Force 5 Culture

Deb DeFreeuw works as creative director, a.k.a. the head right brainer and general partner, of Force 5. She graduated from the Kendall College of Art and Design with a bachelor's in fine arts/advertising. Her entrée into the ad world began at a regional agency where she held such titles as art director in traditional media and director of new media. During her 12 years there, her brainchildren included projects for Damon Corporation and Teachers Credit Union. With impressive experience under her belt, Deb set out on her own to create Wild Fire Media, specializing in electronic marketing communications. After three years, Wild Fire merged with Visions to form what is now Force 5.

David Morgan is the executive producer, general partner and left-brain (with a touch of right brain for good measure) head honcho for Force 5. He graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in education, majoring in radio and television, and received his master's degree from the University of Notre Dame in communication arts. Prior to starting Visions in 1986, he was director of media development for Bayer Inc. In that role, his staff of 12 was responsible for over 300 video projects, training presentations, annual reports and live events. At Visions, David was involved in the early stages of interactive training, formulating laser discs for emergency room and intensive room personnel. Visions gained a national reputation for its production of video walls for such clients as the Federal Aviation Administration. David's FAA programs were highlighted at the Paris, Farnborough and Singapore Air Shows for several years. Not too shabby, huh? After 16 years of production experience, he and Deb cooked up Force 5 and the rest is history.

Nevin McElwrath, media producer, was the owner of NFX Media before we brought him aboard. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Art with an A.A.S. in multimedia production. He has experience in visual design for print and web, as well as 3D animation and video production. In other words, he can create some wicked web experiences!

Jason Stratton, Account Strategist, has over 15 years of sales and marketing experience, along with a degree from Western Michigan University. While he enjoys working with an array of clients, he has a firm foundation in destination marketing thanks to his years spent working within ski resorts. (Yes, he assures us he spent time in the office and not just on the slopes.) He has spent a great deal of time swishing down the slopes, having skied before he could even walk. He first strapped on the skis at nine months of age! When he’s not working (or skiing) he can be found outdoors camping, biking, BBQing or just relaxing.

Christian Mattix, Web Application Developer and Network Administrator, has a degree in computer science and a minor in English from Purdue University. Talk about left meets right brain! He interned with Microsoft and has worked with a variety of companies, including small start-ups, medical centers and Purdue University’s College of Education. Through his experience he has developed an intranet search engine for arbitrary, unstructured data types and files; a retail and marketing management program for a mid-size grocery retailer; an artificial intelligence based expert system that handles process automation and information flow; and interfaces and applications that interact with electronic medical record systems. Aside from his nerdy nature, he enjoys traveling, photography, the outdoors and spending time with his family. Interesting fact: he fenced competitively for Purdue. En garde!