New Heights GameChangers Ball
Empire was honored to partner again with New Heights, a non-profit sports-based youth development and educational organization, to produce their 7th annual GameChangers Ball on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The gala took place at the home of New Heights, Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The venue features a variety of sports facilities, classrooms, offices, and community spaces.
The gala kicked off with a cocktail reception and live DJ set by Jon Blak, the official DJ for NY Jets. Upon arrival, guests were treated to signature cocktails sponsored by Farmer’s Organic Gin and Michter’s and were invited to pose with friends at a custom built 3D photo booth.
At the close of the reception, attendees were ushered by New Heights volunteers into the basketball court which transformed into a ballroom for a seated dinner. To highlight the basketball hoops and New Height’s mission in helping student-athletes to grow, Empire presented a new stage design featuring a floral arrangement growing out of the basketball hoops.
The program started with an opening performance on the balcony by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter J. Hoard, who sang a cover of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.” Following the show, Chairman of the Board Mark Patricof and New Heights Executive Director Ted Smith greeted attendees from the stage and invited speakers, alumni, and award recipients to join them in sharing how New Heights has positively impacted their lives, the community, and beyond. After a successful live auction led by Auctioneer Pat Tully, the program concluded with honoring Mark Attanasio, the Chairman of the Milwaukee Brewers, with the GameChanger Award.
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 over three decades.
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
