The words of the Parnassah Expo theme song are by now familiar to most of us. As they ring in our ears, it is time to lift our eyes and see that this historic event is just around the corner: Tuesday, February 12th, at theMeadowlands Exposition Center (from noon through 8:00 pm).   

There has never been anything of remotely this scale in our community’s history, and do not want any priceless associate, client or piece of advice – from somewhere on our vast continent – to remain not taken advantage of to the fullest.

Reb Duvi Honig, Parnassah Expo’s indefatigable founder and director, and staff are perfecting the expo’s 60,000 plus square foot floor plans and finalizing a stream of last minute reservations and program additions, with the help of many seasoned hands. “It is getting difficult to keep up with public interest,” says Reb Duvi. “Frankly, I never imagined that the expo would be nearly as successful as it will be, b’ezras Hashem.”

Whether you’re a kollel yungerman transitioning to the workforce, a proprietor of a business of any size or someone aiming to that end, a professional at any stage of his career, a rabbinical or chinuch figure seeking to advance his community’s institutions, or just about anyone else, you are sure to find at least several booths and/or attendees of interest at the expo.

The following is a brief summation of what you will find at the Meadowlands:  

Sections-

A broad selection of packed sections – including general business enhancement services, businesses catering to specific industries (real estate, healthcare, finance, technology, manufacturing, and others), job fair, academic and vocational training programs, investment capital, seminars, social services, community development, and more. The expo offers abundant tangible resources for those at “Every Stage; Every Age.”

People-

The list of experts in every imaginable field that will be at the expo, delivering seminars and being available to network with every attendee, is way too extensive to fit within the confines of these pages. Suffice it to say that it includes the lieutenant governor of the State of New Jersey, executives from companies like Goldman Sachs and Co., PricewaterhouseCoopers and Investors Bank, and leading motivational speakers, businessmen and activists from within our community. Many of these individuals are typically out of reach for the ordinary businessman and their advice is valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range. At the expo, it is all included in the nominal entrance fee. 

Networking Space-

Lots of floor space has been dedicated for networking space. Each expo section will have a spacious “Networking Pavilion” at its side dedicated to attendees with an interest in that section. The pavilion will be split into three parts:

One will be comfortable space for general networking, including some partitioned space for private conversation. Attendees will get to meet many others of various goals, experiences and needs in that field.

The second section of the pavilion will be dedicated to the panels of experts that will be present in each field. Seasoned, top-of-the-line individuals will comprise these panels and will be available to answer any question and discuss any topic. In addition to being available for one-on-one conversation, panelists will hold over a dozen brief, seminar-style Q & A sessions with attendees on a host of pertinent topics.

These sessions will have a variety of perks involved. For instance, one pavilion is sponsored by the renowned Madison Title Agency/Commercial Real Estate Company, and attendees at its seminars will accrue CPE and CLE credits towards accreditation as accountants and attorneys in both New York and New Jersey.

The third section in the pavilions will be dedicated to “speed networking,” a unique networking tool developed by Reb Duvi and Parnassah Expo. Understandably, at such a large expo, it can be difficult to determine the right person to speak to, even within a dedicated section. You don’t know precisely what everyone around you “brings to the table” that could be of benefit. As a remedy, the pavilions will have comfortable round tables and chairs, where attendees will gather and briefly introduce themselves and their particular areas of experience.

Additional Networking Perks-

They include “mobile booths,” where attendees who did not reserve booths in time, yet have services or job openings to offer, can purchase a special conspicuous badge at the door that will offer them a respectable level of visibility to other attendees, including a detailed summation of what they’re looking for or have to offer. This is particularly useful for attendees who are looking to hire, but did not know about that in advance or felt that the number of positions they needed to fill did not justify reserving a booth for the entire day.

Some of the latest expo innovations include “Meet your Politician” sections where government officials from various frum neighborhoods will be available to discuss local topics and offer direct constituent services, and “Shtark Tank” sections where attendees with promising ideas and inventions can publicize them and potentially find partners, investors or other resources to turn them into reality.

For more information, you can contact Parnassah Expo at (732)987-7704 or [email protected], or visit their website at www.parnassahexpo.com. You can also receive expo updates via text messaging by texting “Parnassah” to 21800.