Dear Members and Friends:
After a brutal winter, I think we can finally say Welcome to Spring Time!!!
April turned out to be a very busy month for our GBCA members. There were discounted theater opportunities, Big Apple Circus discounted tickets and many receptions and events.
The month ended with the most impressive GBCA Hospitality Trade Show ever! The exciting event, spearheaded by our own dedicated Affiliate Representative Meg Worth of the Citi Performance Center, proved to be the "happening" of the year (and it's only April!) -- with over 175 businesses showcasing their goods and services to more than 300 guest services personal coming from as far away as Newport, RI to learn what Boston has to offer its visitors and guests.
Meg Worth and her team of hard-working volunteers outdid themselves this year! Joe Donlavey, Bob Schwartz and Julie Doherty Pagano, all past Affiliate Representatives and former GBCA Hospitality Trade Show hosts, were on hand to share their expertise in making the event a huge achievement.
Joe Donlavey along with Julie Doherty Pagano, Martha Davis, Kristin Beal, Shion Hara, Erica Norville, Dan Fowkes, Gina Guange and Elise Libeskind worked meticulously to see that the business check-ins ran smoothly and that everyone was welcomed with an enthusiastic greeting and great appreciation for their support.
Special Thank You goes to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets and Arts Boston for supplying the abundant gift bags for our members to collect literature and gifts from participating trade show businesses.
Thanks to Joe Fallon and the folks at Urban Adventours for giving their time to assist with company move-in on the dock...again the process of move in-move out was flawless.
The lovely ladies at check-in including Midge Bertrand, Grace Giuditta, Carol Coppelo and Muriel Gardner all did an amazing job making sure everyone felt welcomed.
The flow of the room was spectacular, everyone involved, had nothing but positive remarks for the arrangement of the room. Thank you to all the volunteers who came early to set-up and all of those who were there until the end, braking down from what was the event of the year; Ann Heimlicher, Marc Kadis, Danny Fowkes, Ellen Coppinger, Debra Hegger, Charles Currier, all the incredibly hard working volunteers.
Thank you again to Julie Messer and Ashley Gonyow for assisting with the concierge raffles, so many concierges went home with exquisite gifts, tickets and pleasurable opportunities to enjoy Boston to its fullest.
Balloon City and Peterson Party Rentals ensured a great arrangement with fabulous decorations, transforming the room into the spectacular setting that you all saw when you arrived.
Also thank you for another fantastic job of photographing this astounding event by our good friend and colleague David Fox of David Fox Photography. Thank you David for volunteering your time and resources to make our occasion a success. Again David's photographs make everyone and everything look special and keep the memories alive for a lifetime!
Also a big thank you to all of our friends at Massport, Pam Conovale, Susan Butler and Chris Zuffante and all of their workforce for making the event run so smoothly-- you folks are so delightful to work with! The Black Falcon Cruise Terminal is an awesome location to hold any affair large or small.
Thank you to our friends at Go Boston Shuttle and Super Tours for providing transportation to the GBCA annual tradeshow.
No occasion could be complete without the musical talents of our own Master of Ceremonies; the multi-talented Evan Martin; GBCA Vice President of Public Relations. As always, Evan kept all our members and guests entertained as they strolled the aisles meeting and greeting all of our many hospitality partners. There was even an impromptu dance session going on right in front of the table, as Evan spun his fun with great tunes. Be sure to look at his amazing video of the exciting event including interviews with Meg and me sharing our gratitude to all those folks who truly made this year's GBCA Hospitality Trade Show a huge victory!!
Again, thank you to Meg Worth and all the volunteers for a fabulous GBCA Hospitality Trade Show.
I look forward to seeing you all at the next GBCA Meeting at the Palm Restaurant on May 27, 2014.
With Pride in Service;
Betty Salemme
GBCA President
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