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Meet Our Team

Our people are the foundation of everything we do with and for our clients. What unites us all is our passion for serving others, which is what we do each and every day.

Executive Operations Event Planners Culinary Team Hall Managers

Executive Operations

  • Chuck McHale

    President

    Chuck began his career with the family grocery business when he was 13 years old as a bagger and clean-up person. He continued to work in many different areas and departments throughout high school and college. Chuck assumed management responsibilities after his father’s passing. Over the years, Chuck changed the focus of the family business from a retail food market to off-premise catering and ultimately to on- and off-premise catering, currently operating seven of the area’s finest wedding reception venues.

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  • Megan Cassiere

    Vice President | Event Planner – Drees Pavilion, Greenacres and Water’s Edge

    Megan discovered her love for the hospitality industry when she began her career at McHale’s as an Event Planner in 2008. With a number of successes and a strong work ethic, Megan was soon promoted to the Sales Manager position. After seven years with McHale’s she was offered a Private Events Director position for a prestigious Country Club in Wilmington, NC.

    Thankfully, Megan returned to the Northern Kentucky Area and to McHales! 

    “Megan was kind, professional, and timely! She made sure everything was perfect!” – Katie, Bride

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  • Lisa Carter

    Vice President of Facilities & Finance

    Lisa’s career with the McHale’s family began in 1986 while pursuing degrees in business administration and marketing. In 1991, she accepted Chuck McHale’s challenge to help him expand the business into the wedding industry. Lisa has developed a diverse background in the industry from both a business aspect and hands-on in the kitchen and with banquet venues.

    She has done it all in her 34 years with McHales!

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  • Jeremy Emmanuel

    General Manager

    Jeremy started working with McHale’s on New Year’s Eve in 2015. He created our systems for all off-premise events and coordinated every event that was not at a facility we own or operate for a couple years. He then became hall manager at the Grand Facility. This allowed him to focus on client satisfaction while still managing staff and all facility needs.

    He was recently promoted to General Manager, allowing him to make sure needs are met for clients and staff at all facilities. He has been with McHale’s for 10 years.

    “Jeremy was fantastic! He attended to every need we had and anticipated things that I would have overlooked.” – Mary, Bride

     

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  • Lindsay Morris

    Sales Manager | Event Planner

    Lindsay has been with McHale’s since November of 2015. She has been in the wedding planning business for 20 years. Lindsay graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in theatre and dance. She started out in the business in food and beverage. Once she found her way in the event planning side of events, she fell in love with it. Lindsay loves getting to know her clients on a personal level to make their events more meaningful and memorable.

    “Lindsay Morris truly help make our wedding day very special and memorable.” – Ashley, Bride

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  • Aaron Clayton

    Human Resources
    Aaron has been with McHale’s since March 2016. He started as a dishwasher, trained as a server, and quickly advanced to Banquet and Hall Manager at The Grand. Today, Aaron serves as the HR Manager, overseeing hiring, scheduling, and employee relations for a team of over 200 part-time staff across multiple venues.
    He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in December 2021 and completed his Master’s in Business Administration at Northern Kentucky University in December 2023.
    “Aaron is absolutely the person who made the night! He made sure everything ran so smooth and I couldn’t have had my perfect night without him!” – Kara, Bride
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  • Millie Woolwine

    Personnel Manager

    Millie has been in the wedding industry for over 45 years! She started on organ and piano, which led to her love for flowers, making cakes and onto being a server/bartender part time at McHale’s. Millie was then asked to take over the role of hall manager at the Grand, and 1.5 years later, became personnel manager.

    She loves her staff and tries to do anything to make it the easiest possible work scenario they could ask for.

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Event Planners

  • Loren Wehrley

    Event Planner – The Cincinnati Club

    Loren has been in the hospitality industry for 10 years and 6 of those years have been with McHales. In 2017 she attended Cincinnati State Technical and Community College where she pursued a degree in Hospitality Management and found a passion for the Event Planning side of the industry.

    She currently manages events at The Cincinnati Club and can’t wait to make your dream day come true!

