“There’s no one better to create the themed entertainment industry’s most magical night of the year – the Thea Awards Gala on March 21 – than Phil Hettema of The Hettema Group,” said Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) president Steve Birket of Birket Engineering. “Phil is one of the top creative figures in themed entertainment and he is an active and valued leader within TEA. We’re thrilled. We know that we’re in good hands and can expect a show of the highest caliber.”
TEA announced that Phil Hettema with colleagues Tom Vannucci and Jeff Kurtti, all of The Hettema Group, will produce the 21st Annual Thea Awards Gala at Disneyland Resort on March 21, 2015.
Among the 16 Thea honorees for 2015 are Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios Florida (Thea Paragon Award); “it’s a small world,” Disneyland (Thea Classic Award); Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Zhuhai, China; the National 911 Memorial Museum, New York; and Wings of Time, Sentosa Island.
The Hettema Group is a world-class team of experience designers who have led a myriad of projects from initial concept to grand opening all over the globe. Phil Hettema, with his lauded 30-year legacy in themed entertainment, leads this award-winning team of artists, technicians and production experts. Projects include the High Roller observation wheel at The LINQ, Las Vegas; Dragons Wild Shooting at Lotte World, Beyond All Boundaries at the National World War II Museum, New Orleans; the USA Pavilion at Yeosu Expo 2012, and The One World Observatory in New York City.