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Prosperity During a Pandemic: How Christmas in the Park Thrived in 2020

Date: Apr 22, 2021

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Thursday, April 22, 2021
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MDT

Cassie Dispenza, Vice President Strategic Partnerships
Saffire, Austin, TX
Jason Minsky, Executive Director
Christmas in the Park, San Jose, CA
There’s no doubt, 2020 was one of the hardest years ever for the live event industry. Event cancellations were rampant, as many organizations were presented with no clear path to move forward among ever-increasing pandemic concerns. However, Jason Minsky and the team at Christmas in the Park in San Jose, California had a different idea. Convert a free admission half-million attendee walk through display of Christmas cheer to a ticketed drive through experience instead. Not exactly a “walk in the park”! In this session, join Cassie Dispenza, Saffire, as she has an open discussion with Jason on the ups & downs his team went through to pull off their biggest challenge to date, and how they plan to carry many of their ideas forward in 2021. We’ll cover strategies for executing your own in person event this year and discuss options for the event industry to safely get back to business.

Cassie Dispenza is the Senior Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Saffire. She has extensive experience with online marketing and event planning and has planned strategic events with many companies including the Austin Sports Commission and the United States Olympic Committee. She started working with Saffire in 2011 and since then, the company has grown from supporting a few great organizations in Texas to partnering with hundreds of unique events, venues and destinations across the country. Cassie loves traveling to conferences to share strategic online planning tactics and doesn’t mind getting her boots dirty if you see her and need an extra volunteer.

Jason Minsky has been involved with the San Jose community since 1993 when he was working in the Community Development department for the San Jose Sharks. Originally from South San Francisco, Minsky is a graduate of San Francisco State University. Having previously served on the Board of Directors for Christmas in the Park, he became the non-profit’s first Executive Director in 2012. Prior to that he served as a Vice President for the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and was also Chairman for the Silicon Valley Invitational and Courageous Kids Programs for the American Cancer Society. Jason is married and has a daughter studying in college.

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Prosperity During a Pandemic: How Christmas in the Park Thrived in 2020

Thursday, April 22, 2021 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MDT

Thursday, April 22, 2021
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MDT