Diane goes over a client’s contract to make sure every detail is right.
Diane Gawey-Riley, our new event and sales manager, has a pretty diverse resume. Her background includes hotel and event-planning work, of course — she worked for the Ambassador Hotel for several years and was sales director at the McBirney Mansion for five years — but she has also produced plays for Shakespeare in the Park, sold Andy Warhol paintings, acted in movies (she played Ann Jones in Gary Busey’s 2003 film The Prize Fighter), and helped market the Blue Yonder Films production Chillicothe at the Sundance Festival.
Diane has “a passion for old, historic properties,” she says. In fact, the first time she met Campbell Hotel co-owner Aaron Meek was during a hardhat tour of the building while it was undergoing restoration work.
Diane is a lifelong Tulsan, but when art dealer Stuart Bird invited her to Los Angeles to sell paintings, she just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“We rented our home and drove to L.A. with my dog, Roadie, on my lap,” she said.
After Bird passed away, Diane; her husband, a musician whose old band now tours with Leon Russell; and the well-traveled Roadie all returned to Tulsa, where she went to work at the McBirney Mansion.
Diane’s love of historic Tulsa properties isn’t confined to the workplace; she lives in Bob Wills’ old house and has a condo at the Sophian Plaza.
When she isn’t helping guests arrange weddings, fundraisers or other special events here at the Campbell, Diane still sells Warhols at the Chelsea Gallery on Cherry Street and serves on the branding committee for Tulsa’s new Route 66 Task Force.
She also laughs a lot — often at her own expense — and has been known to make mad dashes through unexpected summer storms just to enjoy the rain in her hair. We’re having a lot of fun working with her, and we’re sure you will, too. To arrange your special event at The Campbell Hotel, call us at (918) 744-5500 and ask for Diane or e-mail her at eventmgr (at) thecampbellhotel (dot) com.
To learn more about The Campbell Hotel, visit us online at www.thecampbellhotel.com.