SOLVE -- Early in 2015, Castle partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MIT Technology Review to produce SOLVE, a groundbreaking event to inspire extraordinary people to work together to solve the world's greatest challenges. For four days in October, technologists, philanthropists, business leaders, policy makers and change agents convened to examine and address some of the world's biggest problems and worked together to begin to bring about real, lasting change across four pillars: Cure, Learn, Make and Fuel. Takeaway: It's not enough to just talk about the world's biggest problems. If we want to change our future, we need to collaborate on ways to solve these problems.

Company Retreat to Stowe -- In late November, Castle trekked to beautiful Stowe, Vermont for our company retreat, where we convened as a team to learn from one another and plan for our upcoming 20th anniversary. Thanks to our amazing colleague, event planner Maria Bauder, our team returned from the Green Mountain state feeling more excited than ever for our plans for the future. Takeaway: Taking time to focus and strengthen your team is an invaluable investment because an organization is only as strong as the people working together within it.

CWE Women-Owned Business Challenge -- As proud women business owners, Sandy and Wendy are longtime supporters of the Center for Women & Enterprise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women start and grow their businesses. Sandy was honored to be asked to emcee the organization's Women-Owned Business Challenge, a competition to promote female entrepreneurship and the advancement of early-stage and growing women-owned businesses in the New England area. Congratulations to winners Laurin Mills of Dinner Daily and Carina Donoso and Kristen Lambert of The Third Piece. Takeaway: Every entrepreneur will tell you how difficult it is to start and grow a business. Giving back to help start-ups advance is a two way street--you get as much as you give by learning about new organizations and finding new inspiration from the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Daily Table -- Castle had the great privilege of working with the talented leadership team at Daily Table to launch its first nonprofit grocery store in Dorchester. It was a pleasure to work alongside Founder/President Doug Rauch to promote Daily Table's mission to help local communities make better food choices by making it easy to access tasty, healthy, convenient and affordable meals and groceries. And it was a story that resonated locally, nationally and internationally. Takeaway: Making nutritious, affordable food available to everyone is a complex, global problem, but innovative solutions can be found right here in our own community.

Salem Five -- Our longtime client, Salem Five, has a reputation for offering cutting-edge banking services to its customers, and 2015 was no exception. The mutual bank rolled out Apple Pay, People Pay, Cardless Cash Access and Visa Checkout. It was one of the first financial institutions in the country to offer online banking and the first Massachusetts-based bank to offer Apple Pay. Takeaway: Technology is a game changer across all industries and the most successful organizations are those that grow and adapt with it.

The Ruderman Inclusion Summit -- Castle worked with the Ruderman Family Foundation on its first two-day forum that gathered more than 500 stakeholders from around the world at the Seaport World Trade Center Boston to foster strategic advocacy and awareness, peer-to-peer learning and best practices in advancing the inclusion of those with disabilities. Takeaway: Coming together to share best practices in an inclusive environment is an effective way to drive meaningful change.

The PRGN Seattle Conference -- Last April, Wendy and Sandy traveled west to Seattle for PRGN's annual spring conference. Representatives from each of our sister agencies gathered in the Emerald City to confer on a variety of industry topics, including agency succession, regional agency trends and social media. Sandy teamed up with our PRGN colleague Aaron Blank of The Feary Group for a special session on interagency business and collaboration. Takeaway: Increased business collaboration cultivates global connections, cultural diversity and more opportunities for our clients.

Boston Harbor Cruises Named Small Business of the Year -- The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce named Castle client Boston Harbor Cruises (BHC) its top honoree for the 2015 Small Business of the Year Awards and we can't think of a more worthy recipient. The family-owned business, in operation for almost 90 years, services 2.5 million passengers annually on its 55 vessels. Congratulations to the Nolan family and the entire BHC team! Takeaway: Small business is an integral part of our local economy and community, and supporting them is a win-win for everyone.

Community Engagement -- We spend the lion's share of our time communicating with, and building, various constituencies, and one of the most important is our greater community. As a concerned corporate citizen and community member, we're proud to support a variety of local and national organizations, including WGBH, The Center for Women and Enterprise, Family Reach Foundation, The March of Dimes, United Way, The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Cradles to Crayons. Takeaway: Between work, family and social commitments, we're all incredibly busy, but taking time to give back to our communities is rewarding and worthwhile.

We are looking forward to creating new memories in 2016!