Widespread Action and Success On Opening Day of 2015 Parnassah Expo

The instant the doors opened at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on Tuesday morning for the two-day 2015 Parnassah Expo–Nationwide Business Networking Event, the floor of the Garden State’s largest exposition center was a kiddush Hashem in action.

Streams of individuals from communities across the metropolitan area, “out of town” communities in the U.S. and Canada, Europe, Israel and elsewhere enthusiastically made their rounds checking out the most cutting-edge businesses and organizations on the Jewish community scene.

In this modern marketplace, businesses representing every industry set up shop on the expo floor. Exhibits were on display in marketing, online commerce, technology, law, insurance, communications, real estate, business services, media, food, education, nonprofits, and more. Each presented their ideas, intermingling in the heart of the action.

Every age group, community, levush and industry was well represented. People identified new resources, contacts, customers and exciting new services. A sense of optimism and pro-activity filled the air as people networked for the first time. Everyone was eager to share what they have to offer, and what they’re looking for. A special career and education center, sponsored by Touro College, helped participants advance toward their career dreams.

“The Expo gives us the opportunity to have the people behind our business interact with the public,” explains Kevin (Kalman) Frisch, CEO of Banquest Payment Systems, a first-time exhibitor. “We are already almost out of applications,” he added, less than two hours after the floor opened.

In the conference center, a full program of panels and workshops took place, including the particularly popular Women in the Workforce track. Business, career, public policy and more were covered in depth by a wide range of presenters, including Charlie Harary, Menachem Lubinsky, Ezra Friedlander, Chaskel Bennett and many others. Reb Duvi Honig, founder and director of Parnassah Network–Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the annual Expo, addressed attendees in the main auditorium.

Reb Duvi spoke passionately about the tangible accomplishments that we can achieve when Yidden gather to help each other with parnassah. He read to the crowd official letters from President Barack Obama and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, emphasizing the major public policy impact entities such as the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce can make. At the entrance to the Expo floor, the Chamber had a booth showcasing its various business services and events, and signing up a long list of community businesses for membership. The first Expo day ended with a panel of prestigious CEOs from our community, moderated by Charlie Harary, where the large audience asked the CEOs their questions.

Another full day of the Expo will take place on Wednesday. The grand finale of the second day will be the exciting “The Accelerator” investors’ panel, where several innovative entrepreneurs will pitch their business plans on stage and receive on-the-spot investment/partnership offers.

The Expo’s longterm positive effects on the economic success of our community’s individual business members are poised to continue in the months and years ahead, b’ezras Hashem.

For more information, please visit www.parnassahexpo.com.

This article appeared in print on page 35 of the March 18th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.