Meet the Marlins: Melissa Miller, Office Manager

Have you ever wondered who is the brains behind Daily Marlin Fun, birthday and event planning, Theme Days, the 12 Days of Christmas, and more? Meet our Office Manager, Melissa!

What is your experience and background?

“I have been with Big Marlin Group since the beginning, and I worked with John, Jamie, Derek, and Ted for close to four years before that at another company, so I’ve been an office manager for almost 12 years now. Before that, I worked as a paint estimator for a commercial contractor, I did that for 11 years.”

What does your job entail?

“It involves HR, benefits, payroll, finances, paying the bills, and the fun. The birthdays, the event planning, food, snacks, office supplies, that kind of stuff. It’s a versatile role, I wear many hats.”

What is your favorite part about Big Marlin Group?

“I love to see everyone’s creativity and to see how this place has grown. They come to work here for one thing or one role, and they grow into something else, and I think that’s pretty cool to watch.”

What does a typical day look like in your role?

“Paying the bills, sending the bills, making sure all my spreadsheets are updated. I have about a million spreadsheets to keep updated every day. And make sure I’m not missing someone’s birthday. I constantly have these checklists and I have to make sure that I don’t miss someone’s birthday or anniversary coming up. I make lists and check them twice!”

So how do you stay organized?

“Tons of spreadsheets keep me organized, and checklists.”

What do you want people to know about you that they wouldn’t already know?

“I’m a big Kansas City Chiefs fan, and I’ve been going to Country Thunder for over 15 years now.

So in the spirit of Christmas, who is Marina the Mermaid? Did you come up with that?

“Instead of Elf on a Shelf, which everyone posts and participates in, I came up with Marina the Mermaid.”

“I found this mermaid barbie and combined it with the 12 days of Christmas, so she visits us for 12 days, gives gifts for 12 days, and causes parties and drinking and havoc in our office. She’s a little high maintenance mermaid but comes here to protect the Marlins and make sure they have fun.”

“My favorite Marina theme is when I take the Rose conference room and I make an underwater sea. I have this light that makes it look like the whole room is underwater, and I’ll hang her in a certain way, so it looks like she is swimming. So, if Marina gets homesick, she gets to go to her home away from home.”

“I’ve also found that the accessories need to be taken care of sooner than later, like the tiny beer mugs and beer cans that are part of the scenes. I’ll come up with ideas, and then I need to find the tiny beer cans, etc. to make it happen. Now I find myself regularly shopping in the Barbie aisle, looking for accessories.”

If you want to learn more about Melissa Miller, Marina the Mermaid, Big Marlin Group, the culture, or what makes us one of the best digital marketing agencies in the business, contact us today!