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liaison between the management company, the
record label, and Faith. If something
needs to be done between them, generally I'm the
one who is making that happen
and running between their offices." KenKnight
works with Hill and McGraw's fan
club presidents to write and lay out each
artist's newsletter. She meets with merchan-
disers to design a new tee shirt or hat, and
spends time with the webmaster to put up
new information on both artists' web sites.
Although she is on call 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, KenKnight says, "Faith is very
respectful of typical business hours and
she doesn't usually call me on the
weekend."
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
"Be aggressive and make connections in the
industry. I got my job through
someone that I met working on a school
project."
MANDY KENKNIGHT, PERSONAL ASSISTANT
AND
OPERATIONS MANAGER, FAITH HILL AND TIM
MCGRAW
From the age of five, Mandy KenKnight loved to
sing, and participated in church
and school choirs all the way through high
school. "I grew up in a small town south
of Atlanta. Music had always been part of my
life, so when it came to deciding on a
college major, there was no question that music
was what I wanted to do." She earned
her associate degree in music entertainment
management at the Art Institute of
Atlanta, and transferred to Belmont University
in Nashville to complete her studies.
As part of her student activities, she
organized campus artist showcases, and pro-
gressed to co-producing one in 1995. Through
that experience, she met Faith Hill's
personal assistant, who told her that a
position was open to oversee Hill's fan club.
KenKnight was interviewed and hired for the
job. Hill later took a year-long hiatus
and her personal assistant moved on to another
job. When Hill resumed her career,
KenKnight was promoted to that position. Having
worked for Hill for more than a
decade, KenKnight says, "Working with Faith has
given me the opportunity to see
this industry from the inside out, and to learn
from one of the most successful
women in the business." With that knowledge of
the industry, KenKnight is also
pursuing performing and her own vocal
interests. www.mandykenknight.com
....
CASE STUDY:
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