Local talent to emcee concerts and events in Fishers.

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing
Photographer / Brian Brosmer

Danielle DeCapua was vacationing in Florida when her mom told her of an internship that suited her perfectly — spending the summer emceeing concerts and other events in and around Fishers. The position is called “The Face of Fishers,” the town’s Parks & Recreation department created the position and invited graduating high school seniors and current college students to apply.

DeCapua, along with 75 other hopefuls, applied. Jordan Patterson, Fishers Parks & Rec events manager, says the creative entries he received were wildly entertaining.

“One guy did a whole “Mission Impossible” thing. Another filmed part of his interview in the library, which was corny but funny. A third entrant wrote and performed her own song,” Patterson says. “We wanted the videos to show liveliness and highlight characteristics that made them stand out.”

DeCapua first took an interest in mass communications during her senior year of high school when she dropped a European history course she found boring and in its place signed up for a semester-long “Radio and TV” class. Although she was initially unimpressed, after landing her own radio show where she got to interview the principal and athletic director, she was hooked. She now studies at Purdue University where she runs different contests and promotions during timeouts and breaks at student athletic events.

“I’ll never forget the sold-out men’s basketball game when Purdue played Minnesota,” DeCapua says. “I was in front of thousands of people in Mackey Arena, and I couldn’t hear through my ear piece because the crowd was so loud.”

She winged it and had a blast.

Ultimately, DeCapua’s experience won her the coveted title of the Face of Fishers. Her connection to the town was also a plus as her family has been Fishers residents for seven years. Though DeCapua is the face, she will be in the company of other “Fisher faces” as a four-member, summer intern “street team” will join her to help with promotions and social media. These members include Madison Case, Linda Chang Kong, Chris Zander and Daniel Nix.

“This will be like a band, in a way, with Danielle acting as the lead singer and the other members backing her up,” explains Tony Elliott, director of Fishers Parks & Rec. “We call it a team for a reason. Some of them will concentrate on social media, others will work at tents and booths, some will be engaging the crowd with giveaways or interviews.”

Elliott notes that for a long time, Fishers Parks & Rec used a hodgepodge of emcees for their concerts, and that’s something they want to change.

“[The Face of Fishers will provide] a more consistent face — someone who can represent the city with that young, vibrant, smart, entrepreneurial spirit we talk about all the time,” says Elliott, who notes that in the past year, Fishers Parks & Rec has focused on becoming more involved with area schools and universities. “We created [the Face of Fishers] to give our students an opportunity to own this city.”

Following graduation, DeCapua plans to pursue a career in either sports broadcasting or television hosting.

“I’ve always loved sports, but I really love to cook, too, so it would be fun to host a show on the food network or something,” DeCapua says. “We’ll see where life takes me.”

For the next several months, at least, it will take her to the streets of Fishers.

“We’ll host a wide variety of events, including our Tuesday and Friday concerts, Monsoon Madness Mud Day, farmer’s market specialty days and the Jaws beach party in July,” Patterson says. “At each event, the Face of Fishers team will be out front for us.”

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