Portland Rose Festival :: 2020 Souvenir Program

#PDXRoseFestival @PDXRoseFestival
ROSE FESTIVAL STORIES: REGENCE
One of the first health care companies to partner with Rose
Festival, Regence got started with their first Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Oregon float in 1987. That float depicted the Olympic
torch and celebrated Blue Cross’ affiliation with the upcoming
summer Olympics. It also presented aspiring athletes, including
the Rose Festival’s 1980 Queen, track & field star Robin Marks.
A decade later CEO Jeff Curtis would receive a call from
Regence asking whether Rose Festival would be interested
in creating an entirely new event, one that would highlight
fitness and healthy living. In 2008, Regence became the
sponsor of the Grand Floral Walk, the four-mile march that
precedes the Grand Floral Parade along the same route. A
team from Regence worked with Rose Festival staff to plan
and promote the event from the ground up; Regence continued
their support of the Walk for six years, helping solidify its place
in the festival’s schedule. This style of innovation is inherent in
the Regence corporate culture, a company leading its industry
to provide transformative tools for its members.
Regence has carefully concentrated on utilizing their Rose
Festival support to promote mission-driven themes and
initiatives, serving both their own brand and that of the
festival. For two years Regence and Rose Festival staff worked
with Portland’s nine sister city associations to provide a
vehicle to promote the work of these small nonprofits, helping
to create the first real alliance in five decades. The Tribute Tree
in 2014 was a salute to those in military service; the tree itself
was not only a feature of the Regence float, it lived on the
grounds of Rose Festival CityFair for two weekends, where
people were able to write and affix their personal tributes to
the tree’s branches.
Furthering their support of those in service, Regence has
become an important contributor to the Rose Festival’s
Fleet Week, one of the most popular parts of each year’s
celebration. In 2008, Darci Hansen joined the Rose Festival’s
board of directors, part of Regence’ commitment to providing
leadership to its nonprofit partners. Darci is now a member of
the festival’s Executive Committee and in 2020 became the
first woman to chair the Rose Festival’s Fleet Committee.
“It’s rewarding to work for a
company that prioritizes Portland’s
iconic events, like the Rose Festival.
As someone raised in a U.S. Navy
family, my passion for Fleet Week
fits perfectly with the culture of a
company that encourages me to
exercise personal leadership to make
a positive impact for both Regence
and the Rose Festival,” says Darci, Director of B2B Strategy &
Integrated Marketing.
In 2017, Regence celebrated a century of service to the
Northwest with a memorable horse-drawn float in the Grand
Floral Parade, a re-creation of the two-wheeled rigs that were
used to transport logs in turn-of-the-century camps around
the state. Regence BlueCross BlueShield had its birth in these
logging camps, bringing health care to the workers who
helped create today’s Oregon. From traditional float entries to
inspiring innovative new events and programs, Regence has
helped shape today’s evolving Rose Festival.
PROUD SPONSOR
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