About Specialized
Our extensive background includes the management of projects ranging from small, intimate business meetings to highly visible community events to large scale group tours. We partner with our clients to turn their initial ideas into memorable experiences through strategic concepts, top level planning, flawless execution, on-site coordination and detailed follow up.
In 2008, Amanda Gow and Kim Thompson merged their small event management firm with Specialized and are now the owners.
Amanda Gow
Born and raised in Bend, Oregon, Amanda Gow graduated from Bend Senior High and then went on to the University Of Oregon where she obtained a degree in International Business. While at the University of Oregon Amanda studied abroad in Northern Italy, which sparked a passion for travel and a thirst for knowledge that continues today.
After graduation Amanda returned to Bend to be close to her friends and family and spent her first post graduation year at a research firm as an Executive Assistant after which Amanda decided to delve further into the financial world and began working for a Commodity Brokerage firm. Within a year Amanda had obtained her Series 3 Brokers License with the CFTC. After deciding that she needed a more creative outlet that would still allow her to utilize her Business and Financial background Amanda went into the Event Management business with her best friend Kim Thompson.
In Amanda’s limited spare time she enjoys traveling, volunteering, running, and yoga.
Kim Thompson
Kim Thompson was most recently the Senior Development Manager at the High Desert Museum in charge of all the Museum’s special events. At the Museum she worked with staff and volunteers to reformat events for maximum return on investment, to appeal to new audiences, and create an unique social atmosphere. Prior to the Museum, Kim was a Development Associate at the Pacific Forest Trust in San Francisco. There she was responsible for board meetings, donor relations, and special events.
As a fourth generation Bendite, she soon felt the pull back to Central Oregon. Working at the Museum greatly broadened her event management experience, managing events smaller donor events to one of the largest Non-Profit Special Events in Eastern Oregon- High Desert Rendezvous.
Kim is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oregon in Political Science and History with a minor in German Studies. At UO she was a member of the International Resource Center Advisory Board, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a peer advisor, and studied in Tuebingen, Germany.