Hello all,
I am very happy to report that the March meeting held this past Tuesday at Emmanuel Church, was a huge success and one of our best attended meetings!
It was very heartwarming to see so many concierges and affiliates and I hope that this is a trend that will continue throughout the rest of the year.
There are some wonderful venues and opportunities that are planned to both entertain and inform our association, so let's keep camaraderie and involvement our top goal to make the very most of all that we are privileged to experience.
And, for those of you that were not able to attend, I introduced a contest meant to identify the GBCA'S charitable involvement in the form of a "catch phrase". This phrase would be a recognizable entity particular to our association. I have requested that concierges submit their ideas (Concerned Concierges of Boston for instance...but better!) either to the GBCA email or phone line. Please identify yourself and the property that you are from. The phrases will be accepted through the 23rd of this month, at which time a winner will be chosen and introduced at the April meeting to be held at the Museum of Science on Monday, April 6th.
Also, we would really like to recognize the many accolades awarded to our concierge and affiliate Community. So, if you know of someone that has been recognized or has provided some meritorious achievement, please let us know so that we can include that in our newsletters.
Until next time.....
Very warmest regards,
Ellen Silverman
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| March Meeting at Emmanuel Church |
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On Tuesday March 3, the GBCA held its all member meeting at Emmanuel Church on Newbury Street. Prior to the meeting GBCA Members toured the New England Historic Genealogical Society at 99-101 Newbury Street. At Emmanuel Church members were treated to food provided by five of the seven restaurant concepts of the Back Bay Restaurant Group (http://www.backbayrestaurantgroup.com/). Also mini spa treatments were offered courtesy of Joyce Hampers of G20 and Emerge. The first speaker was the Parish administrator of Emmanuel Church who spoke of the church's great history and all of the unique music programs and offerings including a synagogue which meets at the church. She also mentioned the church is a popular wedding site and that Pops conductor Keith Lockhart was married there last year! The next speaker was Amy Daniels, director of Marketing for the Back Bay restaurant group. They are comprised of 34 restaurants with seven concepts including Charley's, Joe's, Papa Razzi, Abe and Louie's, Bouchee, Atlantic Fish Company and the Coach Grill. Amy gave a great talk about the history of and values embodied by the Back Bay Restaurant Group. They are committed to high quality, value and service and they will accommodate any guest request regarding food preparation. After Amy, a representative of Panorama magazine spoke about the upcoming release of the new Newbury Street guide. It will be distributed to all of our hotels next month. In the meeting we also heard from Newbury Street League President and Emerge/G2o owner Joyce Hampers about her great spas and about her colleague's plastic surgery practice on Newbury Street.
NEHGS Director of Marketing Tom Champoux gave an informative explanation of the various functions of the NEHGS and explained how it is open to the public for a daily fee. It's amazing how this fascinating resource is located right on Newbury Street. Tom later spoke at the Emmanuel Church and invited all GBCA members to come and spend a day researching their family history at the NEGHS free of charge. He distributed information sheets and coupons for free access at the meeting as well. Complete information about the New England Historic Genealogical Society can be found at www.newenglandacestors.org. Tom can be reached at tchampoux@nehgs.org if any members have any questions.
GBCA President Ellen Silverman spoke about the importance of RSVPing for all meetings and events along with introducing a contest for the membership to come up with a new for the GBCA Outreach programs. She also spoke with excitement about being back and about the many great events we have coming up! Affiliate Representative Julie Pagano spoke of the Upcoming Tradeshow. The deadline is to apply for a table is March 15th and the fee for non affiliate members is $175. If any members know of a business that you think should be there please have them email Julie (julie@baystatecruisecompany.com) as soon as possible. Julie also announced that going forward affiliate members will only be able to have one representative per organization at monthly meetings. Robert Morrissette Also spoke about the membership and the need to get any membership applications and fees that have not been submitted in to the GBCA as soon as possible.
