Black Mountain couple will work Olympic venues

A Black Mountain couple will play key roles in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Olympic couple: Jennifer and Andrew Marsh, of Black Mountain-based event management consultants Event Mercenaries, will have key behind-the-scenes roles at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Marsh

Andrew Marsh, the owner and president of event-management consulting company Event Mercenaries, will work as broadcast-venue manager at the center where press from around the world will be assembled to cover the games. Jennifer Marsh, program manager for Event Mercenaries, will work as a liaison officer at the ski-jump venue, serving as a go-between with members of the media and athletes.

"This will be my first trip to Canada and my first Olympics, so I'm pretty excited to be a part of something so huge," Jennifer Marsh says.

The Marshes moved to Black Mountain seven years ago — Andrew from Athens, Ga., and Jennifer from the Washington, D.C., area. They've helped manage mostly sporting events all over the world through the 11-year-old company. Andrew Marsh has worked Olympic events in Atlanta and Salt Lake, and locally, the couple has managed concessions for the Lake Eden Arts Festival. Last year, the couple took over managing the Sourwood 5K race in Black Mountain.

"We don't produce events ourselves, but we help out with portions of events that people need help with," Jennifer Marsh says. "We will do anything that needs to get done."

Marsh says her husband is already in Vancouver, and she plans to arrive Feb. 8.

What's the key to handling all the chaos with ease? Marsh says it's all in the mindset. "My husband likes to say that all events are the same. You need food for people to eat, and bathrooms, and a place for them to put their stuff. In some ways, it's kind of the same general checklist."