Benjamin Watkins Email & Phone Number

Texas, United States

- Spearheaded comprehensive engagement strategies, acting as the primary point of contact for Congressional staffers, community leaders, and stakeholders, ensuring veteran resources were effectively communicated.- Led advocacy efforts, shaping public opinion on critical issues impacting veterans through presentations, events, and targeted campaigns..

Northern Texas And Oklahoma

- Planned and executed over 470 local and regional events for post-9/11 veterans, maintaining a 98% approval rating and improving the quality of life for alumni and their families.- Managed a $100k annual budget for event execution and outreach activities, driving engagement with over 8500 veterans in the region.- Co-developed the gaming program and.

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa

Place VR is a revolutionary new approach to economic development that harnesses emerging 360º video to create immersive experiences that drive business and workforce recruitment. As a division of Golden Shovel Agency, our productions combine a depth of experience in both virtual reality production and economic development to bring to life an entirely new.

Southlake, Texas, United States

Teaching Storytelling, Video Editing, Videography, and other Motion Picture and Television courses

United States

• Winner of 2015 Emmy Award for Historical Documentary of WWII Nuremberg Trials Typist Larry Tillemans.
• Telling stories of inspiration and truth. Starting from the concept of the story in preproduction, through production, and bringing everything to fruition in postproduction and distribution.
• Evaluate the financial aspects of product development, such as budgets, expenditures, research and development appropriations, or return-on-investment and profit-loss projections.
• Develop pricing strategies, balancing firm objectives and customer satisfaction.
• Strategic and operational planning of project budget, time, resources, and marketing.
• Direct the hiring, training, or performance evaluations of worldwide staff and oversee their activities.

Saint Cloud

• Instructed residential and online courses to 10 – 30 traditional and non-traditional students each quarter, teaching Mobile App Development, Storytelling, Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Digital Video.
• Used differentiated instruction for each student to help understand industry standards and real-world applications.
• Coach students to best perform on assignments, tests, and real-life situations.
• Assess student learning, provide feedback and support, and refer students for additional support when necessary.
• Create and maintains course materials in compliance with College and regulatory requirements.
• Facilitates highly effective and engaging learning environments in various teaching modalities, including residential, online, FLEX, and FLAT, meeting the diverse needs of learners.

Saint Cloud, MN

• As the Business Development Specialist at DAYTA Marketing, I collaborated with the Business Development team on generating and managing leads. This included creating, building and maintaining relationships with.
• Assisted in 40% growth of the company from Q2-Q3.
• Made over 300 calls to business each month.
• Generated over 24 leads each month.
• Set over 12 Sales meetings each month with potential clients.
• Logged interactions and communication in Pipedrive CRM.

Waite Park, Minnesota

• Warmly welcome guests when they come to the showroom and create a strong friendly relationship.
• Provide exceptional service throughout the guest’s experience.
• Communicate effectively both in-person and over the phone to discover the customer's wants and needs.
• Clarify wants and needs through open-ended and springboard questions.
• Understanding what the guest wants, present the Car model according to customer ‘s taste and preferences.
• Navigate and use various provided computer programs as selling tools.

Saint Cloud

• Managed a team of 12 fraud investigators.
• Supervised the daily workflow of Fraud Operations including Suspicious Activity Report (SAR's) referrals, fraud alerts and surveillance, investigation documentation, or other fraud processes.
• Assisted in strategically assigning cases to fit each team member's strengths to clear a 400+ case backlog in less than 60 days.
• Focused on minimizing operational and fraud risk.
• Participated in projects in a fraud advisory capacity.
• Handled escalated fraud issues to minimize customer and/or business impact and fraud losses.

St. Cloud, Minnesota Area

• Lead Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity team meetings for 12 departments.
• Lead departmental cross-training sessions for over 350 employees.
• Wrote security articles for the in-house newsletter.
• Create Video and Photo documentation for internal and external use.
• Created Sales pitch videos that generated multimillion dollar contracts with a %90 close rate.
• Set up Audio Video systems and maintained functionality by upgrading as needed.

Minnesota

• Under the supervision of the Creative Services Manager responsible for producing audio/video advertisement for contracted clients and in-house productions while meeting quality industry and federal standards.
• Lead and supervised script writing, taping, editing, and directing commercials for advertisement sales and Local Origination clients with remote teams located in different offices.
• Oversaw preparation of sets for production to include location scouting, set design, lighting design, auditioning actors, costumes, and props needed for spot productions, productions for industrial clientele, and local.
• Operated video equipment required for production, including lights, cameras, dolly, jib, slider, audio and switching equipment.
• Worked with Business owners and CEO’s to create content that drove business.
• Maintained over $500k in equipment by cleaning lenses, gears, and replacing common wear and tear items.

Production company that became All Things Possible LLC in late 2010

Arden Hills, MN

• Served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
• Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and markup factors.
• Formulate, direct, or coordinate marketing activities or policies to promote products or services, working with advertising or promotion managers.
• Confer with legal staff to resolve copyright infringement or royalty sharing problems.
• Trained team in omnichannel strategies, integrated marketing programs, building marketing plans, content creation with all Adobe products, and other training as assigned.
• Counseled, Coached, and provided bi-annual evaluations of direct reports.

Foley, Minnesota

• Supported people with disabilities in their homes.
• Supported people with behavioral or physical challenges.
• Fostered increased independence by coaching daily living skills.
• Accompanied people as they pursued their normal daily activities.
• Assisted with personal cares.
• Cooked dinner, and assisted in all of the other daily living activities.

Willmar And Mankato Minnesota

• Communicated with news outlets about current films and reviews.
• Wrote and posted movie times for voicemail and news release.
• Distribute media kits and information packets to the appropriate audience.
• Planned and coordinated special events for theatre rental and privet showings.
• Maintained and updated Calendar to reflect current and upcoming events.
• Assessed staffing needs and scheduled sufficient staff.

• Up daily at dawn to do duties before going to school, then resumed duties after getting home.
• Duties throughout the years grew as I did and included:
• Feeding calves and milking cows using milking machinery.
• As needed assisted in animal births, and then cared for newborn livestock.
• Clean and disinfect buildings, yards, and remove manure.
• Cleaned and sanitized milking equipment, storage tanks, collection cups, and cows' udders, and ensured that procedures were followed to maintain sanitary conditions for handling of milk.

Master Of Fine Arts (Mfa), Motion Pictures & Television, 3.986 Gpa

Activities and Societies: President's Honor List 2012 - 2014. Magna cum Laude.- Focused on Directing and Producing, learning all aspects.

Digital Video And Multi Media Production

- Studied advanced Digital Video and Multimedia Production techniques, including video editing, storytelling, and project management..

Information/Psychological Warfare And Military Media Relations

- Trained in Psychological Operations with a focus on media relations and market research to develop and deploy psychological tactics..

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Theatre And Dance, 3.15 Gpa

- Studied Theatre (Acting) and Dance, enhancing skills in public speaking, storytelling, and creative expression. - Developed strong.

Associate Of Arts - Aa, Speech And Theatre

- Studied Speech and Theatre along with general liberal arts courses, gaining foundational skills in public communication and performing.