Chicken suits, patio hangs, the occasional corn hole tournament—behind Wendt’s 96 years of excellence is a culture that values joy just as much as it does hard work. And few embody that spirit better than our administrative coordinator (and resident Bob Ross impressionist), Dallas. While her task load is a balancing act across our accounting, media, and production departments, where she really shines is bringing the fun (and a spontaneous dance party) to all the moments in between. From staying organized to keeping things light, Dallas is breaking down the heart, humor, and hustle behind her day-to-day.
Who is Dallas? This is by far the most difficult question I have ever been asked. I’m fueled by laughter, cheese, enough caffeine to fuel an army, and a healthy amount of ridiculousness. I’m the kind of person who breaks into dance for no reason, sings musicals like I'm on Broadway (I most definitely am not) and throws finger guns with alarming frequency. I love making people laugh—those real, can’t-help-it kind of laughs—and I never take myself too seriously. I’m here to be a hug when you didn’t know you needed one, a little bit of fun when things feel heavy, and a reminder that life’s better when it’s a little silly.
I assist the accounting, media, and production teams with all kinds of things—work requests, billing, reconciling invoices with media orders, and even building out client budget flowcharts based on media plans. It’s a little bit of everything, and no two days are the same!
Honestly, I remember watching Mad Men and thinking “Man I would love to work in marketing/advertising one day.” Obviously, I know Mad Men isn’t an accurate representation of The Wendt Agency, but what I loved was that it was so much more complex than I would’ve thought. The unique processes that have to happen for each client are based on who they are trying to reach. You really have to understand humans and how our minds work, and I find that incredibly fascinating.
For my recurring tasks every month, I build out timelines for myself. For example, I make sure I have all the invoices reconciled and posted by a certain day of each month so that when I begin billing, I will have found anything that could cause hold ups. For other more sporadic tasks I try to do things based on priority. What needs to be out first? Is someone waiting on me for this task? What will help with workflow?
Bring joy and humor to any situation you (appropriately) can. I personally love to be a goof (I think the chicken suit showed this best). You have to be intentional but also don’t put an insane amount of pressure on everyone, including yourself. Nothing kills the vibe like forced fun.
The thing I love most about working at Wendt is the culture. You can feel the years—maybe decades—of care that went into it. We are cared about not only as employees, but also as a human beings. We are encouraged to grow both professionally and personally and have a good time while doing it. We are serious but don’t take ourselves too seriously.
