When Henry Ford Health was looking to plan a groundbreaking ceremony and community celebration for its “Destination: Grand” hospital expansion project in Detroit last September, it turned to Rock Events for help. For 20 years, Rock Events has planned and executed hundreds of gatherings for the Detroit-based Rock Family of Companies, and also been responsible for overseeing a collection of Rock-owned venues around the city of Detroit. Until recently, Rock Events only provided its planning expertise to internal clients. Now, its services are available to the public.
“Folks who have attended our events in the past have asked, ‘Who planned this?’” notes Rock Events CEO Andrea Gengler. “We’ve been asked, ‘When are you going to do events [for others]?’ And now we are.”
For Henry Ford Health, Rock Events assisted with just about every aspect of planning and executing the September celebration attended by hundreds of people, including government and business dignitaries and the news media. “Their incredible attention to detail—and not just an openness to feedback, but also a full embrace of the creative process—made our event a huge success,” says Henry Ford Health Executive Vice President and Chief Brand and Experience Officer Heather Geisler. “They troubleshot as needed, understood our vision and elevated it, thought of things we hadn’t, and made sure everyone enjoyed this historic day in our organization’s journey.”
It is all in a day’s work for the Rock Events crew, which stands at about 35 staff members, with more being added as external services ramp up. Senior Manager of Business Development Lyn Gleasure says the company’s specialty is planning corporate events including meetings, conferences, and incentives. Its team also has extensive experience organizing nonprofit fundraisers. “If it’s not something you do all the time, it can be daunting,” Gleasure says. “We think we can be that resource for someone who wants to do a great event.”
