January Team Member of the Month: Carmen Moscarillo

January 22, 2013/in All Posts /by mhadder4561

The Key To Her Success? Having Fun!

Coming up on her third anniversary, Carmen has made a huge impact on many of our client’s lives. She does that by making everyone around her feel comfortable and happy. No easy task in the high pressure world of event production but Carmen makes it look effortless. With 250+ shows with Rock The House, Carmen has gone from a fresh new face to a mentor to other team members in a short period of time. As is the case with many of our best team members, training in a few different arenas has allowed Carmen to be able to one of Rock The House’s best assets.

Carmen is one of the most requested dancers by our clients because she makes real connections with guests and they remember her. Because she is so well-liked amongst event guests, she has really found her niche as one of the most important photo novelty technicians that company has ever had. This position puts her one on one with every guest at an event which lets her great attitude to become infectious. This position has a strong technical aspect to it as well which she has more than embraced.

As a student, Carmen has developed the skills of work/life balance by continuing her education while growing with Rock The House. She hasn’t met a challenge that has scared her yet which is the trait of a real achiever. Creative and Talent Director, Ryan Konikoff had this to say about Carmen:

“Anyone who has ever worked with Carman at 1:00am after a 15 hour day (when there are still hours left to go) knows why she is so important to Rock The House. She has the drive, energy and teamwork to lift the team up and carry all of them to the finish line.”

Being calm under pressure is something that separates true event professionals from the amateurs. Carmen is able to do this by taking a second to breath and realizing that events are parties…everyone should be having fun the whole time. It’s this perspective that endears her to our entire team. We asked Carmen what makes her tick, here’s what she said:

“Over the past few years, I have shown both dedication and love for this industry. I love making someone’s special day perfect, whether that is making a room look beautiful with uplighting, taking pictures to capture all the memories of that special night, or dancing to keep the energy level going all night long.I love every part of my job, and I want to continue learning more. Although I started here quite younger than expected, I have ambition and passion for what I do and for everyone I share it with every weekend. I am also presently pursuing Marketing and Dance at Cleveland State University.”

Thanks to your dedication, Carmen, your positive energy has spread to thousands in the region!

November Team Member of the Month: Ryan Durfee

November 8, 2012/in All Posts /by mhadder4561

Taking Production To The Next Level

Our Team Member of the Month for November is Ryan Durfee who has been with Rock The House for the last 9 months. Ryan was hired as a production manager and has quickly made a large impact on Rock The House. His commitment to productivity is shown in how he uses his time in the shop. If Ryan has 15 minutes between appointments he will use every minute to work on something in the shop until the meeting begins. He’s always working!

Ryan was selected by the staff and management for the Team Member of the Month because he came on board and immediately worked on implementing our new inventory system while managing and training a staff during our busy wedding season. Taking on a big project while managing a team during a peak season and coming out on the other end is a pretty impressive accomplishment and Ryan did just that.

Creative & Talent Director, Ryan Konikoff has this to say about Ryan Durfee’s efforts thus far:

“He is very organized and has taken important steps to keep the shop just as organized. He is just as creative, however, and can design and operate with the best of them onsite. Finally, and MOST importantly, Durfee never forgets that our clients are our bosses. Ryan is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we can achive last min requests, events, and changes.”

One of Ryan Durfee’s first decisions was making sure that there was always a production staff team member at the shop to see each show back at the end of each busy night. This often means the staff member is here until 4 or 5 AM. For the first month, Ryan made sure he was that staff member in order to create the systems needed for this initiative to succeed.

Ryan Durfee’s own words are the reason why he is one of the most important asset of Rock The House’s future:

“I enjoy enjoy most that I am a part of every event. At some point, I touch every event and have a chance to keep our best foot forward by my thoughts and observations. Seeing or hearing positive reports from our clients is the best way to tell that we have been successful.”

September Team Member of the Month: Maria Elena Massucci

September 1, 2012/in All Posts /by mhadder4561

Elena – Team Member of the Month

Our clients might not have met our Event Consultant, Elena, but, rest assure, she has impacted their event. Elena’s position exists to ensure that none of the important details of our client’s events are missed. All the notes from meetings between our clients and event specialists are organized and streamlined for our entertainers and event production team by Elena. This ensures that nothing in the heads of our event specialist stay only there!

As Rock The House expands it’s offerings, Elena’s position becomes more and more important. She makes sure that our DJs, MCs, dancers, lighting designers, production managers, videographers, and technicians are all on the same page. Her job is to make sure our staff has everything they need to succeed. Her work is the bridge between planning and doing. This extra step in planning gives Rock The House a big advantage.

In addition, Elena also sources our client’s special music choices while organizing our extensive song library. She makes sure that our entertainers have the music they need in order to create the special moments they have dreamed. These songs range from ethnic songs to the really unusual and she makes it happen.

Creative & Talent Director, Ryan Konikoff explains why Elena was chosen for the Team Member of the Month this September:

“We are wrapping up the summer wedding season here at Rock The House and weddings tend to be the most detail oriented events. These events often involve many team members, an detailed agenda, music choices, and floor plans. Elena has made this the smoothest wedding season yet for our entertainers and technicians. During the May through September season, Elena’s work load nearly doubles. In spite of this, she didn’t miss a beat. She calls clients, makes recommendations and talks to our staff to make sure that expectations are met then exceeded.”

