The Sabes JCC’s SPARK! Annual Celebration of Innovation Event will bring together hundreds of local innovators, business leaders, young professionals and community members for a unique and entertaining program while providing professional and personal networking opportunities that will “spark” the creativity and drive for excellence in all of us.
The event will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at MUSE Event Center, 107 3rd Av. N., Minneapolis. The program will feature three inspirational stories of entrepreneurial success. Keynote speaker will be Greg Liberman, CEO of Spark Networks, the parent company of JDate and more than 20 other niche online communities.
“We are so thrilled to have Greg join us for this event,” said Brad Lehrman, a local Minneapolis attorney specializing in entrepreneurial ventures and a member of the SPARK! event committee. “SPARK! is a unique opportunity to network with others and bring leaders in the community together. The Sabes JCC is really a portal to facilitate these kinds of moments. We are a vibrant community and the JCC’s event melds together members of the business community, the Jewish community and the secular community to support and enhance the entrepreneurship and innovation of others.”
Other speakers will include Kieran Folliard, founder of Two Gingers Whiskey Company, and Colleen Needles, a former award-winning news anchor and CEO of Tremendous! Entertainment. In addition, the event will be moderated by Rick Kupchella, CEO of BringMeTheNews.com.
The entrepreneurial stories that will be shared are diverse, yet have a common thread —they started with a dream, an identified gap, and each innovator had a willingness to take a risk and try something new. The SPARK! event will not only highlight the entrepreneurial journeys of the speakers, it will also provide insights into the lessons that can be gleaned from the world of online dating, effective networking and the art of story-telling to help drive greater personal and professional success.
This year’s SPARK! event will feature two pre-program — 5:30 p.m. — cocktail parties: one for sponsors and their guests and one geared for entrepreneurs and professionals. In collaboration with synagogues, the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, local organizations’ young leadership groups and TCJewfolk, the event is expected to be a huge draw to a broad section of the community, including many younger adults.
***
JDATE: Addressing the issue of continuity
As our community grapples with its response to the changing demographics in the American Jewish population, JDate® has actually been addressing the issue of Jewish continuity since its creation in the late ’90s. Jewish matchmaking dates to biblical times, but it has been updated through the millennia.
The traditional matchmaker (think “Yente” from Fiddler on the Roof) still exists in some Jewish communities, but as Jews became more dispersed and intermarriage more widespread, new systems for making matches were created. With the advent of the Internet, JDate took the matchmaking concept to a whole new level. In fact, JDate is responsible for more Jewish marriages than all other online dating sites combined, according to a 2011 study conducted by ResearchNow.
SPARK! Keynote speaker Greg Liberman, CEO of Spark Networks (owner and operator of JDate and more than 20 other niche online communities), knows firsthand how important continuity is to the Jewish community. It’s easy to see the commonalities between the JCC’s mission and that of Spark Networks, as both have missions that build community, strengthen affiliation, and positively impact continuity.
***
For sponsorship opportunities and VIP ticket information contact tfenton@sabesjcc.org. For SPARK! event information go to: www.sabesjcc.org.
The American Jewish World is a media sponsor of the SPARK! event.
(American Jewish World, 1.3.14)
