Contemporary Events Staff

Steve Schankman

President

Steven F. Schankman co-founded Contemporary Productions in 1968 as a local and regional booking agency for bands. Contemporary evolved into one of the largest entertainment producers in the United States. Under his leadership, Contemporary emerged as one of the nation's top producers of entertainment, corporate marketing programs, special events, venue ownership and management including the development of Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri in 1991, Sandstone Amphitheatre in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992 (now both called Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre) and co-development of The Pageant in St. Louis in 2000. Contemporary Productions was recognized as one of the most diversified companies in the global entertainment industry.

In 1998, Contemporary Productions was sold to New York-based SFX Music, the world's largest fully integrated live entertainment company. With the sale of SFX Music to Clear Channel Entertainment in 2000, Steve left to re-launch Contemporary Productions, L.L.C., an international special events, entertainment marketing and venue management company. Steve has produced entertainment in venues from ballrooms to ballparks, from Bernadette Peters to the Rolling Stones.

Steve is an ardent supporter of the Saint Louis Zoo and served as Chairman of the Saint Louis Zoo Commission from 2000-2007. Under his leadership, the Zoo completed a $70 million dollar capital campaign. He has served as Entertainment Chairman of the Saint Louis Zoo's largest bi-annual fundraiser, Zoofari, and was that event's Co-Chairman in 2001. He is responsible for developing targeted events such as Kid's Zoofari and Jammin' at the Zoo for young professionals. His financial contributions to the Saint Louis Zoo include a $1 million dollar donation to create the Schankman Family Plaza which houses the Saint Louis Zoo's Animals Always sculpture designed by internationally known artist Albert Paley.

In addition to his support of the Saint Louis Zoo, Steve serves on several boards including the Executive Board for the Greater St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America, the Executive Board for the Saint Louis Variety Club, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor's Council and the Commerce Bank Board of Directors. He is in his thirteenth year as Chairman of the Saint Louis Variety Club Telethon, where he serves as Executive Producer. In recognition of his role, in which he has helped to raise in excess of $20 million dollars, Steve was selected for the President's Citation, the most prestigious of all International Variety Club honors.

Steve served for 23 years as executive producer, entertainment consultant and was chairman of Fair Saint Louis 2007-2008. He is a Regional Arts Commission (RAC) founding member where he served as the organization's Vice Chairman from 1988-1990. He is a strong supporter of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, donating the Symphony's outside performance pavilion and serving on the organization's Executive Board for 14 years.

Steve has received numerous awards including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, St. Louis County Chamber of Commerce Business Man of the Year and most recently 2005 Businessperson of the Year from the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. He has been inducted into the University City High School Hall of Fame with such notables as William Bernoudy and Tennessee Williams, and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Steve still resides in his hometown St. Louis, MO. Definitely music has always been Steve's avocation and his vocation is still the business of music.

Sam Foxman

Senior Partner / Creative Director

Sam Foxman has produced some of the most notable events in St. Louis. His eye for design, quality entertainment and technical expertise has made him one of the most sought after event planners in the city, and one of the top planners in the country. Foxman is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Contemporary Events as well as the creative direction of each event.

Some of Foxman's early accomplishments include the launching of the Sprite.com brand in New York City, producing a ten-city tour for Rolling Stone Magazine, producing a five-city tour for The American Music Awards and creating branding events for Albertson's Grocery Stores.

More recent projects include booking 12 free concerts on the St. Louis Arch grounds as part of Fair Saint Louis / Celebrate Saint Louis Concert Series, producing the DNC 2012 Rally featuring Nelly and Chuck Berry and RED, ROCK & BLUE- a benefit concert for the USO of Missouri featuring legendary Poison frontman Bret Michaels.

Other notable projects include the grand opening of the Build-A-Bear Workshop Flagship Store in New York City and ScoutQuest -100th Anniversary Event for The Boy Scouts of America. Foxman is also the Producer of St. Louis Fashion Week which draws top designers and retailers for a week of shows, parties and retail events in Downtown St. Louis.

When not creating unforgettable events, Foxman volunteers on committees and advisory boards for The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, The Saint Louis Art Museum and The Saint Louis Zoo. Foxman has been a guest lecturer for The Public Relations Society of America, Washington University and Webster University. He has been profiled in publications that include Encore Entertainment News, Pollstar Concert Publication, ALIVE Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis Business Journal, St. Louis Magazine, BizBash New York and The Riverfront Times. Sam Foxman is a St. Louis Business Journal "30-Under-30" award recipient and has won numerous ISES awards for his work in the event industry.

Lindsey Carpenter

Project Manager

As a Project Manager at Contemporary, Lindsey Carpenter works closely with clients to produce high profile events in the concert, non-profit, corporate, political, and fashion arenas. Working as the liason between clients and the production team, Lindsey oversees all aspects of the event. Lindsey's most recent projects include St Louis Fashion Week, American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Summit, a "Street Party" for Anheuser Busch, a fundraising luncheon for Forest Park, galas for St. John's Mercy Foundation and Knapheide Manufacturing, as well as the booking all of the national talent for Fair Saint Louis / Celebrate Saint Louis Concert Series.

Before joining Contemporary, Lindsey managed multiple experiential marketing campaigns for The Marketing Arm- traveling the country activating live branded experiences at music festivals, sporting events, and auto shows on behalf of State Farm Insurance. There she also coordinated all of the Grand Opening Festivities for Home Depot's across the country. Lindsey graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and found her love for events and entertainment through an internship at MTV. At the network, Lindsey managed celebrity guests, wrote cue cards for live shows, and assisted in the final edit of special programming.

