Star Systems-The Family Circle
Raised as an only child, Marcy Tuttle never envisioned a family of hundreds but that's what she got. As the National Director of her highly successful companies, Star Systems National Talent Competition and SHOCK THE INTENSIVE, and with her ability to emphasize similarities over differences, even in a competitive setting, Marcy has created a family circle that widens year by year.
Her destiny was set at an early age, thanks to a simple family argument. At three years old, her parents debated the merits of various activities for their little girl. Her mother wanted baton; her father, it seemed, favored dance. Guess who won.
By the time they moved from Peoria, Illinois to Florida, Marcy was an accomplished 21-year-old dancer and ready to strike out in a new direction. She opened two studios, one in Ft. Charlotte and one in Venice and enlisted the help of her parents. Her father laid the tile in her studios and her mother served as the receptionist and bookkeeper.
Right away, Marcy understood where her focus was most needed. "It's important for a dance teacher to have a bus-iness manager, because the dancer really wants to hone their craft, not call students who haven't paid. And it also puts them in a professional light and out of the collector light."
In this fashion, her life ambled along for nearly a dozen years, weathering a marriage and divorce and the birth of a son, Casey. Then she stumbled on a golden opportunity, a failing convention business. "I bought it with a $250 investment. Two speakers and a tape deck." She went on to pay 10¢ on the dollar for the entire inventory in their warehouse and Star Systems was officially on its way.
That first year, ever the savvy businesswoman, she played frugal and only included nine cities in her inaugural tour. "I made sure I could afford the venue, rather than starting at the top." And she spent countless hours learning the best ways to develop her new venture. "I did 24-7. I was always there." The reward was a total of about 2,000 participants. (Today, the number hovers near 30,000 for the regionals).
Casey said, "My mother is the hardest working woman on the planet. She built this company from the ground up. I remember when we were just starting out. We went without a lot, and I do remember struggling to get by for a few years. My mother dedicated and sacrificed so much for this company to get it where it is today. She is constantly working, whether it is at the office, at competition, at home, on vacation, or even in her sleep. Star Systems is what makes my mom who she is. She cares so much for everyone involved. My mom is the type of person who would do anything for anyone, even if that means sacrificing her own happiness."
He went on to say, "I basically grew up along with Star Systems. From the time I can remember, I have always been around the business. When I was a child, I was always running around the competition when I wasn't helping my grandmother at the sales boutique or helping my grandfather build trophies. I started out working backstage being an emcee, and learning the sound and lighting as an early teenager. As I got older, I gradually earned more respon-sibilities, whether it is working in our warehouse, loading trucks, announcing and directing regional competitions, and eventually becoming the National Director."
And at the age of 19 he earned another responsibility - big brother. Marcy, unsettled by the fact that Casey had decided it was time to move out and live on his own, found herself engulfed by the Empty Nest Syndrome. So she did some research, discovered that Guatemala allowed single parent adoptions and soon added a beautiful girl named Karina to her circle, bringing her home, appropriately, on Mother's Day. Shortly thereafter, she adopted a second Guatemalan girl and named her Chloe. Together, the girls' first initials, phonetically, become KC or Casey, and not by mistake. Marcy is always hunting for the common ground, for unique ways to strengthen family bonds.
Casey said, "I truly believe that Star Systems is so successful because we are a family business. Everyone that is involved with Star Systems is part of our family."
And that includes the addition of her current husband, who she met and married approximately two years after adopting Karina. An engineer who had worked in corporations for ten years, he was tired of being behind a desk and gladly gave it up to join in the convention/competition business. Marcy said, "He is now our network administrator, as well as serving as Regional Director in several cities. He also has to wake up in the middle of the night when I come up with some of my ideas and listen to them."
Of course, with Marcy's schedule, the only time available to her to come up with ideas is the middle of the night. The rest of her time is spent shuttling between airports. Forty-two weekends out of the year are spent flying from coast to coast. Competitions take place February through May with at least two, and sometimes up to five cities in one weekend jaunt.
September through February is reserved for SHOCK THE INTENSIVE, a spin-off company that separates the competitions from the conventions. Marcy said, "The students had class all day and then competitions at night. They couldn't concentrate on classes because they were worrying about the students around them. Were they going to compete against them?...I needed to separate study and competition so they don't care who's standing next to them. They can focus on study."
"Prior to SHOCK, everyone else was a 'convention.' Now 'intensives' are popping up all over the place. We were the first competition to bring agents into our nationals, the perfect place for a dance agent to search for fresh new talent."
The idea is to make the environment more conducive to learning. "I make my living on competition but competition has become such an important focus that teachers are losing track of the education." Kids, she said, "can always pick up from their own teacher. They're stuck in a box." They need new stimulation, new ways of looking
at things.
"Kids are like a sponge. They'll pick up whatever you give them. If they plan to be pro, they must pick up quickly." And they'll do so if they have any talent at all and are exposed to motivated instructors. "If the teacher loves it, it will happen for the students...I think teachers are instrumental in instilling the love and passion."
That love and passion is evident in every one of Marcy's conventions and competitions because she personally sets the tone. "I wanted every child that came to hopefully meet a new friend." So when she takes the stage at each competition, she first faces the children. She asks them to turn and meet someone new. Then, she says, "I always tell the kids that there will never be anyone to support them and love them as much as the people behind me." She turns and encourages parents to follow the same routine: meet the person next to you; make a new acquaintance. With a personal connection, competition becomes less strained and families find themselves actively rooting for each other.
This camaraderie is something the children and their parents see mirrored in Marcy's staff on a daily basis. Where most convention staffers disappear in every direction for lunch, Marcy's staff always dines together--by choice. It sets the example and helps forge strong bonds. "It's a fellowship type of gathering."
With her support system firmly in place, Marcy has a new venture: "The Choreographers Carnival." She said, "At each Star Systems Regional you, your choreographer and group from the top three senior small groups have a chance to fly to Los Angeles and compete against all other senior small group winners from Star Systems Regionals and perform in your very own Choreographers Carnival...All the agents reps will be invited, celeb choreographers and professional L.A. dancers," and the celebratory gala is catered by Chef Wolfgang Puck. The winner at the Star Systems carnival will perform with "The Choreographers Carnival" and, Marcy said, "possibly be seen by such celebrities as Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Carmen Electra and more."
Knowing Marcy, she'll soon have all the stars folded into her circle as well. The more, the merrier. Although her inner circle is composed of a husband, son and two daughters, her outer circle includes hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children and all their parents. Together, they reunite in countless cities on countless weekends all across the country. As Marcy said, "Who do you have to get your back besides your family? Who watches your back?" For Marcy Tuttle, the whole point is the family circle.
For more information, visit www.starsystemstalent.com and www.shocktheintensive.com or call 336.993.9073.