The 5th Annual CLASSY Awards
The CLASSY Awards is the largest social impact awards ceremony in the United States. Taking place at the San Diego Civic Theatre, this inspirational evening highlights the greatest champions of social progress, a process that starts with thousands of entries and culminates in 8 winners being announced live on stage. This year, Elizabeth Gore (Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the United Nations Foundation) and Kenna (Grammy-Nominated Musician, Tech Creative and Founder of Summit on the Summit) hosted the 5th Annual CLASSYs in partnership with the United Nations Foundation.
As the CLASSYs continue to grow, we were privileged to partner with them to help celebrate the fifth anniversary. The evening began with an outdoor reception complete with multiple red carpets providing each and every guest with a special VIP experience. Guests were welcomed into the theater to find a beautifully designed set by David Korins Design, drawing inspiration from the elegance of the awards logo laurel, which helped frame the multi-screened stage. The real magic happened when the house lights dimmed and the set came to life with LED lights framing each screen and the podium.
Throughout the evening, various leaders from the social sector presented awards to the winners in each of the 8 categories- Active Duty & Veteran Services, Animal & Wildlife Welfare, Disaster Relief & Public Safety, Education Advancement, Environmental Protection, Health Services, Human Rights & Social Justice Services, and Poverty & Hunger Relief. Some of the speakers included Adam Garone, Co-Found & CEO of Movember, Premal Shah, President of Kiva, Kathleen Schwille from National Geographic, Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO of the Humane Society of the US, and Col. David Sutherland of Easter Seals Dixon Center, who brought all 2000 guests to their feet with his moving remarks.
Overall, the CLASSY Awards continue to pave the way recognizing and honoring the importance of those individuals striving to make our world a better place and we are grateful for the opportunity help emphasize this significant occasion.
To learn more about the awards, please visit www.classyawards.org.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