The business portion of the meeting was followed by a fashion show featuring the clothes of Soodee, a women's boutique at 293 Newbury Street (www.soodeeboston.com). Models beautifully showcased the boutiques spring fashions to the delight of the audience. Special thanks to Dianne Agoun Soodee for this great opportunity. After the fashion show, dessert was provided by the Back Bay Restaurant Group and GBCA members were invited to tour the church and view its many interesting and historic aspects. Special thanks again to Emmanuel Church for hosting our March meeting. A spectacular time was had by all. |
| February Meeting at Blue Hills Ski Area |
The Blue Hills Ski Area in Milton hosted our first meeting of the year. By having a morning meeting we were able to accommodate the schedules of some of our members who always work evening shifts and also enjoy a day of skiing and and relaxation. Although it was a very frigid day a number of members did ski and even take lessons while others enjoyed the warmth of the lodge and a very productive "round table" session.
Tony Gomes, director of the ski school and rental section at Blue Hills gave us an overview of the facilities and told how many foreign visitors to Boston have used the ski area as a convenient way to experience snow and winter fun. Most GBCA members found out how convenient and easily accessible the ski area is for visitors and local residents.
The round table discussions brought out a lot of good ideas about what members want the GBCA to be for them. We also heard a lot of ideas about meetings, what we need from them, how they should be conducted and where members would like to experience new venues.
Thanks to Tony and the staff of the Blue Hills Ski Area for a fun and profitable day and a wonderful complimentary lunch at the lodge. Thanks also to our good friends at North Shore Shuttle, Gina Walker and Vince Giarusso for providing the transportation to and from Boston. |
| Anniversary Party at The Palm
Sunday, January 11 |
A spectacular evening of great food and entertainment was hosted by The Palm Restaurant. Events manager, Rocky Iudiciani and restaurant Manager Scott Kelly and their kitchen and wait staff provided a fun environment, mounds of great food and a warm welcome to the GBCA. Members were extremely pleased with the party and the venue. We welcome The Palm as our newest affiliate member. |
GBCA Outreach Events
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On February 26th, several GBCA members volunteered at the Greater Boston Food Bank for a three and a half hour shift in the afternoon. Upon arrival we were given an orientation about the food bank from the volunteer coordinator and we watched a video about the food bank and how it addresses hunger in Eastern Massachusetts. Then we headed out to the warehouse to sort pallets of donated food. This is important work because a lot of the food received through donations is not in proper condition to be given directly to food pantries and hungry people. It was hard work at first and also somewhat dirty work but also very rewarding knowing that we were helping people who needed food to get. We will definitely be going back to the Food Bank again the near future. Thanks to Joe Fallon, Paul Duffy, and Barbara Harris for their time!
On February 13th a group of GBCA members went over to the Ellis Memorial Center's Adult Day Health care program in the South End to visit with the clients there. We visited for about an hour during which we presented every client with a valentine's card, played charades with them, and brought them cookies and juice, all while getting to know them a little better. We also presented them with all with small Walkman type radios as a gift (courtesy of Betty Salemme's company). We also brought the center the donations from our winter coat, hat and sweater drive! A great and rewarding time was had by all who participated and we hope to return again soon to the Ellis Center. They were so grateful to have us there and they spoke warmly and fondly of our former colleague Jonathan Pride who did so much for them during his involvement there. Thank you to Ellen Coppinger, Betty Salemme, Gabe Presman, Joe Fallon, Julie Doherty, and Evan Testa and Sabrina Lesgourgues for their time!
Reaching back to the Holiday season we raised over $500 for the Greater Boston Food Bank through our gift wrapping at Barnes and Noble! Thank you to all who participated in this great event! We will be returning next year as well.
Thank you to all as well for your support of our outreach events and for your time given in the past and for the future. Please reach out to me with any ideas for new events or causes that we can support!
-Adam Castiglioni adam.castiglioni@yahoo.com
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To submit information and pictures for future newsletters please email Adam Castiglioni, Vice President of Public Relations at gbca@hotmail.com Thank you!
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Save the Date
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DATES TO REMEMBER
April 6th - GBCA All Members Meeting at Museum of Science
April 28th - GBCA Trade Show at Black Falcon Cruise Terminal
May 12th - GBCA All Members Meeting at The Commandant's House in Charlestown Navy Yard
June 8th - GBCA All Members Meeting at Patriot Place
June 14th - Where Magazine's Silver Plume Awards at Great Bay
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