    “Our experience at The Cincinnati Club for my daughter’s wedding was nothing short of spectacular. From the very first day, our event planner, Loren, exemplified excellence.” – Gerry, Mother of the Bride

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  • Tessie Warwick

    Event Planner – The Grand & Pinnacle Ballrooms

    Tessie started working in the catering business 11 years ago. She spent 8 years with a very well-known caterer in the Greater Cincinnati area as a Sous Chef. During that time, she earned a culinary degree and later went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from Northern Kentucky University. She then decided to jump into the front of house operations and found her place with McHale’s.

    Tessie joined McHale’s as the Hall Manager of the Grand and Pinnacle Ballrooms, executing flawless events every weekend. After a few years, it was time to start a family. Tessie and her husband were blessed with a beautiful baby girl! Before returning to work, Tessie got the call to become an event planner for McHale’s, which she happily accepted. Tessie knows weddings and events inside and out and she is happy to help you plan your special occasion!

    “We fell in love with the space, but Tessie is the real reason we went with the grand ballroom. She is amazing and she made our day so special because she genuinely cared about us and our day. She’s amazing.” – Grace, Bride

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  • Brent Baker

    Event Planner – The Cincinnati Club

    Brent has worked off and on in the planning business for about 22 years, 10 of those being with McHale’s. In addition to planning, she worked at pet stores for a total of 13 years and owned her own business for 5 years.

    Brent loves all kinds of food: American, Thai, Korean, Indian and most everything in between. She enjoys staying busy, helping people and being in nature. She is excited to work with you at the Cincinnati Club!

    “Brent was responsive and organized and everything she discussed happened just as promised. We’d specifically work here again because of her leadership and organization.” – Christian, Bride

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Culinary Team

  • Chris Weist

    Executive Chef

    Chef Chris, a native of Cincinnati, cut his culinary teeth at age 16, learning to cook steaks to temperature at a local restaurant. He then went on to graduate from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, worked under talented chefs from New York to California and spent time in Aspen and The Big Island of Hawaii.

    Chris has a great working knowledge of many types of cuisine and varied cooking techniques. Among his many accomplishments is cooking alongside Emeril Lagasse in Seymour, Indiana for his Food Network program “Kick your School Lunch Up a Notch.”

    Chris lived in Hawaii for two years, allowing him to get in touch with exotic ingredients that found their way to the back door on a daily basis, including fresh fruits and vegetables and, of course, the finest seafood, which he caught and cooked.

    For the last 16 years, Chris has been honing his skills at McHale’s, overseeing consistently delivered chef crafted cuisine at our venues and events.

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  • Marley Fuller

    Sous Chef

    Marley has been an integral part of McHale’s for nearly two decades. Her journey with the company began 18 years ago in 2007 when she started working as dishwasher. Through hard work and dedication, Marley quickly worked her way up to a server, discovering a passion for the art of food along the way.

    In 2009, Marley attended the University of Sullivan in Louisville, Kentucky, to refine her skills and deepen her knowledge of food and flavors. She worked two casual fine dining restaurants while enrolled at Sullivan and returned to Northern Kentucky on the weekends to work with McHale’s.

    Upon her return to NKY, she onboarded full time to McHale’s, stepping into the role of event chef and, shortly after, executive sous chef. Her dedication to quality and creativity has made her the cornerstone of the kitchen ever since and continues to thrive.

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  • Brittany Clarke

    Venue Chef, Cincinnati Club

    Brittany grew up in a military home moving around a lot; she lived in California, Washington, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

    Brittany attended Westmoreland Community College in Pennsylvania, and she is the mother of two and enjoys cooking for large groups of people.

    Brittany has been a McHale’s team member for 16 years!

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  • James Huelsman

    Venue Chef, Cincinnati Club

    James has cooked professionally for over 30 years. He has been in and around great kitchens his entire life. James has had a lifelong passion for great food. His family is full of great cooks.

    McHale’s has enjoyed James’ cooking for over 11 years.

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  • Brian Warwick

    Venue Chef, The Grand

    Brian graduated from the Cincinnati State Culinary Program in 2011. He worked in various downtown Cincinnati restaurants for about two years honing his skills to enable him to land his first executive chef position in 2013 at the Dearborn Country Club. He worked there for three years.

    In 2016, he decided to move into catering and has been active in that field ever since.

