A sixth sense for matchmaking: public relations executive Julie Silver turned a talent for finding love into a passionate hobby

South Florida CEO, June, 2005 by Yeleny Suarez

Julie Silver remembers being a young girl, giggling behind closed doors one Saturday night as she sized up her mother's unsuspecting suitor. Silver would whisper to her mother and hold up fingers, between one and 10, to signal her assessment of him.

Fast-forward to today, and that fun, girlish pastime has turned into a successful matchmaking hobby, one that Silver pursues quite deliberately.

"I have a passion for it," says Silver, the founder and president of Plantation-based public relations firm Boardroom Communications Inc. "It's like a sixth sense knowing who is going to fit together, even if it's not a love connection."

Silver relates her hobby to her work, where she matches ideas for news stories with reporters and clients. In fact, says Silver, she finds it difficult to stop making matches--even if they have nothing to do with a date.

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"All my life, I've always been someone who loves to please people and help, so when someone needs a realtor, a nanny or a dog walker, I am very resourceful," she says.

Silver continued to rate her mother's dates, and that playful exercise eventually helped lead to a successful second marriage. After that, Silver's matchmaking kicked into high gear. In high school, she found that an engaging personality and social skills frequently landed her a date or a boyfriend, but her friends were not always so lucky.

"I would hate it if they did not have a date for the school dance, homecoming or a game, because I always did," Silver says. "I wanted them to feel as good as I did, so I started fixing them up with dates."

Silver explains that her matchmaking and dating philosophy is simple: you have to network and put yourself out there. "You can't stay home and do the same thing day in and day out," she says.

Skills from Silver's first career--journalism--also come in handy in her matchmaking. During the mid-1980's Silver reported for South Florida radio station WGBS-AM. A few years later she launched and produced "Florida Business Report," a locally syndicated three-minute report that was a hit in 30 stations round the United States.

"The people I fix up are people I know, and since I used to be a journalist, I ask questions about hobbies, special interests and what they want in life," she says.

To date, Silver has successfully paired seven couples that eventually married. Attorney James B. Davis, of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart PA, was one of her successful matches.

"Julie was the publicist at the firm I previously worked for and she interviewed the partners to get a feel for us personally and to study our functions," Davis says. "After learning I was divorced, she promised to find a good girl for me, and she did."

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Davis accepted an invitation from Silver to a multiple sclerosis fundraiser more than 1,000 women attended. She had a match in mind, and sat him next to her. The woman was his future wife, Pia. "It was love at first sight," he says. "We wed in June 1999, exactly six months later."

Nonetheless, even Silver acknowledges that not all dates are love connections.

"I know in my mind who is going to connect--even if it's just for good company or a date for the theater," she says. "It may not be the love of their life but they will definitely enjoy each other and have things in common."

Silver does more than just introduce two people. She also passes on dating advice and clothing and hairstyling tips. Her main suggestion is to always smile, and to talk about positive things. "I tell my friends not to talk about their divorce, to stay off that topic; it is like airing out your dirty laundry," she says.

Matchmaking is not just something that Silver happens to do. She makes time for it, spending a few hours every week on her quest. But she does not look at it as a job.

"To me it's not just another hobby," she says. "I love tennis and ping-pong and it's fun to win. But when you fix two people up that would probably have never known each other and it works out--hopefully--for the rest of their lives, it's a wonderful feeling. You feel very special."

Even after a personal tragedy of her own, Silver has continued to make matches. In September 2003, a scuba diving accident on a warm summer day took her husband's life, ending a 17-year marriage that produced two children. Suddenly, Silver was forced to apply her skills to her own life.

"I've never been divorced, so when my husband passed away I thought, 'I am never going to meet somebody because I already know everybody and there is nobody that is right for me.'" Silver says. "But that is not true. Once you start meeting people, you realize you don't know the entire world."