Revolution Dating Helps Hearts Collide – By Amy Woods
Revolution Dating was showcased in a feature article in the local PBG Lifestyle
Magazine in September of 2014 full text of the article is included below.
She calls her clients “revolutionaries.” She helps them find their soul mates. She caters to, consults with and counsels the young and old, never-married and newly divorced, and widows and widowers who come to her “lookin’ for love.” As the song by country artist Johnny Lee goes, some of South Florida’s singles often end up searching for that special someone “in all the wrong places” and “in too many faces.”
The wrong places comprise bars and nightclubs, while the too-many-faces crowd the Internet. “The world is different,” said Kelly Leary, president of Revolution Dating in Palm Beach Gardens. “The divorce rate is on the rise, the marriage rate is on the decline, and online dating has changed everything.”
Online dating does not come close to describing Leary’s business. Entering the free, digital domain requires nothing more than a user name and password to unlock a database of questionable head shots that range from cute to risqué to X-rated.
“Online dating has a bad rap,” Leary said. “I know all about this industry, and I’ve never seen anything like it. You don’t really know what you’re getting into.
”Revolution Dating, via Kelly Leary, has entered into its 24th year with a well-mastered model based on concierge-style service, personal touches and privacy. “This is truly the real deal,” Leary said. “We’re absolutely here to get to know people. We want to do great things for our clients – of all ages.” She has taken the popular text-message abbreviation LOL and repurposed it. “Love-Off-Line – that’s what we’re about,” Leary said. “There is no online database. We are client-first, and when you say ‘client-first,’ everything else falls into place.” The high-end matchmaking service works like a club. Those who want to join undergo a prescreening by the company’s director of admissions, Jeannie Handy, and then come in for a meeting with Leary if they qualify. When they join, they receive a reception and warm welcome as they set out on the road to romance. The members-only fun begins with an assortment of outdoor events, including kayaking,paddleboarding and yoga, mixers and minglers at local restaurants, special parties with seasonal themes and speed-dating gatherings.
“We sort of want to bring it back to where it all starts – love,” Leary said. She founded the company after obtaining her master’s degree in clinical psychology from the Miami Institute of Psychology. At first, she wanted to work as a profiler in the field of forensic psychology, but the job gave her the creeps. “My parents were educated hippies,” Leary said. “They were at Woodstock in 1969. So I’m all about peace and love…and knowledge.”
Earlier this year, the company had its inaugural Love-Fest, a celebration of camaraderie and friendship that featured cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, music by a DJ, one-on-one introductions, prize giveaways and a professional photographer. “It really was a hit,” Leary said. “It was elite and upscale. We’re going to do it every year so it will take on its own vibe.” She and her detail-oriented “A-Team” of Rachel McKee and Jessica Hackett produced Love-Fest. More than 170 attended the hearts-and-flowers themed social. “Not the B-Team, not the C-Team but the A-Team – that’s what we are,” said McKee, Revolution Dating’s vice president. “Kelly and I have known each other for 10 years. We finish each other’s sentences. We pretty much are on the same page as to how we want to help our members.” Hackett, who serves as the company’s premier matchmaker, likened the experience of becoming a revolutionary to that of a fraternity brother or sorority sister. “Everyone’s going through the same thing,” she said. “It’s instant friends and instant boyfriends and instant girlfriends.” Stuart resident Denise Scicchitano joined Revolution Dating following the death of her husband in 2007. The mother of two daughters, then 10 and 13, had been married for nearly 20 years. “Dating was a new concept for me,” Scicchitano, 50, said. “The idea of paying a company to help me date was just very foreign.” through its matchmaking magic, she met her husband. It started with an email stating Rich Scicchitano wanted her phone number. “I read his profile and looked at his photographs,” Denise said. “His personality just cracked me up. So I said they could give him my number. We knew on our first date that we had something special.” They married one year later, and she toasted their seven-year bond with a speech at Love-Fest. “It obviously worked,” Denise said. “I am a success story. Kelly has been in touch every step of the way. It’s just that level of expertise from a professional who knows the business and how to bring people together.”
The above story was a reprint of a feature story in PBG Lifestyles Magazine that was done on Kelly and Revolution Dating last summer! We do hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to start your revolution soon too! Do stay tuned for more revolutionary news! Thank you for following The Florida Matchmaker!
