Melissa Lagowski

Melissa Lagowski is a professional event planner and the principal behind Big Buzz Idea Group. In her 22 years of corporate and non-profit event planning experience, she has launched and executed large fundraisers, conceived and initiated several innovative and lucrative new programs, coordinated a variety of dinners/awards functions, hosted a community concert series, designed trade show exhibits and organized numerous conferences/workshops. Her services include event promotion, party planning, wedding coordination, risk management, sponsorship development, volunteer recruitment/management, entertainment, vendors, logistical details and security.

Melissa is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) where she currently serves as the Membership Retention Co-Chair, and she is a member of the NAWBO Day Task Force. In addition to NAWBO, Melissa is an avid supporter of the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club and the House of Good Shepherd.

She is a frequent panelist for the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC), NAWBO and various chamber of commerce functions.

Melissa graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. Her program emphasis was public relations and event planning.

Devin Ball

Devin Ball, a Chicago native, returned home after completing her Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Western Michigan University. After working for a world-renowned association management firm, Devin decided to follow her dream to work with a boutique event planning company that would allow her creative abilities to synergize with her project management skills. Joining BBIG in 2007, Devin has played a key role in the management and execution of parties and celebrations from 40,000-guest street festivals to intimate casino night networking events. She lives in Chicago with her husband and their son.

Craig Lagowski

After three years of working with BBIG as an independent contractor, Craig joined our Chicago event planning staff full time in January 2008. He has more than 10 years in festival and event project management and specializes in client relations, on-site operations, creative writing, copywriting/editing, promotions and coordination.

His energy, insight and motivation fit well into the Big Buzz agenda and stem from a complex history of previous positions in wildly varying industries: independent hedge fund management; home flooring sales; stock market trading floor brokerage and the music and entertainment industry, to name a few.

Catherine Donovan

Catherine “Cat” Donovan joined the Big Buzz team in September of 2009 to coordinate the Promotions Department. Her work includes writing press releases and promoting events to numerous media outlets. She also assists with formatting and uploading content to the Big Buzz web site.

As a member of the promotions team, Catherine also manages onsite operations for much of the Town of Cicero’s “Summer in the Park” series, which consists of 50 free community events for the residents from Memorial Day to Labor Day. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 2006 from DePaul University, then worked for three years as a metro reporter for newspapers both in Chicago and the western suburbs.

Catherine grew up in Indianapolis and now resides in Des Plaines with her husband. She is an amateur photographer and avid runner, always preparing for the next big half-marathon.

Angela Koss

Angela Koss joined Big Buzz Idea Group in March of 2010 to direct the company’s social media outreach. She also contributes with event and venue research, proprietary database maintenance and onsite operational support at a variety of events.

She graduated from DePaul University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. Her academic focus included relational, group and organizational development.

Born and raised in Chicago, Angela currently resides on the near north side and enjoys traveling and scrapbooking in her spare time.