The team at Sydney-based Lateral Event Management have united over a common cause: to get vaccinated and to do their bit to get the events industry back on track.
CEO Simon Baggs led the way by being the first of the Lateral team to be vaccinated.
While there was no company policy to mandate vaccines for staff, the communication lines have remained open between employees and management at the company throughout the pandemic to share thoughts, concerns and plans around recovery.
General manager Megan Peters said that as the lockdown in Sydney continued, it became obvious that Lateral was a team of like-minded people, and team meetings often ended up in open remarks of support for those in the team being vaccinated.
“Given that we work in an industry that brings people together, it is heartening to see our whole team taking their own initiative to get themselves vaccinated,” Peters said.
“I am proud to work with a group of peers who have considered all options and made their own decision to protect themselves, their loved ones and the wider industry.”
The team of 11 staff at Lateral are at various stages in their vaccine journey, with 60 per cent of the team haing received both doses of the vaccine, and all other staff members either having received their first dose or being booked in to do so in the coming weeks.
Lateral’s head of premium events, Isabelle Cherry, said getting her jab felt like “a real milestone” in the progression of the pandemic.
“The last 18 months have been incredibly difficult for many industries, and getting vaccinated made me feel joyous that I was personally contributing to business recovery,” she said.
With no real guidelines released yet as to what the future mandates may look like for events, the team at Lateral felt that it was important to be able to offer clients and guests the comfort of knowing their event team is fully vaccinated.
“I have chosen to get vaccinated so that I can help shape a safer and more confident future for everyone,” said event coordinator Rachel Tibbertsma.
“We are an industry that has been crippled by lockdowns, but if we can do our part in building a gateway to freedom for our industry to recover, count me in.”
Lateral has enjoyed a taste of post-pandemic event life, delivering 22 events and four public theatre shows in April and May before the latest lockdown in Sydney saw the cancellation of 47 events and three public theatre shows, among many more postponements.
With all signs pointing to vaccinations being the way to meet again, the team at Lateral has rolled up their sleeves and can’t wait to see the industry thriving with live events.
“I am so proud that the team have taken this initiative without any need for incentive or company policy,” said Baggs.
“They have all quietly and diligently organised themselves to ensure our company is ready for the return of live events.”
