The 25th Anniversary of Rick Hutton’s 25th Birthday

People of Light:  If you’re looking for someone to look up to, I submit Rick Hutton for your approval.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being at Rick Hutton’s 50th birthday (ohdamn) I mean the 25th anniversary of Rick Hutton’s 25th birthday.

Let me just say that I had a freaking blast.  I was in the company of pretty amazing people – being in the company of truly awesome people gives me so much energy and happiness.  It also is pretty great to be around so many mothers and fathers of the entertainment lighting industry.

I have to tell you a little about this party…  What exactly would you expect at a party from someone who started and runs the most successful and high-quality gobo business in the world?  Yeah.  You’d expect it to be awesome.  This party was awesome.

If you don’t know who Rick Hutton is, you need to know Rick.  Rick is one of the coolest people I have ever met on planet Earth.  I met a few people on Venus, but typically they were made of viscous layers of sulfuric acid.  Definitely not as cool as Rick Hutton!  Rick is the owner of two very awesome businesses – InLight Gobos (@InLightGobos on Twitter, and facebook.com/InLightGobos) and Laser Surplus Sales, which is awesome if you’re a laser dork like me.

Rick has also become the first member of the Light Associated Media, LLC Board of Advisors.  That was my birthday present to Rick.  I feel so great that I have such a knowledgeable lumen scientist on the board!

Rick’s had all kinds of awesome in the lighting industry.  The lighting industry is partly what it is today because of Rick and the people that worked with Rick and the people Rick learned from early in the industry.  Rick was on the big Van Halen tour with the 1500 PAR cans that drove the ShowCo guys to develop the VL-0.  Rick also worked on the VL1, VL2 (my favorite), VL4, VL5 (for which he and some other great people won an Emmy), VL6, VL7, and other stuff that is so effing awesome and monumental that it just kinda still blows my mind.

Rick’s also just a great guy and friend.  Wherever Rick is, there is happy.  Whatever Rick does, it’s friendly.  He’s become a great friend.  I look up to Rick – as a budding laser nerd, I learn a lot from Rick.  Also, he has an awesome wife, Adriana – who is way more awesome than I can possibly describe.

The talented, beautiful, hilarious, awesome, smart, and sexy Mrs. Adriana Hutton (left):

Rick brings people together – here’s Richard Belliveau from High End Systems and Jim Bornhorst from PRG with Rick:

Here’s Rick and Dawn Crosby, a smokin’ awesome chica I met this weekend, from the initial days of Vari*Lite:

Perhaps one of my favorite pictures from that weekend – a large crowd of some of the most awesome people in all of entertainment lighting – from the left – Jim Bornhorst (PRG), Dawn Crosby, Rick Hutton, Tom Hough (White Rock Design), Richard Belliveau (High End Systems), Hunter MacIntosh (American Ballast), and John Covington (PRG):

Happy (belated) Birthday, brother.  I love you, dude!

Also – I NEVER get to be in pictures, I’ve always got a camera strapped to my face!  Here’s me and John Covington!  JOHN IS 150% AWESOME!

Me and Dr. Tom Hough, a general bad ass.  Hough, what the hell were we talking about?  It must have been hilarious!

Steve Janders and Kin Reid from the world famous ShowLasers:

Theresa and George Masek from Vari*Lite:

Chris and Scott Dopson from Gemini Lighting in Dallas:

Check out all of the pics I took from the party – in Gallery format!  Click an image, it’ll open up a full-size viewing!