Action Network for Disaster Recovery

In 2018 the Clinton Global Initiative started a new Action Network for Disaster Recovery and searched for a vendor to produce the series with high production values on modest budgets. After an initial event in Miami, the series began having its meetings in the territories most impacted by the Carribean hurricanes of recent years, specifically Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While San Juan, PR has a fairly robust AV production network, St. Thomas and the USVI do not. When the CGI team decided to host an event in the gymnasium at the University of the Virgin Islands in June 2019, Markham knew it would have to get creative to be able to put together a top flight event. Working closely with a marine logistics services company, Markham sent an entire event’s worth of equipment to St. Thomas on a 40’ shipping container and created an event that couldn’t have happened using only local vendors. Markham shipped in all AV and event equipment, from truss and motors for rigging, to hundreds of feet of 24 foot pipe and drape, screens and projectors, video playback and live streaming equipment, and full production audio and wireless microphones. Managing the full shipping process, including coordination with the shipping company, navigating the customs process, receiving the container in USVI, and other logistical pieces were challenging, but ultimately very successful. The result was a fantastic meeting that had all of the bells and whistles needed for a CGI Action Network event.