The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford ‘Visions’ Event featured author and Rotisserie (Fantasy) Baseball inventor Daniel Okrent as well as WNPR’s Colin McEnroe.

(L-R) WNPR host Colin McEnroe, Inventor of Rotisserie League (Fantasy) Baseball Daniel Okrent. Photo credit: Jennifer Friereck Photograpy

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford’s Men’s Philanthropy event Visions featured Daniel Okrent, the inventor of Rotisserie League (Fantasy) Baseball, co-author of the off-Broadway hit Old Jews Telling Jokes, and first public editor of the New York Times. The event took place on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, at the Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford. Colin McEnroe, WNPR host of The Colin McEnroe Show and Hartford Courant blogger, joined Okrent for an evening of candid conversation.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford is a change-maker, thought leader and advocate in the local community in the fields of caregiving, Jewish education, health care, aging, philanthropy, inclusion, Israel and global affairs.  The Federation’s Men’s Philanthropists are a powerful and dedicated group of change-makers and community-shapers of Greater Hartford and beyond. They are deeply committed to making the world a better place, or fulfilling the Jewish value of Tikkun olam (healing the world).

Daniel Okrent’s 40-year career has encompassed nearly every form of mass media. Beyond his work as an author of books as well as the off-Broadway hit Old Jews Telling Jokes, the first public editor of the New York Times, an expert commentator on many network shows, a film actor and the head of Time Inc.’s internet efforts, he is probably best known for inventing Rotisserie (aka “Fantasy”) Baseball.

The money raised will support the 2016 Men’s Philanthropy Annual Campaign.

Speakers and co-chairs, L-R Top: Howard Sovronsky, Colin McEnroe, Daniel Schwartz, Daniel Gottfried. L-R Bottom: Norm Sondheimer, Ann Pava, Daniel Okrent, Eric Zachs. Photo credit: Jennifer Friereck Photograpy

About Men’s Philanthropy:

The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford’s Men’s Philanthropy provides opportunities for men of all ages to collaborate and connect. Through leadership, pride in their heritage and giving back to their community, Men’s Philanthropy practices Tikkun olam (healing the world).

Visions 2015 Co-Chairs: Daniel Gottfried, Daniel Schwartz and Norm Sondheimer.

About the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford:

The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford is a change-maker, thought leader and advocate in the local community in the fields of caregiving, Jewish education, health care, aging, philanthropy, inclusion, Israel and global affairs.  The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford protects and enhances the well being of Jews worldwide through the values of Tikkun olam (healing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning). To learn more about the work of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, visit www.jewishhartford.org.

About Daniel Okrent:

Daniel Okrent’s 40-year career has encompassed nearly every form of mass media. In book publishing, he was an editor at Knopf, Viking, and Harcourt. In magazines, he founded the award-winning New England Monthly and was chief editor of the monthly Life. In newspapers, he was the first public editor of the New York Times. On television, he has appeared as an expert commentator on many network shows and appeared in Ken Burns’ Baseball. In film, he was featured in the documentaries Wordplay and Silly Little Game, Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown, and Lasse Hallstrom’s The Hoax. Online, he headed Time Inc.’s Internet efforts in the late 1990’s.

Beginning with Nine Innings in 1985, and proceeding through the 2010 publication of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, Okrent has been (according to novelist Kevin Baker in Publishers Weekly) “one of our most interesting and eclectic writers of nonfiction over the past 25 years.” He was also the author of Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center; a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history.

Still, despite all of that, Okrent may be best known for inventing Rotisserie (aka “Fantasy”) Baseball. He would prefer, however, to be known as the husband of the poet Rebecca Okrent, and father of John Okrent and Lydia Okrent.

About Colin McEnroe:

Colin McEnroe hosts the daily WNPR show, The Colin McEnroe Show. He is a weekly columnist and blogger for The Hartford Courant and a contributing editor at Men’s Health. He has recently concluded a series of columns for Bicycling magazine.

He is the author of three books and one play; and his work has appeared on the New York Times Op-Ed Page and in Mirabella, Best Life, Cosmopolitan, Forbes FYI and Mademoiselle. He frequently moderates the Connecticut Forum and teaches media studies at Trinity College. His books, columns, magazine articles and radio shows have won numerous awards.