Downtown Partnership of Baltimore

For Shannon Brown, vice president of business development and membership for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore (DPOB), her decision to work with Excel Event & Lighting Solutions year after year is rooted not only in their technical expertise, but in the creativity of the Excel team.

When planning the Washington Monument Lighting—an annual event that draws 12-15,000 people—Shannon had asked Excel to handle the lighting of the monument, surrounding park, and performance stage. She did not, however, give specific instructions on what she wanted to see. Shannon was just as awed as the rest of the attendees when she saw what Excel had planned.

“I can’t imagine doing this event without Excel,” explains Shannon. “They took over communicating with the performers, rigging and running all the lighting for the stage, and even up-lit the trees in the park in holiday-themed colors. It’s something I didn’t think to ask for, but it created such a cohesive atmosphere throughout the neighborhood. I was amazed by the choreographed soundtrack they played during the fireworks and the dancing light displays that were covering this entire 178-foot monument.”

Creating an Oasis: DPOB’s Annual Meeting

Whether its 4 city blocks or 27,000 square feet, Excel’s creativity has yet to disappoint Shannon and her team. When they needed to plan their largest annual event, they hired Excel to turn a giant industrial space in a vacant building into a classy party location.

The space was very bare bones when they got there—concrete floors, exposed beams, and just enough lighting for the construction crew to work with. She talked to the Excel team and told them her vision: a rooftop garden oasis. Then they got to work.

By playing off the industrial elements and getting creative with textures, lighting, and colors—and stringing about 2,000 festoon lights—the team transformed the space into a chic and sexy venue. Shannon, her colleagues, and the guests were stunned by the final product.

Shannon was wowed by the creativity that went into the project and attributes the success of the venue transformation to the expertise and communication of Excel’s management and technicians. The transparency, open-mindedness, and professionalism of the Excel team is why Downtown Partnership of Baltimore has been working with the company for nearly a decade and will continue to far into the future.