CL22: Patching More Than Fabric
Malinda started at CL22 Productions as a ‘Production Assistant’, in May of 2009. With no prior experience in event planning, she was thrust into the fast-paced environment of Super Bowl parties. Proving that she was capable of learning and handling the fast-paced environment and pressure that event production can cause, she moved quickly up the ladder.
At the Celebrity Beach Bowl in Miami, FL, Malinda was tasked with the roll of doing research to find "model quality" life guards. This is when her job began to evolve. She really enjoyed this new aspect of her roll at CL22, recalling that specific moment when her job changed.
“I used to be out there moving furniture and being more hands on, then I started doing research, finding all sorts of vendors. For instance in Miami, I had to find model quality lifeguards and even though this was new to me, I quickly realized I really enjoyed this new part of my job."
From there, she was able to incorporate her love for numbers. Malinda majored in accounting in college and this was a huge asset for the team. She slowly started to show more interest in billing and organization. Her job at CL22 had taken a very sharp turn and where her roll used to be more physically strenuous, she was now in an office crunching numbers and managing the books.
At Super Bowl XLIX, in Glendale, AZ, Malinda was in the office working, when she noticed there was an excess of people coming to her, asking for first aid supplies.
“People had come to me before with small injuries like splinters or maybe a blister and asked me for things from our first aid kit. We were used to that from previous years, but this year, there were more people than I had seen before with incredible injuries. Most of them weren't from CL22. They just knew we were prepared for almost anything and I was in the office with our kit. It was like ‘Knock knock…can you help me?’”
Bringing her maternal nature to work, Malinda loves to help people. From keeping the office stocked with supplies, to putting a Band-Aid on a sore finger, teams on site knows that if they need anything, she is ready to help. She even thought about being a nurse.
“When I was younger, I wanted to be a nurse. I love watching those real stories from the ER. I’m not upset by things like that, I want to get in there and see what’s happening. Listen, if I could do stitches for people, I’d do them.'"
Malinda tackled injuries that ranged from paper cuts, to broken fingers and didn't even break a sweat.
"One time, Stacy from Town and Country came to me with the worst sprained ankle I've ever seen. She was in a LOT of pain. I had an emergency ice pack which I quickly wrapped around her ankle. I got it elevated and took care of her until the paramedics got there. ”
She would love to take classes to expand this aspect of her job. She has been practicing splints, the Heimlich maneuver and even putting dislocated joints back into place. There is nothing that will scare her away. Eventually, she would like to take a CPR class and hopes more people will come to her in the future.
“When I’m in the office, I can be in there by myself for long periods of time working on billing and numbers, everyone else is out on the floor worrying about the production part of it. Don't get me wrong, I love that part of my job, but I enjoy it when I can be taken away from that sort of concentration and really interact with people. Next time I might get a bigger first aid kit or even a real doctor's bag. Dr. Pardo, I like the sound of that!” She joked.
