There are all kinds of ways to get someone’s attention.

 

In 1997, Rebecca Bonnevier used a pizza to get noticed. Her boldness and creativity led to a very successful, 25-year (and counting) career in a male-dominated field.

 

Rebecca and her husband, Ernie, who is from Mooringsport (and to whom Rebecca often refers to as “My Smokin’ Hot Husband”), had moved back to the Shreveport-Bossier City area from Pennsylvania, Rebecca’s home state.

 

One day, Ernie told Rebecca about a new arena being built in Bossier, and that there was a job opening for a marketing director.

 

“I called over there and they said they didn’t know if they were taking any more applications because they already had a lot of applications,” Rebecca remembered. “I got off the phone and said, ‘Man, that’s something I would really love.’ I looked at my watch, and it was 11:30. I got in my car, drove to Pizza Hut, and got a large pepperoni pizza. I drove to their office, knocked on the door, went in, and said, ‘I brought you a nice, hot, pepperoni pizza for lunch if you’re interested. And by the way, here’s my resume’.'”

 

Score one for The Hut.

 

“It got me the interview and it got me the job.”

 

Rebecca is now General Manager of Brookshire Grocery Arena (BGA), a 14,000-seat venue which hosts some of the country’s biggest entertainment acts. She told me her story over lunch at the now-closed Twisted Root Burger Company on Line Avenue in Shreveport.

 

ASM Global, the management company for which Rebecca has worked her entire entertainment career, has some 350 arenas around the world. Rebecca estimates less than 10 of those arenas have female general managers, including herself. That she is one of them is impressive to others, but Rebecca refuses to pat herself on the back.

 

“I feel God will reward me and I don’t need to say things to myself because I don’t want to become big-headed or anything. I am just grateful for the opportunities I have.”

 

Those opportunities began when, after graduating from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, Rebecca went to work managing a kite shop, which included handling its marketing and public relations. She met Ernie at a gym. He was in town trying to make it as a semi-professional football player. After dating four years, they got married, and lived in Pennsylvania seven years before moving back south to be closer to Ernie’s daughters. After returning to northwest Louisiana, Rebecca had a couple of different jobs before finding her happy place.

 

“I was working at a retirement home, and I was sad because everybody I was talking with was losing their houses — they had to give up their independence — so they would be sad. I was getting so depressed. I wanted to work somewhere where there was Mickey Mouse, and I wanted to do something that brings people joy. I allow myself to feel so much of other people’s pain. It was every day, and I just got so depressed.”

 

Rebecca worked as the arena’s (Bossier City Arena, CenturyTel Center, CenturyLink Center) marketing director for five years. But on a visit back home, she stumbled across an opportunity to further her career and be closer to her aging parents. For 10 years, Rebecca was general manager of an arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

 

But after a decade, she and Ernie had grandkids in Shreveport-Bossier and did not want to be so far from them.

 

“We had been praying about it and asking God to make a way for us to be closer to our grandchildren.”

 

Rebecca didn’t think the GM of the Bossier arena would be leaving any time soon, so she interviewed for jobs at other arenas within driving distance of Shreveport-Bossier.

 

Then one day, she got a call.

 

“It was corporate. They said, ‘Would you be interested in Bossier City?'”

 

It’s here when Rebecca starts crying, the first of a few times tears flowed during our conversation.

 

“God is so good. He didn’t just put me back in the state, he put me in the city where my grandkids were.”

 

By now, you may have noticed Rebecca often speaks of God. She is a strong person of faith — a faith developed in her mid-20’s.

 

“When my husband and I were dating, I remember my grandmother saying one day, ‘My church is having a bible study. Would you like to come?’ . . . . That changed my life. That brought me into such a deep faith. There have been so many times in my life (when I’ve gone through) hard, difficult things. But it was the faith I was able to establish back then (that I relied on.) That’s when my relationship with Christ became so real.”

 

Rebecca is in her ninth year running BGA. Some nights, she’s in her office  until 11 o’clock. Whenever the arena hosts an event (usually weekend nights), Rebecca is there. Hard work and long hours have led to her success, but the daughter of a lab technician (mother) and an electrician (father) has had to prove herself throughout the years — especially to the opposite sex.

 

“Times are different today than they were a few years ago. Sometimes I had to talk like a man to be able to sit at a table, and that meant sometimes using words that are not so pretty. But I had to show them I wasn’t a wimpy girl who couldn’t handle sitting at the table. Now, as I’m aging (she recently turned 57 years old), I feel like it’s not as attractive to use those kind of words. So, I’ve been training myself to not let them fly.”

 

By the nature of what she does, Rebecca has rubbed shoulders with some big-time performers, including James Taylor, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney.

 

“He (McCartney) doesn’t take a lot of pictures with a lot of people . . . . It was arranged for me to meet him and get a picture taken. It was me, my boss, and one or two other people. We were getting ready to get our picture taken and I was very nervous. He said, ‘Come on!’ and told me to get right next to him. I was standing away a little bit because I was nervous. He  was like, ‘A little closer. A little closer.’ I moved over a little bit and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ He reached over, grabbed my hand, and pulled me close. In the picture, you can see him holding my hand. I keep telling everyone that song I Want to Hold Your Hand  is about me.”

 

After a good laugh, I asked Rebecca my final question. As always, what is it about your story that can be an inspiration to others?

 

“Faith in God, and perseverance. I think people want to give up sometimes. Giving up can mean switching jobs. I’m not saying there’s never a time somebody might switch, but in my career and in my marriage and family, I’ve gone through some really stinky periods. I have a strong faith in God, and I get my strength from him. Even though there are some days I get up and don’t want to go, I persevere. I never give up . . . . I’m not a sprinter, but I’m a long-distance runner.”

 

Do you know someone who has a story to tell? Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com