Kim Jackson, Rock City special events director, poses with a plate of bratwurst and fried potatoes, part of the Oktoberfest menu at Rock City.* Name: Kim Jackson
* Job title: Special events director
* Location: Rock City
* First job: Professional acting in Los Angeles
* Best part of the job: "Hands down, my favorite part of my job is working with local artists, musicians and performers, giving them opportunities that are unique. For a lot of them, it's their first professional paying job. I get to work with a lot of the younger performing artists in town. I get to work with different bands and individual musicians. For the most part, the bands we use are local, Chattanooga bands. We do have a couple events throughout the year, such as a German event, so I do have do go outside Chattanooga to find enough oompah music. My second favorite part of my job is getting to identify organizations and nonprofits that would sit well as community partners. It's a great way for Rock City to reach out to folks who are doing great things in our community."
* Worst part of the job: "Being a creative person, my least favorite part of my job is the business side of things. I naturally want to think about things from a creative standpoint. Knowing that I have to spend at least half of my time thinking about it with a smart business head has been the biggest challenge. I don't know if it's the worst part, but it definitely brings things back down to Earth."
* What she's learned: "It was a big transition for me to come by being in a creative performance process full time to going to a job where I have a title and people that rely on me. I'm part of a working business now. Through that process, I've learned that my strengths as a creative person, I can bring anywhere. I can enhance anything I'm doing with those strengths."
-- Contact Holly Leber at hleber@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/hollyleber.