Staff Spotlight on Liz Bartling

12/6/2018

This week’s Staff Spotlight is on Liz Bartling, Events Manager

What is your role at Pinecrest Academy and what does it entail?

I am the Events Manager for Pinecrest and I absolutely love my job! I compare what I do to an air traffic controller. There are hundreds of planes (events) happening all over campus, all sharing the same sky, and I do my best to make sure they all take off okay, they have what they need to fly right, they don't collide, and they all (hopefully) have a safe landing. It's a lot of event planning and logistics, but I love working with the teachers, staff, administration, parent volunteers and facilities staff in helping to coordinate various Academic, Fine Arts, Athletic, Admissions, Development, Campus Ministry, Family Life and PAPA events.

I also manage the Paladin Portal Calendar, Academic Calendar, the LS, MS, HS Faculty/Staff Google Calendars, and the Facilities Set Up Calendar. (A big shout out to our awesome Facilities team - Mark, Joe, Eric, Terry, Tony, and Emmanuel, for all the hard work they do behind the scenes that many people never see!)

In my previous life, I worked for a hotel and country club in sales and planning events, worked in PR, and had my own gift business, but this is the first school I've worked at, and it's definitely never boring!

How long have you worked here?

It will be 8 years on January 17, 2019.

What is your favorite Pinecrest tradition?

The outdoor Nativity that the Facilities department so graciously sets up every year - rain or shine! I love Christmas, but I don't like all the commercialization that comes with it, so having a Nativity set up right here on campus helps to put things into perspective about the true meaning of this season. #ThankyouFacilitiesYou'retheBest! And I love the Christmas Room in the Middle School, too!

What is your favorite quote/book/movie?

Favorite movie: The Sound of Music
Favorite cartoon: Scooby Doo
Favorite Book: Curious George goes to the Hospital

Favorite quotes: "I've had an elegant sufficiency, anymore would be laborious to my systematical constitution." My Grandfather loved quotes, and this was one of his favorites he would say after a hearty meal - so I love it, too!

And another one is "To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand. And eternity in an hour."

I also like "Build a bridge and get over it."

What do you like to do in your free time?

Spend time with my family, write, work on my blog, pray, think about running, re-arrange/decorate our home, email/text with my mom and five sisters, light a candle, dim the lights, and play Christmas music, think about running again, sleep.

Is there something that people would be surprised to know about you?

I have a wonderful husband Alex, three children - Danielle 22, Claire 18, and Ryan 15 - and 10 brothers and sisters!
My parents have been married 62 years and pray the rosary together every day.
I was asked to play (as a walk on) for the UGA Tennis team and I turned them down. #Go Dawgs!
My dad saved me from drowning in a riptide in Florida when I was two. (He's also a retired Master Golf pro, which I think is really cool, but I didn't get that gene.)
My mom, Claire, is a living saint and also my best friend (and Vivian, too!).
I was Valedictorian of my class at St. Pius X High School (I knew how to study!).
I started a Catholic Facebook page called "Love Being Catholic" a few years ago, and today it has almost 240,000 followers and reaches several million people around the world each month.
I'm a 20-year breast cancer survivor.
Chick-fil-A is my favorite fast food restaurant.
Christmas is my favorite time of year.