As many of you know, last Thursday evening was Ignite Detroit #2, which I co-organized with Brandon Chesnutt and Norm Witte, along with John Policicchio from the MotorCity Casino Hotel. From most of the responses we’ve had, the event was quite a success, due, in no small part, to the overwhelming community support we received from everyone who promoted, tweeted, blogged, reported, snapped pictures, spoke at and attended. Thank you! We had a lot of fun and hope you did too!
A Group Working as a Team
Like any event, this one took a lot of team work to get it off the ground with a lot of discussions via email and in person. Sometimes when you work in a group, certain people will take over and others will sit back. Our group worked together with everyone contributing what they could to make sure everything got done. Working with John, Norm and Brandon was a true pleasure, and I’m really looking forward to future events!
Unbelievable Support from the Venue
There is absolutely no way Ignite Detroit #2 would have gone as well as it did without the amazing (really, amazing) support from the MotorCity Casino Hotel. They were a true partner in this event, providing all of the audio/visual, technical and event support that anyone could ask for. I don’t know about you, but I was absolutely amazed when I walked into the venue once it was set up. MotorCity took care of all the details so that we could concentrate on what makes Ignite Detroit special. A very heartfelt thank you to everyone at MotorCity Casino Hotel which helped on Thursday evening — you guys rock!
Our room at the hotel was plush and awesome. I really enjoyed our stay and could definitely see staying there again for a romantic escape or if we’re at another event downtown. As someone who’s not really into gambling and hates smoke, I never had to step one foot on the floor of the casino or smell a whiff of smoke. If you haven’t stayed there before, I really recommend giving it a try. Definitely world-class service!
A Community that Supports the Community
The support of everyone in the metro Detroit area for events and organizations is awe-inspiring. We may have an image problem outside of the area, but I’m not sure there’s a place anywhere in the country where everyone tries their best to raise everyone else up. The business and professional community here is one of mutual-respect and support instead of some sort of cut-throat, winner-takes-all environment where you have to hide all your secrets. Thank you to everyone who makes the Detroit-area a great place to host events (and do business)!
A special thank you also to all the volunteers that helped make our event work so well! Thank you also to my husband, Aaron Worsham, who watched our daughter when I had to run downtown for a meeting, and how also helped wrangle our speakers so they were on stage in the right order (you are Superman!).
Hidden From View
Like last Ignite Detroit, I spent most of this one backstage making sure our speakers were ready to go (and calm). While I may not get to be in the limelight on stage, I do get to see a pretty cool part of Ignite — the speakers as they prepare themselves for the ride of 5 minutes of non-stop, auto-advancing slides, their performance from the stage looking out, and the release of emotion as they come off stage to applause. Every single one of our speakers was great to work with and I enjoyed watching them succeed and then go off to enjoy the part. Best part: the hugs, high-fives, fist-bumps and smiles I got from speakers as they headed off stage after a performance well done. Thank you speakers for your courage to face the crowd under fairly stressful circumstances!
If you attended Ignite Detroit #2, thank you! What did you think? What was your favorite part?