Page 17 - 2021 Westchester County Economic Development Guide

Chereese Jervis-Hill, President, Events
To Remember
Above: Scenes from farmers markets managed by Jervis throughout 2020. Right: Events to Remember’s virtual fundraiser for Latino
U College Access, which netted $150,000.
fundraising. To be honest, in the beginning I had not done many virtual fundraising events and it was like baptism by fire.
As we ascended the learning curve for fundraising for our clients, another opportunity to use our firm’s skillset came about. Knowing that we have worked on a lot of community festivals like the Yorktown Street Fair and the Hudson Valley Expo, Bill Powers, the Executive Director for the Peekskill BID, reached out to me with a surprising business lead. In June, an opportunity became available to run the Peekskill Farmers Market. Doing this in the midst of COVID was especially daunting because with thousands of visitors, it had to be done safely.
So I signed up with for a six-month, online certification program and finished it in four months. I am now a Certified Farmer’s Market Manager for the State of New York. My team and I studied the New York Agricultural web site. There were lots of tiny details and we worked hard to manage our markets safely with proper social distancing, signage, mask requirements and hand sanitizing stations. We had 21,000 visitors throughout the season and no calls from contact tracers! I absolutely love it. I have since been asked to run the Winter Market at the Jefferson Valley Mall, and am looking to partner with other towns and cities in Westchester County to bring the joy of a farmers market to their communities.
Unfortunately I had to let a team member go early on in the pandemic, as I could not sustain the
whole staff. My remaining three team members are amazing. We came together to get through a rough time. Everyone was concerned about safety, running a farmers market in the midst of COVID-19, but they came together to get through the rough period, and are all working regular hours again.
As far as my original core business of event planning, we held several successful virtual events this past year, including a Girls Inc. of Westchester County fundraiser, which netted $140,000, and a virtual fundraiser for Latino U College Access, which netted $150,000. We also held a successful virtual entrepreneurial conference for Westchester Community College.
It wasn’t easy, but being open to opportunity and thinking outside the box really helped to turn a rough year around and make it more bearable.”
AN EXCEPTIONAL WORKFORCE
With some of the most talented, edu- cated and driven professionals in the country, Westchester offers the human capital and highly-developed skills to help businesses succeed.
“Roughly half of our residents hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Westchester’s workforce offers a powerful advantage to lo- cal businesses of all sizes,” says Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
“It wasn’t easy, but being open to opportunity and thinking outside the box really helped to turn a rough year around.” —Chereese Jervis-Hill
WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 15
© Events To Remember
© 914INC. Magazine
© Events To Remember