Name
Kate Gassman
Age
Under 40
Company/Organization
The Loading Dock
What Does Your Company/Organization Do?
Event Venue and Bar/Restaurant
Education
BA – English Central Michigan University
Accomplishments
Mom of 2 Business Manager of The Loading Dock (plus creator of the menu, recipes, and signature cocktails, and staff manager/trainer for 28 people) Host and producer of The Green Room Podcast, now in Season 2 with advertising sales Editor of Berrien County Record, also successfully implementing intern program Owner Gravity Productions Former Director and Part Owner of Friday Football Tailgate, now in Season 3 Board Secretary Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra Member Buchanan Business Boosters Wedding officiant Successfully transitioned half-million dollar tech company to new ownership Planned and executed technical production for several annual national cheer competitions with 60,000+ attendees Painted stripes and asphalt patched the parking lot Drive truck and trailer Scissor lift operator Ran international half marathon
What else do you hope to accomplish by the age of 40?
Grow The Green Room podcast to have its own staff and budget Fill 2027 schedule and beyond with national touring acts for The Loading Dock Complete Phase 2 at The Loading Dock: adding second entrance, building lean-to for hosting outdoor events, adding rooftop bar, additional parking lot. Begin planning for phase 3: condos Host Decacentennial party for Clark Equipment in 2027 Start nonprofit for Clark Equipment history and museum Get a dog 🙂 Go to Hawaii Take a vacation
Current City
Buchanan
Place You Were Born
Tandala, Zaire, Africa
What was your first job?
Teaching Ballroom Dance lessons when I was 16
What’s the best advice you ever got?
If someone treats you like you don’t matter, they shouldn’t matter to you.
Who inspires you most?
Anyone who is unbothered by public opinion and unapologetic about being themselves, but still kind.
That one thing about you we’d be most surprised to learn.
I’ve lived a lot of lives before this one. Former assistant director of a nonprofit, hunter, author, world traveler, singer, dancer, artist, cook, tattoos, piercings, motorcyclist, bouncer, camping and canoeing. Oh, and my real name isn’t Kate. It’s Lydia.
What do you love to do in your downtime?
Nap. I’m a champion napper. I can nap under a stage, behind an 18″ subwoofer, after a full cup of coffee or a RedBull, on the floor at the airport, on the field at Notre Dame Stadium, and curled up in an armchair with kids causing a ruckus akin to WW3.
What book are you reading now?
Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro by Dean Nelson
Volunteer activity you love the most.
Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra Board Secretary
What motivates you to give back to your community?
Young people. My staff and the members of our community who truly care about others are getting younger and younger but their passion doesn’t waiver. I hope they hang on to that inspiration as they get older and use it to continue making our world a better place. And celebrities who are genuinely kind. Jon Bon Jovi, Tom Hanks, Kate Middleton. They have no reason to be, yet they eschew traditional celebrity public profiles in favor of kindness.
What Superpower would you most love to have?
I’ve always wanted to fly.
What would you like to leave behind as your legacy once you are gone?
Two girls who don’t quit and live as fully and joyfully as possible because someone demonstrated it was possible to live that way.
What does the honor of being named to the 40 Under 40 most mean to you?
It never occurred to me that a task being hard meant it wasn’t worth doing, or that I couldn’t do it. It just meant I had to work harder. And at times it has been very, very hard. This is a small bit of evidence that the hard work might have turned into something.
