Every fall, the Greater Cleveland Heart Walk fills Flats East Bank with palpable energy. Families push strollers, corporate teams gather in matching shirts, and survivors walk arm-in-arm with the people who helped them get there. It is joyful, powerful, and mission-forward – exactly what a community-wide movement for heart and stroke health should be.

What most participants never see, though, is the infrastructure that makes a 3-mile walk for thousands of people feel simple, safe, and seamless. The American Heart Association’s team looks to Palmer Event Solutions to bring it all together for a successful experience – so they can laser focus on raising vital funds for their mission.

Curating a Safe Route from Start to Finish

From the earliest planning conversations, safety and risk management drove every decision, including route design, guest flow patterns, and staging zones. Palmer Event Solutions worked closely with many vendor and community partners, ensuring the course was clear, accessible, and thoughtfully mapped for an event of this scale:

• Necessary applications and requests were submitted to the City of Cleveland to coordinate permitting and road closures, plus additional accommodations granted by the United States Coast Guard and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.

• BEST Event Services Team and Run The Land supported course management and barricade layout, helping create a safe, intuitive route along the waterfront.

• Law Enforcement Management Solutions provided a trained security team focused on crowd safety and site monitoring.

• Physicians Ambulance delivered on-site EMS coverage with strategically placed medical personnel and transport readiness.

Signage, barricade placement, and volunteer positioning were also intentionally designed to assist wayfinding, prevent bottlenecks and keep walkers moving comfortably from start to finish.

Volunteer Support that Moves the Mission Forward

Volunteers are the face of this event, and clear communication and expectations are what set them up for success. For the 2025 event, the American Heart Association activated Palmer Event Solutions’s Volunteer Training & On-Site Support. The service provided structured training, detailed briefings, and on-site management – ensuring every volunteer knew where to be, how to assist, and what to do in a variety of potential scenarios. From crossing-point monitors to hydration stations and finish-line cheering squads, the guest experience stayed energized – and the logistics stayed organized.

Emergency-Ready in Every Scenario

Large-scale outdoor events require layered safety controls and rapid-response access. The Palmer Event Solutions team built a comprehensive risk-management strategy that included:

• Dedicated EMS teams for both the route and event site.

• Radio and mobile communication linking the Palmer Event Solutions’ staff, public safety partners, and American Heart Association’s staff members.

• Continuous weather monitoring and decision-making protocols.

• A customized Crisis Communication Plan detailing messaging to utilize publicly in the case of incident or emergency.

The onsite presence of Cleveland Clinic also supported mission-based safety, offering community CPR training, blood pressure screenings, tours of their Stroke Mobile Treatment Unit and health education throughout the morning – reinforcing the walk’s purpose while building lifesaving knowledge in real time.

When all these systems work quietly in the background, guests stay focused on what matters most: walking together for healthier hearts.

Powered by Purpose

When Cleveland shows up, we make sure the path is ready. Palmer Event Solutions stewarded this community moment from timeline to tear-down. Because the infrastructure was strong, the mission remained front and center. Teams celebrated survivors, honored loved ones, and raised critical funds for research and education. A great event feels effortless, and that’s the work — and the goal.