Business & Tech

Couple Takes To Heart 'Amazingly Creative Events'

Retiring soon from the U.S. Air Force, Richard Ligon knows his top duty is to support his spouse, YJean Ligon, whose vision for Amazingly Creative Events (ACE) earned Best Booth honors at the 2012 Greater Brandon chamber's Brandon Business Expo.

 

First-timers YJean Ligon and her husband, Richard, had lots to talk about after tearing down their charter booth at the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce Brandon Business Expo & Taste of Brandon at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Their 2012 appearance marked the first time the owners of Amazingly Creative Events (ACE) promoted their offerings and services at the annual event.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

For their efforts, they received the Best Booth award, determined by the votes of the attendees to the May 17 event.

"This is our first Brandon expo and it was worth it," YJean Ligon said. "I wanted our booth to be eye-catching, to separate us out from other booths."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Open for business since Jan. 15, 2011, YJean Ligon said ACE fulfills her passion for creativity.

As for her husband, Richard, it's his passion to support his wife.

"It's all about support, that's what spouses do," said Richard Ligon, who soon will be retiring from the U.S. Air Force. "She has a vision for all this and I'm behind her 100 percent. Is it difficult for me as a man to understand color and set-up's? That's what a creative mind can do, and that's where she comes in."

The booth that took top honor was two-faced. As YJean Ligon explained it, the booth was, "one-half in one color style and the other half had a totally different feel."

The one side was draped with a "fire-orange tablecloth, with fuchsia and orange decor, with a gold chiavari chair," she said. The other side showcased "a large custom-made four-armed stand with yellow kissing balls and a silver chandelier dripping down, all sitting on a charcoal-grey tablecloth with black-satin napkins and silver chiavari chairs with a custom black rosette chair cap."

(Editor's Note: A picture would go well with this, but alas, the awards were announced after the business exposition break-down and this is one shot we did not snap. To see firsthand the work of ACE, visit Amazingly Creative Events online. )

The history of the Ligons' business dates back to when he was in the military and she had a degree in accounting and the couple was focused on raising their young children.

"It was all about family then," she said.

But YJean Ligon also was known as the go-to person for event planning, having done many such occasions for herself and other people she knew.

"People have been telling me for years I can do this as a business," she said. "But when you're latched up to a corporate business, it's hard to break away. You think, 'What if I don't make money? What if I don't get customers?' Then I thought, 'I'm just going to do it.' "

Corporate America is still in the works, though, with Ligon Consulting, which contracts with Sykes Enterprises on implementing the company's online solution for the data entry, tracking and information needs of the human resources functions, such as payroll, management, and accounting functions.

As for events planning, "Our long-term goal is to own our own venue," she said. "We do it all now but we just don't have the venue."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here