THE HERALD
For some South florida Professionals, using business connections to help bring couples together is a rewarding hobby.

Matchmakers Add Spice to the Workday
by, Sharon Harvey Rosenberg
The Herald, Monday, January 26,2004

Merry Matchmaker: Julie Silver, right, enjoys bringing couples together when she is not busy at work as president of Boardroom Communications, a public relations firm. She introduced Holly and Jason Tobin, at left, to each other in 1997. They married in 1998.

CHILD PRODIGY
In local business and media circles, Julie Silver – president of Plantation-based Boardroom Communications – is well known for her ability to unite couples. As a matchmaker, Silver launched her career at the age of eight, when she used to rank the suitors who called on her divorced mother.

“She would always have me help her get ready for her dates and also rate her dates. And I would always love it,” Silver says. “It was funny. I would always come out with these signs [to grade the dates]. And of course I would always like the guys who were nicest to me.”

As a preteen matchmaker, Silver claimed her first victory. She successfully lobbied for the suitor who has been her stepfather for the past 30 years.

“Oh, I gave him a total thumbs up. He also got me private tennis lessons and sent me to summer camp. I said ‘Ok. This is it. He’s the one.’ And he is also very nice to my mom,” Silver says.
Later in high school and college, Silver – who always had dates for herself – made it her personal mission to find dates for friends who were wallflowers at school parties and dances.
“I would set them up with dates so they could go, too,” Silver says. “I didn’t want anyone not to have a date on a Saturday night.”

WEDDING BELLS
Over the years, Silver has found spouses for college friends, her late husband’s twin brother, several top business executives and even her next-door neighbor. She also played the role of the matchmaker when a former Miss Teen USA married a top executive from a national real estate company. The executive’s family was one of the original owners of the Empire State Building, and he proposed to the former beauty queen while dining at the top of tat impressive building.

Almost a dozen of Silver’s matches have led to marriages for couples from New York to Florida. For her efforts, Silver only collects ice cream as payment from happy couples.

Meanwhile, finding soul mates for other people has provided consolation to Silver, who lost her husband, Terry Zobel, after a fatal diving accident about four months ago. Now as a young widow and single mother, Silver fills hours of solitude by enhancing the lives of others.

“It just gives me a great feeling,” she says. “I just love to make people happy and to help people find their soul mate. It’s a wonderful feeling.”