Chad Harris has proven having fun and working are not mutually exclusive concepts. As an account supervisor for The Marlin Co., creator of satirical local newspaper the Fair City News and an improvisationalist, Harris has melded the serious with the comedic.
“I believe my multifaceted professional careers set me apart from many other young professionals,” says Harris. “I’ve been able to maintain my corporate position serving global companies well, while also operating my own successful LLC which has provided a foundation for comedy in Springfield area.”
Owner of CE Harris LLC, the company not only operates Fair City News – which exceeded 1 million annual views through online traffic and in print – but also is the force behind the Improvadors: a fusion-form improvisational comedy traveling company.
“My approach to life is to entertain: corporate or creative,” Harris says. “Whether delighting during a client presentation, exhilarating a live audience or tickling readers’ funny bones, I strive to provide unexpected and surprisingly pleasant results and lead others to do the same.”
In his professional career with local advertising agencies such as Ozark-based The Team, Springfield advertsing and communcations company Noble & Associates Inc., and currently with the Marlin Co., Harris has lead cross-functional teams featuring people of creative, culinary, digital, finance and media backgrounds to support the growth of companies such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks Coffee Co. and Tyson Foods. The designed strategies cross multiple media platforms.
“I found that Harris’ skills as a performer and writer by night were integrated into his success in the advertising profession by day,” says Leah Hamilton, executive director of the Springfield Regional Arts Council, who has worked with Harris both professionally and personally. “His proven leadership can be seen through his work with some of the nation’s largest brands via the nation’s most well respected ad agencies.”
Harris was recognized for his professional work, winning Addy awards in 2008, 2010 and 2011 from the American Advertising Federation of the Ozarks. His creative forays in The Skinny Improv and Fair City News also have been acclaimed locally by 417 Magazine and
SGFBlogs.com.
“I’ve been fortunate to receive multiple peer accolades over the years,” Harris says, when asked about his proudest professional accomplishment. “One personally satisfying display of corporate leadership came earlier this year when I captured a complex and abstract concept and communicated a visual strategy for Starbucks – one that now exists at the core of their selling approach.”
The go-to market strategy takes a different approah on the coffee chain’s retail business, Harris says.
Even with his dual careers, a wife and two children, Harris has still found time to become active in the community as a parent volunteer at Eugene Field Elementary, King’s Way United Methodist Church and a volunteer handyman at Lighthouse Child Family Development Center. Harris also is a member of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Springfield Business Network.
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