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  • Jackie Newman

    Venue Chef, Drees Pavilion

    Jackie was born in Chicago, but due to his dad’s job, he and his family moved to many different states, including Texas, Arizona and Washington. At 15, Jackie started as a dishwasher at a café in Illinois. Due to his hard work ethic and drive, he worked his way up through the ranks. During this journey, he was fortunate enough to work with and learn from many culinary mentors. Jackie became an executive chef of a boutique hotel in Kentucky, creating many delicious house dishes, and he met many exciting guests.

    In 2003, Jackie moved to Northern Kentucky and worked at various restaurants in and around Mainstrausse. Jackie became the executive chef and director of food and beverage full service for Holiday Inn. Jackie met his wife there, and the opportunity to come work for McHale’s opened. Since 2017, he has been happy to call McHale’s his home, and he loves that he can do what he loves to do every day.

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  • James Caldwell

    Chef

    James has worked in kitchens for almost 20 years. Before he worked for McHale’s, he worked for Funky’s Catering as a sous chef. James has been doing event based catering for about 7+ years now.

    In his free time he enjoys gardening.

     

     

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  • Brad Taylor

    Chef

    Brad brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, complemented by a background in personal banking.

    Outside of work, he is an animal lover with a special interest in reptiles and enjoys spending his free time fishing with his beloved dog by his side.

    Brad has been with McHale’s for 11 years.

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Hall Managers

  • Phyllis Davis

    Drees Pavilion Hall Manager

    Phyllis has been catering to brides for over 30 years! As an original employee of the Town and Country Banquet Center, she was excited to join the McHale’s team in May 2002 when it became the Gardens of Park Hills. Phyllis has worn many hats throughout her career, filling many roles, from banquet manager to personnel manager to hall manager. Her current role as hall manager has proven to be a great asset to McHale’s, facilitating the smooth operation of flawless events.

    “The staff and servers at McHale’s are incredible. Phyllis is an absolute doll! And so attentive! She made sure we were well taken care of!” – Julie, Bride

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  • Lauren Disibio

    Co-Hall Manager, Grand Ballroom

    With six years of experience in the catering industry and a background managing a lively Italian restaurant, Lauren brings both flavor and finesse to every event.

    Known for always being the one to coordinate parties among friends and family, it’s no surprise that she found her calling in the wedding business—though she never saw it coming. Funny how life has a way of serving up the unexpected!

    “The day of our wedding ran perfectly thanks to Lauren and Erin. They stayed on top of everything and it ran so smoothly. They also switched our ceremony to reception so easily and brought our vision to life. It was perfect in every way.” – Hannah, Bride

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  • Jason Freeman

    Co-Hall Manager, Cincinnati Club

    Jason joined the McHale’s team in 2020, starting as a server at 17 and working his way up to co-Hall Manager at the Cincinnati Club. Along the way, he’s supported events at The Grand and Pinnacle Ballroom, all while earning his Associate of Science degree and recently diving into real estate on the side.

    He values the strong relationships he’s built at McHale’s and loves being part of moments that make people smile. Outside of work, you’ll find him staying active, exploring new restaurants, catching live music, and chatting about sports, travel, or food.

    “The staff, including Loren, Jeannie, and Jason, were all incredibly professional, attentive, and a pleasure to work with, ensuring our day went seamlessly.” – Louise, Bride

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  • Erin Kirry

    Co-Hall Manager, Grand Ballroom

    Erin graduated from University of Cincinnati with a bachelors in Business Management. She has been in the event industry for over 12 years and is currently the Hall Manager at The Grand Ballroom.

    Erin is a huge animal lover and has one adopted son!

    “The day of our wedding ran perfectly thanks to Lauren and Erin. They stayed on top of everything and it ran so smoothly. They also switched our ceremony to reception so easily and brought our vision to life. It was perfect in every way.” – Hannah, Bride

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  • Jeannie Wirth

    Co-Hall Manager, Cincinnati Club

    Jeannie started in the banquet and catering business when she was just 14 years old working for Davis Catering at The Cincinnati Club. When McHale’s acquired The Cincinnati Club, Jeannie decided to come to work for McHale’s.

    She has become a strong member of our staff and says she the last 7 years working for McHale’s has been wonderful!

    “Special recognition goes to Jeannie and Jason, whose exceptional service from the rehearsal to the wedding day was truly unbelievable. Their attention to detail and commitment ensured that everything flowed seamlessly.” – Gerry, Mother of the Bride

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