Staff

Robert Underwood

General Manager

Favorite Artist/Band: Dave Matthews Band
Favorite Food: "Anything prepared with love by other people."
Favorite Color: Green

Rob joined Wings Event Center in 2011 after serving as the Food and Beverage Director at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. After growing up in Traverse city, he attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he learned to make a mean Philly cheesesteak. He now has six children, and resides in Kalamazoo with his wife. He has a mad obsession with Dave Matthews Band, and if you don't believe it, ask him about his tattoo. Rob's favorite part of working at Wings is "bringing back quality entertainment to Kalamazoo."

Brad VandenBerg

Managing Director, Stadium Management Corporation
Vice President Business Development, Greenleaf Hospitality Group

Cheryl Pickett

Special Events Manager

Favorite Artist/Band: Lauren Daigle
Favorite Food: Do I have to choose one? I love it ALL.
Favorite Color: Green

Cheryl joined the Wings Event Center team in the fall of 2021 during the height of a busy event season. Prior to taking on the role of Special Events Manager here, Cheryl worked for and helped organize the Kalamazoo Marathon and Borgess Run. As a WMU graduate, her ties to Kalamazoo run strong. Cheryl enjoys that she gets to work with so many different events/groups and great people from around our community here at WEC.

Mandall Lewis

Food & Beverage Manager

Favorite Artist/Band: Linkin Park
Favorite Food: A very well cooked steak
Favorite Color: Any darker colors

Mandall starting working at Wings Event Center in the summer of 2021. Born and raised in Michigan, Mandall has worn many hats throughout his life including, but not limited to, Concessions Manager for the Portland Trail Blazers and The Portland Winterhawks, Security Manager, First Responder Firefighter, and Canyon Search and Rescue during his time living near the Grand Canyon, and he also was a part of a movie and in a few T.V shows and pilot series while living in Portland, OR. These days, Mandall enjoys spending time at LFG, an awesome retro gaming bar in downtown Kalamazoo. When asked what his favorite part of working at WEC is, he said, " I am a people person. I love the energy I get from the guests who walk our halls, the teams that come through from different events, and the people I work alongside with. It's a big family environment here."

Jessica Bray

Ticket Office Manager

Favorite Artist/Band: Twiztid and Ice Nine Kills
Favorite Food: Chicken and Broccoli
Favorite Color: Green

Jessica started her journey at Wings Event Center working in the Ticket Office and quickly was promoted to Manager during the 2021-22 Event Season. Prior to working at WEC, Jessica spent time living in Jamaica, and was also the Venue Manager at Escapology. A few fun facts about Jessica is that penguin from Batman is her favorite villain, and hockey is her favorite sport - A perfect fit as Wings Event Center is home to the Kalamazoo Wings!

Jeff Townsend

Operations Manager

Favorite Artist/Band: Toto
Favorite Food: Seafood
Favorite Color: Blue

Jeff has be an integral part of the Wings Event Center team for several years and took on the role as Operations Manager in January of 2022. Providing a safe & enjoyable place to attend events and to work at is what Jeff enjoys most about working at WEC. A fun fact about Jeff is that at one time he was a SCUBA Instructor and traveled the Caribbean/Bahamas.