Past Region 12 Regional News
From the January - March 2010 issue of ACCED-I Connections
Region 12 Meeting News….from the Director
A huge thank you goes out to Region 12 members for attending our regional meeting that was held at the University of Burlington in Vermont in early November. Shane Cutler, director of conference & event services, and his talented conference staff did an incredible job showcasing their venue and putting together a full educational program.
I want to take this time to send out a huge thank you to all of you in our region for taking time to cast your ballots for the "next round of leadership" that will represent and advocate for our members both on a regional and international level. Both Johanna Mancivalano of Salve Regina and Michael Ellman of UMASS Amherst deserve kudos for sharing their insights and interest in serving in an ACCED-I leadership capacity as they submitted their names for selection as our next leader.
With this said, it is with great pleasure that Shane Cutler, director of conference & event services of the University of Vermont (incoming director) and I announce that Johanna Mancivalano, conferences & events manager of Salve Regina University in Rhode Island has been elected as our incoming ACCED-I director-elect for Region 12.
Johanna's dedication and passion to academic conference and events throughout her tenure at Salve Regina and her past experiences in the hospitality industry will bode well for our region during the next two years as a new leader in ACCED-I. In March 2010, Johanna will serve alongside Shane Cutler as director-elect for one full year and then in March 2011 she will step into the director position for another full year.
News from Thomas College, Waterville, ME:
A huge congrats to Mikaela F. Zioro on her promotion to director of campus events at Thomas College in Waterville, ME in September. 2009
News from the University of New England (UNE):
Did H1N1 “Visit” Your Campus? With the ongoing battle with H1N1 and keeping our university community safe, UNE took a proactive stance and became one of few closed POD (Point of Dispensing) sites in Maine for all our students, staff, faculty, and family members. This initiative was spearheaded by President Danielle Ripich, a select team from the UNE Pandemic Planning Committee as well as Norma Charette, UNE campaign manager and Michael Radke, representative of the Maine CDC.
Because UNE was organized and “on top of our game”, we were able to receive 2,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine during the months of September- December and to date have immunized 1,500 constituents, thus keeping our community healthy and safe.
The University of New England and The Office of Conference Services is pleased to roll out a university wide “new look and feel” of our website(s). We are proud to announce the addition of new marketing efforts we are employing; FaceBook and Twitter to keep in touch with friends, colleagues, and clients. Check out our website at www.une.edu/conferences and become a friend on FACEBOOK and/or follow us on Twitter.
From the November/December 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections
News from Salve Regina University
The Conferences and Events Department at Salve Regina University ended a very successful summer conference season and moved right into a busy start to the academic school year. The University celebrated the Inauguration of Jane Gerety, RSM as the Seventh President on Friday, September 18th. For the second year in a row, the Boston Celtics held their Training Camp on campus September 28th through October 3rd. They arrived on campus for a catered dinner held in Ochre Court, our flagship building, and finished up the week playing an intra-squad scrimmage that was attended by Salve Regina students, staff, and faculty.
News from The University of New England (UNE)
The University of New England would like to announce that one of it's own conference coordinators, Kelly E. Clough, was recently married to Brady Alden on Sunday, October 11, 2009 in UNE"s own Ludke Auditorium. Kelly and Brady spent their fabulous honeymoon in Las Vegas.
Corporate Planner Versus the Academic Planner? Which one are You?
The University of New England Conference Services staff recently attended one of Boston's premier "Best Events" Trade Shows that was held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Boston and the target audience was primarily for the Boston based corporate event planners. It was an opportunity for both personal and professional development for our staff as we mingled and met many new regional corporate planners and vendors for some of the products we purchase and rent each and every day. The trade show workshops showcased some of the latest tips, practices, trends, and issues we are facing in our industry and this served as a true realization that we are from two worlds at times, but are also alike in many ways as we gained a great deal of ideas that we could intertwine into our conferences and events as academic planners. It was interesting to realize from an academic standpoint, that even though we (academic planners) have been around doing business for many, many years, the corporate side of the planning industry still has not realized the full scope of our services or the fact that we do indeed exist.
