By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Nora Christiansen said she wants “to create fun events for the community and for our chamber members” as the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce events coordinator.

Christiansen, of Winona Lake, became the coordinator in July, replacing Mackenzie Parker, who opted to continue her education.

Nora Christiansen

Christiansen is originally from Goodrich, Mich. After graduating from Goodrich High School, she originally thought she’d pursue a career in biology.

However, after working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, she discovered she “could not live in the middle of nowhere,” causing her to switch course.

Christiansen worked at a few country clubs, which kickstarted her events career.

At the second club she worked at, she was in a managerial position.

“They did a lot of weddings and large golf outings,” said Christiansen.

She then moved to Chicago, Ill., working at Tavern at the Park restaurant.

“It was a three-story, 300-seat restaurant overlooking Millennium Park,” noted Christiansen. “I was usually the front of house manager … and would work … on staffing and organizing events.”

She moved to Kosciusko County in 2020 to be closer to her sister.

As events coordinator, Christiansen will be working with both the chamber and Main Street Warsaw, planning everything from Third Fridays and Spooktacular to the chamber’s annual awards dinner.

She’s currently working on September’s Third Friday, which includes Taste of Kosciusko, whereby people may try food and drinks from area eateries. The event also will feature the Kosciusko Board of Realtors’ charity car show, rescheduled from August’s Third Friday.

Christiansen said she likes the part of planning events “when you start to see it come together.”

“It’s just a bunch of balls in the air, and you’re trying to figure out what it’s going to look like, and then at one point it starts to look like a fully formed event,” she said. “I’ve always been a very detail-oriented person, and so I like the nitty-gritty of it and getting all the details in line.”

She said she enjoys putting together both large events as well as smaller ones “where you actually get to talk to the people that are involved and you can actually see people enjoy it on a very personal level.”

Christiansen said planning events combines both actions of the left and right parts of the brain.

“I would say working in events is great for somebody who has a strong attention to detail and is able to be analytical about things, but also has to think with more of an artistic mindset,” she said. “(It’s) a strange combination of left and right brain, but if you have that, it’s a perfect outlet for both.”