Our Stories

In honor of National Technology Day, let’s meet the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center’s Information Technology (IT) team, IT Manager, Scott Gordee and IT Associate, Chris Loveridge. These two are crucial in overseeing and implementing new technological processes as well as ensuring the security of the systems. Together, they address everyday technology issues at the Center ranging from laptop problems to cyber security threats. They are continuously learning and growing in their positions, adapting to the ever-changing field of technology.

Both Scott and Chris felt a pull toward your Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. This summer, Scott will have completed his fourth season with the Center. His IT career began in 1998 as a mainframe tape operator at Appleton Papers. He then moved to security and later joined the infrastructure team. In 2019, Scott joined the Center’s team. “I liked the challenge of being responsible for all aspects of IT for an organization,” Scott commented. “The Center was specifically interesting because of its unique purpose within our community.” Before he joined the team at the Center, Chris’ career journey in the Fox Cities began at Fox Valley Technical College. He later worked at JJ Keller and the Appleton Public Library. “I wanted to work in an art-focused environment,” Chris shared.

Helping select the tools that the Center uses on a daily basis, Scott and Chris make a significant impact in their roles for staff as well as patrons. For Fox Cities P.A.C. visitors, their experience is shaped by technology from when they first enter the building to when they leave. This includes using mobile tickets, bypassing long lines and ordering concessions at the Center through the mobile app, Toast TakeOut and using accessibility service tools like GalaPro, a mobile app that translates in real time. With the IT department’s help, those technological experiences are made easier to navigate.

Each day, the IT team plans ahead to help support current and future events taking place at the Center. Even when Scott and Chris are not in the building, they help support the various events taking place in the Center. To ensure that internal and external events run smoothly and all technology needs are met, Scott and Chris work with the guest experience department, providing them with the necessary tools and training to troubleshoot and fix any issues that may arise. The team credits the solid relationships that have been built with other teams as a critical piece to successfully working together. They also enjoy sharing their knowledge of collaborative tools with staff across departments to help remove unnecessary challenges. For Scott and Chris, it’s extremely rewarding to empower to provide people with useful tools that they will use in creative ways.

When asked about a favorite memory, Scott recalled a time when the Price is Right was playing on stage and he was heading up a stairwell to leave his office for the day. “I started to climb that stairwell at the same moment the mountain climber game started,” Scott remarked. “The yodeling song played the entire time I climbed and stopped exactly when I reached the top. It was surreal. I remember thinking I worked at a strange place. I wouldn’t have it any other way though.”

Written by Philomena Dorobek, Brand Storyteller
Fox Cities Performing Arts Center