Elena describes her role best:

“I really enjoy being a part of someone’s special day, even if it is behind the scenes and they may not know me. If I can make someone’s day as special as I would want mine to be, I’ve succeeded and we’ve succeeded!”

July Team Member of the Month

July 2, 2012/in All Posts /by mhadder4561

Evan Guffin: Technician

Evan has been with Rock The House just short of one full year and he has already made his mark. A hard worker with a real drive to learn, Evan has what makes the best of us shine. There is a difference between a “willingness to learn” and real drive and Evan’s got it. Beyond his job performance, he has quickly become part of what makes the Rock The House culture something special. He goes above and beyond and has an awareness of everything going on each day and not just the show he has been assigned to.

Our technicians are our lifeblood now in 2012. Rock The House may have started out as a DJ entertainment company but it’s grown beyond that designation due to the acquisition of talented technicians such as Evan. The success of our ability to grow can be attributed to their hard work. It’s not as glorious of work as entertainers (because they are rarely in the spotlight) but our tech team is just as important.

Production manager, Ben Allison, is impressed with both his adaptability to learn on the job as well as Evan’s attitude. “He is never negative and is always looking for a better way to accomplish his tasks”, says Ben. He also states that Evan’s easy going nature is refreshing during critical points in events where big egos would have got in the way.

Evan told us his favorite part of being on the Rock The House team is how we transform a venue for an event. “I love walking into a venue and knowing it’s going to be a completely different room by the time you’re event starts…then at the end, it’s like we were never there”, says Evan. What is all the more impressive is that Evan is also going to Full Sail University for event production. This means we are only seeing the beginning of what is sure to be an impressive career in creating event experiences.

June 2012 Team Member of The Month

June 1, 2012/in All Posts /by mhadder4561

DJ Shane ROCKS!

Each month, Rock The House Entertainment management chooses one team member who has exceededall expectations. With a team this passionate, it’s a harder job than you’d think. This month, however, Shane LaPlante really stood out. Not only did management feel Shane went above and beyond his job duties, but his peers did as well. He had a number of write-in votes for this honor by those he works with at each event.

Shane has been a DJ with Rock The House since he joined the team in November of 2010. He established himself early as a driven team member by requesting sessions with senior DJs to learn as many tricks as he could. This drive was recognized as the start of a truly gifted entertainer. Other team members have stated that Shane pushes them to get better at what they do, and that is a trait that makes us all proud. Traditionally, our MCs are the leaders of our events, but this does not mean that the leadership mentality has to only be realized exclusively by the show leads. Shane leads by example. By making sure the client’s first impression of the DJ rig is always impressive (by keeping everything clean and taped down) he sets his other team members up for success.

Shane told us that his favorite part of an event is the moments of reflection after a show is complete. His drive pushes him to always look for ways things could have gone smoother, and to learn from the unique situations of every show. This hunger for growth and refinement is something you can’t teach. His advice to his team is to always smile and keep cool. It’s an entertainer’s job to stay in control and to be focused on the success of the event. In doing so, an entertainer can adapt to any challenge.

One of the most impressive things about Shane is that he is one of the most requested DJs by both venue operators and Rock The House team leaders. It is pretty rare for a venue operator to request a DJ because they are not traditionally the event’s point of contact. Shane is proof that any member of our team, regardless of their role, can make a positive impression on our clients as well as industry peers.

Mitzvah Wedding Entertainment

When we asked Shane what it means to him to be a member of Rock The House, he said his training has given him the confidence to be on stage and never be nervous. You can always tell that Shane is having fun, and that goes a long way in helping the guests have fun!

Thanks for all your hard work, Shane! You Rock!

Team Member of The Month – Ernie Scales

April 28, 2012/in All Posts /by mhadder4561

Rock The House Entertainment is rolling out a formal Team Member of The Month program coming out of our 2012 All Staff Meeting this April. That meant that management was faced with setting a precedent and prototype for this honor. What a relief it was for us to have just the person…Ernie Scales.

Head of Human Resources at Rock The House, Ryan Konikoff said:

“Selecting Ernie was an easy choice. So far, he holds the lead for the most requests in 2012 by clients. Every MC always asks to have him on their events, and he lives the idea of leading by example. Ernie takes dance classes in his free time to learn all different types of dance that may help him as a RTH dancer, he always has a smile on his face, and you can tell he just really love the job”

In the year and a half that Ernie has been with us, he has shown an eagerness to learn, consistency, drive, and character. This isn’t even mentioning his amazing skills! Don’t just take our word for it! He made it farther than hundreds of other competitive dancers at the 2012 “So You Think You Can Dance” Season 9 tryouts in Los Angeles. You can read more about that fascinating experience here.

Ernie says it best:

“What makes me a unique dancer is my passion. I use dancing to describe who I am and how I feel. I basically use dance to let people see my true personality. I live for dance and I dance to live. What makes a dancer unique is not about their moves it’s about heart.”

When we told Ernie he was selected to be the Team Member of the month he was grateful. He then told us he didn’t feel like he was a member of a team, however. To him, he’s a member of a family. We couldn’t agree more!