• Hi, I’m Brad Abare

  I'm a make-it-happen guy working with big idea people. I design teams and orchestrate strategy so that great ideas I believe in get done.
  
  I am Jamaica's husband, Foursquare's comm director, Personality's founder, and a catalyst for CFCC.
  
  
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This past Saturday we celebrated Jamaica’s 30th birthday with about 50 friends here in Los Angeles. For the handful of you that follow me on Twitter, you know that this soiree has been a long time coming. And thanks to the help of several friends and family, it was a grand celebration. Jamaica was really honored!

This 30th was a far cry from her 16th birthday when apparently Jamaica’s best friend threw a surprise party and Jamaica broke out in tears because she wasn’t prepared for it. I learned my lesson and chose not to make this a surprise, although there were elements of surprise. A few highlights:

• Five of Jamaica’s friends flew/drove in from out-of-state to be here. I worked with Jamaica’s sister who lives in LA to put together a little pre-soiree fun for the seven of them. They stayed overnight down by the ocean, shared a gondola ride and hung out at The Getty.

• One of the talented people I work with (Jena) wrote a catchy song chorus and her boyfriend (Dwayne) wrote an original music score. In addition to an opening verse by Jena, it included four different verses that were written and performed by two friends, Jamaica’s parents, and yours truly. I’ll post the audio another time, but the chorus sings, “Jamaica me crazy / You know she ain’t lazy / As cute as a daisy / Jamaica me crazy.”
• There were a handful of people who spoke some really kind words to Jamaica in front of the crowd on Saturday night. It was cool to see friends and family share funny stories and encouraging words.
• Several months before the big day, I sent emails to dozens of friends and family around the world who could not make it to the party, asking if they could send a video greeting. About twenty people responded. I posted Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube.
• Following the cupcake presentation and singing of “happy birthday,” we rolled a slide-show video that attempted to build momentum for the dancing (which explains the music selection).
• I rented a small stage and dance floor. It was great to see so many people dancing the night away! Another talented guy I work with (Michael) goes by the name DJ Peach and he brought the beats.
• I was really proud of Jamaica when she made the decision before her birthday to forgo presents. She asked that instead people would re-direct anything they were planning to give in the form of a monetary donation to our friends in Haiti. I was blown away when to see that over $1,000 was given to Haiti. Wow!

What a thrill to throw a party for the woman of my dreams. Love it!

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