Amy Bates sells Bates Events; joins avad3 in strategy role

Cameron Magee, owner and founder of avad3 Event Production in Lowell, has hired Amy Bates as senior director of strategic projects.

Bates is known in Northwest Arkansas for her work as owner and president of Fayetteville-based Bates Events, an award-winning professional event management company she started in 2002.

Bates said she transferred ownership of the business but declined to disclose the new owner.

“They will continue to serve clients in event planning and execution under new leadership and with vetted planners from our NWA area,” she said.

Magee emphasized that Bates is not an event planner for avad3.

“She will be focused on long-term strategic projects that will help to grow our business strategically,” he said.

In addition to Arkansas clients, including Walmart and the University of Arkansas, avad3 provides event production and audio/visual services for national conferences and associations across the country. The company, founded in 2011, has 50 employees and supports well over 100 events annually.

“Amy brings a level of depth and expertise to our organization, which she has grown from having worked with local and national organizations for over 20 years,” Magee said. “This valuable experience will enable avad3 to offer a deeper level of strategic direction to our clients for their complex events to achieve their goals flawlessly.”

Bates has previously mentored UA students in multiple roles and taught a senior-level event planning application course to students in the hospitality department in 2016. She will continue that work at avad3 by developing a mentoring program for local schools and universities