Brett Dinkins – Consultant
My first experience with campaigns came in 2008 when I was a freshman in college volunteering for the McCain/Palin ticket at the local GOP Victory office. Any time I wasn’t in class, and sometimes when I should have been, I would be at the office making phone calls and helping recruit other volunteers to do voter outreach. I think the most important thing I learned during that time was how important volunteers are to a campaign and how to properly treat and work with volunteers to ensure they keep coming back to help.
Charlie Puyear – Consultant
My first real campaign experience came from working as a field staffer (aka door knocker) for MOHRCC. Nothing teaches you more about campaigns than meeting with voters face-to-face for 150 days in a row in the heat of a Missouri summer. I learned a lot that first cycle, like the value of a thoughtfully crafted walk-list, or how to expertly hop a chain link fence to avoid a dog you didn’t see in the yard. But easily the most important lesson I learned was how it’s never going to hurt you to outwork your opponent.
Kelli Grubbs – Co-Founder, Chief Financial Officer
1988 Dole for President. I married the guy who was running the campaign in eastern Iowa.
Joe Lakin – Partner, Chief Development Officer
The first campaign I managed was in Clinton, Missouri in 2008. I worked for the Missouri House Republican Campaign Committee helping elect Scott Largent to the Missouri House. We won by 353 votes in an incredibly tough election year. It taught me the importance of every day and every dollar. Campaigns can’t afford to waste their resources.
Briana Langlois – Technology Director
I worked on many small campaigns in my first couple years. My first notable campaign, I would say, was Paul Curtman. On the web side of things, my team and I helped him create a user-friendly website that included events, login protected information and fundraising. I learned how important an online presence is when it comes to a campaign and how to create an appealing, user-friendly site to boost awareness and online donation.
Christian Hulen – Senior Vice President & Principal
Roy Blunt for Senate 2010. It was likely the turning point to making MO red. Politics is a very long life to live. Be good to everyone even if you don’t like them. You never know when you will need them in the future.
Wayne Yocum – Partner, Chief Creative Officer
In the summer of 2000, I worked for my hometown congressman’s re-election campaign. My first boss told me, “Politics isn’t brain science, it’s just hard work and lists.” I spent the first two weeks of my political career in a windowless room next to this behemoth of a printer/fax/copier calling local county central committees on a landline to compile a list of area events (fairs, parades, festivals, etc.) that might be of interest to the campaign. E-mail was in its infancy and Google wasn’t a thing. Kids today don’t understand how good they’ve got it. However, after more than two decades in campaign politics, my first boss is still right. No matter how the technology advances, campaigns still boil down to hard work and lists.
Ben Muehleisen – Director of Production
The first campaign I worked on with Victory Enterprises was the Jay Ashcroft for State Senate campaign. I learned from this shoot that when I have a candidate with a small child, letting the child run ahead while the rest of the family is walking along is ADORABLE and great for a closing shot to any commercial.
Brit Schiel – Digital Director
The first campaign I worked on was in the spring of 2002 when I was in high school, not long after 9/11 which sparked my interest in national events and politics. Scott Walker was my state representative and running for Milwaukee County Executive, and my dad invited me to do a lit drop for Scott in our neighborhood. I did a few drops and attended his victory party, and from that point on I was hooked. Walker went on to serve as governor of Wisconsin, and through his connections I entered my first job working in the field of government and politics after college.