By Michelle Stecker

Contributing Writer

With energy, enthusiasm, creativity and a wealth of experience, Bobbi Topfer has envisioned and developed successful events for Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits for more than 25 years.

When she moved to Austin in 2003, Topfer applied and built on those talents with local corporate clients like Dell Computer and Motorola. She also put her unique signature on memorable and successful fundraising events for nonprofits in central Texas.

A coal-miner’s daughter from West Virginia, Topfer literally took to the sky as a stewardess for Eastern Airlines. Then, with a solid base of good secretarial skills, she said, she was able to leverage her talents on the ground. During her 20 years with Eastern Airlines, she did everything, including her stint as a stewardess, a customer service representative and time working in public relations, sales and marketing.

“It’s about building relationships and consistency,” Topfer said. “It’s like building a house; you develop a timeline; you build a core. Then you can handle anything.”

Topfer left Eastern Airlines in 1989 and applied her skill set to Fortune 500 company events. Clients included Conrad International Hotels (the Hilton Hotel chain), Sony Studios, Time-Warner and television game shows that included “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy”.

Topfer thought she had retired from her professional event planning and staging career when she moved to Austin seven years ago. But after her tour of the Seton Hospital neonatal intensive care unit in 2003, she was recruited to co-produce the Signature Chefs gala for the benefit of the March of Dimes. She has done the event for six years.

For the last five consecutive years, this Austin event has raised more money than any of the other 200 Signature Chef events nationwide, according to the March of Dimes Web site.

Going the extra mile, Topfer convinced the national MOD to let the money remain in Austin rather than be sent to the national fund. The money was used to fund a full-time position for a family support person for the neonatal intensive care unit at the Dell Children’s Medical Center. The MOD commitment was Topfer’s first philanthropic endeavor.

Topfer met Joe Long in 2003 and was drawn to his vision of building a cultural center that would provide a central venue for a broad array of artists. Through her involvement with the Long Center planning, she met Morton Topfer, a former vice-chairman of Dell Computers. The couple married in 2003.

Topfer admits she has a hard time sitting still. She wants to be doing something that will make a difference, not just for the beneficiary of an event, but for the attendees too, she said.

“Model, momentum, memory – these three words say it all for me,” said Topfer. “I try to create memories, not produce events.”

Topfer was solo chair for the opening event for the Long Center in 2008.

“One thing that sets us apart, that makes us stand out is the acoustics,” she said. “The Long Center’s Michael and Susan Dell Hall seats 2,400 people, yet it feels like a very intimate space due to the clarity of the acoustics. For example, there is no air conditioning noise because of the state-of-the-art cooling system design.”

“She’s a very optimistic, bubbly, upbeat person, and we are extremely fortunate to have her,” said Joe R. Long, namesake of the venue, along with his wife Teresa Lozano Long.

This year Topfer is co-chairing the second anniversary of the opening of the Long Center with Patti Huffines.

“The job is too much for one person,” Topfer said. “Patti’s experience is invaluable to me.”

The three components of the model she is using to make the second anniversary party happen are food, venue and music. Daryl Hall and John Oates will headline this year’s music event. Ticket prices range from $75 to $150. All tickets include entry to five after-parties held throughout the Long Center, where more complimentary live entertainment and food catered by the Four Seasons Austin and 34th Street Café will be provided.

“[Topfer makes] each step – the whole event process – fun, exciting, energizing and engaging,” said Cliff Redd, executive director of the Long Center. “She always has a great outcome.”

The theme for the Long Center’s second anniversary is “Shades of Purple,” and Topfer is a walking illustration of that theme. Dressed in black with strong purple accents that include a rhinestone-framed purple phone case, a large purple ring and a purple plastic snap-on watch, she is a visual symbol of the upcoming Long Center event.

Topfer’s strong belief in creating memories and not simply producing events gives her the focus, drive and confidence she needs to orchestrate her vision and the vision of all people involved in putting on the Long Center anniversary performances.

“She assembles an amazing team and takes the ‘team approach’ to all decisions to get the best possible outcome,” Redd said.

The flow of the event allows plenty of space for energy and fun.

“She just knows how to make an event flow,” Long said.

The realization of a successful event is to adhere to what has worked before. Having a solid model for how to construct and follow a timeline is the foundation that ensures successful execution of a vision. That often starts 18 months or more before the day of the event, says Topfer.

She has already begun to think about the third anniversary event. “I have a theme in mind,” she said.

But she is keeping that under wraps.

Regular and VIP tickets are still available for this Saturday’s event and can be purchased through the Long Center Web site at www.thelongcenter.com.

The performance begins at 8 p.m.