependent on attention to detail and client service. Her experience creating and managing events dates back to her youth in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The only child of a father who taught art and a mother who taught English, she frequently spent time at home alone after school. That’s when her imagination took over, Lyons recalls. It wasn’t unusual for her mom to come home and find redecorated rooms. Making up stories, writing and acting in plays were also among her pastimes.
“I loved creating spectacles,” Lyons says.
Fast-forward to high school, where she was a drum major, and to college at Central Michigan University, where she played the flute. She graduated in 2004 with a degree in marketing and supply-chain management, and moved to Richmond when Altria hired her. Her last job at the company was as a senior purchasing manager. The job was fun and paid well, but she opted for a buyout 10 years ago.
Before leaving Altria, Lyons started planning small events and discovered that she enjoyed it. She eventually earned certificates in event planning and executive management from various universities. Besides her innate creativity and ability to make clients feel at ease, Lyons says that her constant focus on excellence — “How do we get better?” — is what drives her.
Often the answers are right in front of her.
“The cool thing about my job is that I get to work with some really cool clients and corporate leaders and hear what’s going on in the world,” she says. “I love being able to sit backstage and learn from my clients.”
And now, during this season of giving, we all can take a page from Lyons’ #10Dollars10Days playbook.
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