By Tadia Toussaint
Many nodding heads and smiles filled the room to hear Haitian-American media maven and now author Karen Civil tell her story. Karen Civil Day was hosted at Barclays Center on Feb.10 featuring a meet and greet and a customized SnapChat filter where die-hard fans got exclusive access to a signing of Civil’s new book Be You Live Civil.
Wearing her black sparkling sequin jersey dress labeled with her last name, Karen spoke passionately about her new playground in Petion-vile and how ecstatic she is about finally being able to materialize her dream of giving back to her parents’ native country.
“At the end of the day I’m not just a check writer,” Civil said, when explaining that she was very hands-on with the development of the playground. “I want to make sure that I see who is benefiting from this.”
Civil said she was able to get the Civil Playground off the ground with the help of independent contractors in 2014.
She said she didn’t want to sign off $40,000 to just anyone as most donors/sponsors do.
Beside her project in Haiti, Civil explained how her presence on social media has opened doors of opportunities for her including her occasional trips to the White House to hang with the First Lady Of the US (FLOTUS) Michelle Obama.
Doing more than what she was asked for as an intern for Hot 97’s Funk Flex is what she said helped her rise to the top.
The private and exclusive event put together by group sales account manager, Joze Fragé was the first of many at Barclays Center. Light refreshments were served and fans were invited to watch the Nets vs Grizzlies game.
Fragé handles group ticket sales for the Nets, college basketball and family shows. He also hosts private events at the arena with different organizations and individuals.
Karen Civil Day was the first of its kind and Fragé who has been working at Barclays for 4 years hopes to merge people from different industries with sports.
Fragé said he chose to feature Civil first because of how well she interacts with her fans and followers.
“I plan to integrate the Haitian community and non-profit organizations in the private events planned at the arena,” he said.