New Heights GameChangers Ball
Empire was proud to produce New Heights’ 5th annual gala, The GameChangers Ball, as an in-person event on October 21, 2021. This year’s gala held special significance, inviting guests for an exclusive first look at their new space at the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Crown Heights Brooklyn, featuring sports facilities, basketball courts, classrooms, office, and community spaces.
The gala began with a cocktail reception and a jazz performance by KingKlavé. Overlooking the basketball court, the guests viewed live basketball played by the New Heights youth members on the new court.
Guests were then seated for dinner and the main program at the community space which was transformed into a ballroom for this special occasion. Catering for the evening was presented by a special collaboration of two of the finest local caterers, Dining with Grace and Ginger Root, and desserts were provided by Brownstone Cheesecakes, a popular bakery based in Brooklyn.
While guests enjoyed dinner, the program consisted of an introduction to the new space, an awards ceremony to four special honorees, a live auction, and a call to action by New Heights executives. The honorees were Lance Thomas, New Heights Class of 2006, Board Member, Duke National Champion and NBA Veteran; Don Capoccia, Principal of BFC Partners; Amber Sabathia, Co-Founder & Executive Director at PitCCh In Foundation and Player Agent, CAA Baseball; and Bruce E. Mosler, Chairman of Global Brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield.
Working closely with New Heights, Empire served as the overall event producer, managing elements including venue, catering, décor, programming, and technical production. Empire is a leading producer of fundraising events and has been proud to serve leading not-for-profit organizations and foundations for nearly three decades.
About New Heights:
New Heights Youth, Inc. is a non-profit sports-based youth-development and educational organization based in New York City.
New Heights creates opportunities and provides support for promising youth to fulfill their potential in the classroom, on the court and in the community. Their mission is to educate and empower promising underserved youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes by developing the skills necessary for success in high school, college and life.
Specifically, the organization uses basketball as a “hook” to engage young men and women in the program, help them access high quality educational opportunities, and instill in them the values and life skills that will prepare them for success in life beyond sports.
Client Testimonial: Teaming up with Empire to produce our annual GameChangers Ball was one of the smartest decisions we made. Turning a century-old armory into a luxurious ballroom was a tall order, but Empire – and Sammy Kim in particular – planned every detail beautifully and within our budget. Thank you for guiding us on this journey and making our event vision a reality!!
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
