A message from our
fearless leader.
Scaling this company has helped me find such a profound sense of joy and purpose in my life. I’m more fulfilled than I could have ever imagined. Fulfillment doesn’t come from showing the world you’re successful. Fulfillment comes from an internal journey to find happiness by just BEING, and creating opportunity for others. To me, success is something that can’t be gained through an incessant craving for material things. Rather, success is something that comes with freedom, experiences, and falling in love with the process of learning, growing and contributing. It also comes from falling in love with yourself, and I don’t mean that smugly. I genuinely mean that we all need to appreciate the beauty, and the wonder, and the mystery of life, and the incredible abilities we have during our short human incarnation on this planet. What a beautiful world we have been born into. When you look at life that way, we’re all children playing on life’s playground. I love the quote “your success is someone else’s miracle.” You have the power to impact one life today. Smile.
Founder’s Message
Mission Statement
To create lifelong memories through celebration. Whether it’s a party, a fundraiser, or an annual conference, we facilitate genuine connection and transform lives.
Vision Statement
To be the world’s most innovative experience-creators. To spread compassion. To change lives.
WHAT WE DO
“When your guests are walking out to the parking lot, they won’t be talking about the chicken!”
-Jodi Goone
Learn More About Us
Utopia was founded in 2002 by Jodi Goone, a school teacher with a dream. She knew little about the entertainment industry, and had no experience in hiring, training, or managing a staff. But she had passion and she had a vision. Jodi was determined to make a difference in people’s lives—no different than the impact she made on her 2nd grade students.
Jodi wanted to bring a more interactive style of entertainment to the St. Louis area. She would tell her clients, “When your guests are walking out to the parking lot, they won’t be talking about the chicken! We’ll help you create memories that will last for a lifetime.”
Although now a much larger company than in those early days, Utopia is still run by her family according to the principles that she established—a value for relationships and a desire to create incredible experiences.
Since 2002, we’ve partnered with hundreds of families, businesses, and nonprofits. We’ve produced live, hybrid, and virtual events all over the country, and helped raise over $30 million for charities. We’ve worked every day to make a difference.
And while we still regularly do private parties and bar and bat mitzvahs, we’ve evolved into a full-service event and video production company, leveraging technology to connect people in meaningful ways. We have formed amazing partnerships with incredible organizations, and have overcome obstacles that seemed all but insurmountable even just a few years ago.
As our team has grown, so has our ability to add value, and today we offer a wide range of services, including video production, AV production, lighting, streaming, virtual and full live program design, and consultation.
One of the things that we pride ourselves most on is our ability to adapt. After all, embracing change is a big part of what got us to where we are today. We’re always looking for new ways to improve, and are committed to remaining at the forefront of creative innovation. We invite you to connect with us and allow us to help create your experience.
As we continue to grow, we continue to honor our founding principles. We lovingly refer to them as “Jodi’s Rules”.
Jodi’s Rules:
Take care of other people, and take care of each other.
Always go beyond expectations.
Prepare for the unexpected.
Be early.
Our Team of Professionals
Joey Goone
Get to know our president, Joey! Joey joined the team full-time in 2014, carrying on his Mom Jodi’s legacy, who started the company in…
Neal Goone
Father to Joey and our certified roadie, Neal has been involved with Utopia since the beginning. While his late wife Jodi started the company,…
David Webb
David is an experienced business professional and educator who is committed to helping businesses help the world. This commitment has taken him on various…
Chase Goone
Chase is our resident Chief morale officer. While he prefers to spend his days at home on the couch with his mom Stephanie, he…
Lachlan McArthur
Lachlan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but he moved to St. Louis in 2021. He originally joined Utopia as a part-time production roadie,…
Roe White
The man, the myth, the legend. The one that literally does it all. Even though Joey is the son of the company’s founders, Roe…
Jordi Stack
We found Jordi when we partnered with Mizzou’s Dance Marathon, MizzouThon. Jordi was one of the event planners and, after working with our team,…
Matt Goodman
Matt knows everything video. He began his career in Hollywood filming shows for ABC and The History Channel, and eventually brought his talent back…