When Lindsey's not producing unforgettable events, she serves on a variety of non-profit boards and committees including Haven House, Wings of Hope, Wish Upon-A-Wedding, and Stray Rescue. She was born and raised in Texas- loves the Dallas Cowboys, good BBQ, and traveling any chance she gets!

Jeff Jarrett

Project Manager

As a veteran Project Manager, Jeff Jarrett produces a wide variety of events including concerts, sporting events, fashion shows, festivals, and galas for clients such as Schnucks, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Saint Louis Zoo, Contemporary Art Museum — St. Louis, and the City of Omaha, Nebraska. In addition, Jeff has played an integral role as both Production Manager and Business Development at Contemporary.

With Jarrett's experience as a talent booker, he was instrumental in the creation and programming of the inaugural LouFest, a two-day music festival in St. Louis' Forest Park, featuring acts such as She & Him, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and Broken Social Scene.

Prior to Contemporary, Jeff promoted films for Dreamworks and Warner Brothers in the Saint Louis market. After a stint in Chicago working for independent-music label Undertow, Jeff returned to Saint Louis to manage the critically-acclaimed rock-and-roll pop group, Nadine, landing them a record deal with Pete Yorn's Trampoline Records. He served as a tour manager with a variety of bands for two years, including Grammy Award-winning artist Jesse Harris. Jeff grew up in California and Iowa, and holds a bachelor's degree from Saint Louis University in both business and communications.

While not busy producing unforgettable events, Jeff serves on various non-profit boards and committees in the St. Louis community. Jeff manages to also "stay busy" watching television and listening to the Kinks and the Rolling Stones.

Jennifer Juengel

Project Manager

Jennifer Juengel manages a myriad of projects each year, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Dream Gala, the St. Louis Public Library Gala, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Gala and the Missouri Botanical Gardens Gala just to name a few. Jennifer is trained in all aspects of event planning with an emphasis on social events and galas. During Jennifer's time at Contemporary she has won multiple International Society of Special Events Louie Awards including best private event, best entertainment concept and best non profit event.

Before joining Contemporary, Jennifer was an event marketer promoting products for companies such as Earthgrains, GM MasterCard and Tony's Pizza throughout the United States. After several years, Jennifer decided to shift her focus to the private sector by accepting a position as Event Planner at the prestigious Forest Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri and then later as Catering Director with the world famous Wolfgang Puck Catering.

When she is not creating unforgettable events, Jennifer supports multiple charities including the Companion Animal Alliance, Variety the Children's Charity and Stray Rescue. She enjoys outdoor activities and has a passion for health and fitness. Jennifer is also an active member of The International Society of Special Events.

Kelly McMahon

Communications Director

As Communications Director, Kelly McMahon is responsible for communications, marketing, public relations and public affairs for Contemporary's philanthropic initiatives as well as event projects. Kelly has a dual Communications Director role for both Contemporary and INOBTR ("I Know Better"), a national non-profit organization that promotes awareness and educates children, parents and teachers on child safety issues including Internet Safety.

Kelly has 15+ years experience in public relations, marketing and communications. She started in this field through a public relations internship while she was working on a Master of Arts degree in Media Communications at Webster University in St. Louis. Kelly began her career working for WeberShandwick (world's largest PR agency) in both the St. Louis and New York offices working in all aspects of account management including program development, national and global product launches, media/analyst relations, sampling/product review programs and marketing counsel. Her client experience over the years have included Italian Trade Commission (specific focus: Italian Furniture as well as Chianti Wine and Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortiums), Club Libby Lu, Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier, as well as working on global account teams for consumer technology clients such as Compaq, Lycos, MasterCard International, Microsoft, and Eastman Kodak Company to name a few.

Prior to her joining Contemporary, she was Vice President and Team Leader at Twist, a boutique marketing agency in St. Louis, Missouri. Twist is where she met INOBTR Founder/Contemporary Productions President Steve Schankman. At Twist, Kelly led the marketing team that took INOBTR from a concept into a brand and program. It was not long before she joined INOBTR and Contemporary full time to devote more time to this worthy project.

Kelly graduated from Regis University in Denver, Colorado with Bachelors of Arts & Sciences in Business (double emphasis in Marketing and Management) and Communications.

Brian Nolan

Production Manager

As Production Manager, Brian Nolan is responsible for the technical elements for Contemporary's events. From pre-event planning to on-site management, Brian assists in taking creative vision to a technical reality.

Before joining Contemporary, Brian Nolan cut his teeth working at various St. Louis music industry staples. He spent his youth selling musical instruments and teaching music lessons. Brian then went on to receive a Bachelor of Journalism with a specialization in Advertising from the University of Missouri — Columbia Journalism School. After college, Brian spent the next decade working for audio/production companies, music venues and media outlets, including a six year stint as production manager and chief audio engineer at the legendary Mississippi Nights music venue. While there, Brian created his own company producing local concerts. Brian went on to assist in the opening of The Old Rock House, serving as production manager, house engineer, booking agent and venue manager.

When not managing the technical aspects of Contemporary's unforgettable events, Brian enjoys mixing sound for local bands and catching as many shows as he can. He is an avid fan of music, art and popular culture.