Choosing the Right Emcee

A great emcee is one that brings your event energy, professionalism, a personal story that connects to your mission and, ideally, a connection with your community partners through their role. Looking inside a partner organization for the voice of your emcee is a fantastic way to marry your mission and message more fully with theirs and deepen what’s possible.

That’s exactly what happened at this year’s ¡Prospera! event to support Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation. For the second year, this event took place on the campus of community partner NIKE, Inc. and was emcee’d by Vice President of the Global Community Impact Team at Nike, Jorge Casimiro. Jorge not only leads and directs Nike’s community impact strategy to further Nike’s ongoing commitment to getting kids active, but he also comes from an immigrant family not unlike many of the patients served by Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center. In Jorge, Virginia Garcia has someone with both personal and professional commitments to the organization’s mission, and he is a passionate advocate for their work.

When choosing an emcee, think about your opportunity to look beyond staff, board members, program participants or local celebrities in order to capitalize on a chance to deepen and broaden your connection to a community partnership that can yield strong support and relevance over time.