As a young girl growing up in the South Bronx, Chereese Jervis-Hill dreamed of becoming a pilot. “I never thought I’d be an event planner,” she says. But today she’s the proud owner of Events to Remember, a full-service events-management and public-relations firm that produces 70 events a year.
While studying at Bronx Community College, she worked part-time in government affairs at Phillip Morris, focusing on special events, which kickstarted her ulitmate career. Today, her firm’s client list includes Northern Westchester Hospital, Girls Inc. of Westchester County, and Music Conservatory of Westchester.
“We think about how we will market and publicize the event and, if necessary, how we can tie in a nonprofit to make the event more meaningful.”
The business began in a spare bedroom of her Cortlandt Manor home in 2004 and now employs four staff members, with profits growing from $11K in her first year to more than six figures today. Jervis-Hill originally focused on weddings but decided to switch to corporate and nonprofit events after her fair share of “wedding drama.”
Jervis-Hill believes “that every successful event should tell a story. What differentiates us is that we don’t only focus on the actual event. We think about how we will market and publicize the event and, if necessary, how we can tie in a nonprofit to make the event more meaningful.” With more than 20 years in the business, Jervis-Hill says she has insider knowledge of the best vendors and strong relationships with nonprofits so that all her clients meet their goals from an attendance and/or fundraising perspective.