In a room filled with corporate planners, it was refreshing to see and meet academic planners and staff from Bentley University, Suffolk University, Northeastern University, UMASS Boston, and Endicott College at the trade show. I think we made an impression in the corporate planning industry that "we too are a force to be reckoned with and indeed a unique venue to look at when hosting their future corporate events". Academic planners are being recognized locally and nationally as a new choice for new budgets in such tight economic times and this statement was further validated when I read an article in the Agenda Best Events New York Magazine (Summer 2009 Issue) " Rethink The Venue ; Choosing a non-traditional space can help keep costs in line" covering pages 66-71. There was a tremendous amount of information speaking about choosing other cost saving venues and universities and colleges were specifically highlighted so don't be surprised when "Corporate Planner X" gives you a ring for new meeting space!!!
From the September-October 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
Submitted by Kate Grenier, alumni admissions and event coordinator, Unity College in Unity, ME
This summer, Unity College hosted a successful weekend event called "Hooked on Unity." The weekend was designed for incoming and returning students and their families to get together, make new friends, and catch a huge prize! The weekend included movies, ice cream socials, geo-caching races, a band, and cookouts. The weekend concluded with a environmentally low-impact catch and release fishing derby where native fish from Lake Winnecook (aka Unity Pond) are tagged two weeks before the event with corresponding scholarships and prizes to each tag. > Click here to read the entire article
Submitted by Norma J. Charette, director of conference services, University of New England in Biddeford, ME
The Office of Conference Services at the University of New England has undergone a recent restructure within the university organization and now resides under the auspices of Harley Knowles, vice president for institutional advancement. This new restructure will allow the department to operate its conference division "business as usual" and will help to further strengthen the partnerships they have made within their respective communities as they can tap into additional resources for hosting events and conferences.
With some sadness, our last official summer conference group left campus on Saturday, August 15th and we turned over our residence halls to get ready for the arrival of the athletes, resident assistants and in early September to welcome another stellar year of eager students to our campuses. We have had a great summer conference season and could not have done it without the help of our student staff and "summer team".
This past summer, UNE has undergone many successful construction projects which has added some much needed academic classrooms, research sites and meeting spaces for its students and guests alike. UNE recently opened the Pickus Center for Biomedical Research,The Peter and Cécile Morgane Laboratory Wing, and the newly opened College of Pharmacy. In the next few weeks, UNE will break ground for another 300 bed housing project that will open for occupancy in September 2010.
Thanks to Unique Venues and their consultant Paul Horngren of Purdue University as they conducted a follow up consulting visit on site at UNE in July. This consulting report was the result of a three year study to track the success of strides UNE made during their 2006 initial visit. Thanks Unique Venues for keeping us honest and for keeping us to our "game plan".
From the June-August 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
Mark Your Calendars!
Region 12's ACCED-I fall meeting is slated for Thursday/Friday, November 5-6, 2009 at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Information about discounted hotels and a sampling of the agenda to be announced soon. Please check the regional website for important news, updates, and volunteer opportunities.
University of Vermont
From the April/May 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
Submitted by Norma J. Charette:
Region 12 would like to extend a warm welcome to some of it’s newest members:
Anthony Attride, operations assistant, Facilities Management, Harvard University, MA
Christina De Silva, assistant director, Providence College, RI
Ann Manchester-Molak, assistant vice president, Providence College, RI
Deirdre Driscoll, executive director, College & Event Services, Providence College, RI
Maureen LaSalle, director of Alfond Center and Special Events, St. Joseph’s College, ME
Marie Stivers, director of Academic & Administrative Services, College of the Atlantic, ME
Jean Sylvia, Asst, director, Summer Programs, College of the Atlantic, ME
Carolyn Berzinis, special events coordinator, College of the Atlantic, ME
Rae Beth Anderson, event & conference services associate, Endicott College, MA
Donna Holmes, conference coordinator, Hospitality Administrator, Endicott College, MA
Patrick Cornelissen, director of operations, Endicott College, MA
Claudine Mitchell, conference coordinator, Endicott College, MA
Nancy Cribari, conference coordinator, Endicott College, MA
Denise Morin, director, Conference Services, Southern New Hampshire University, NH
Kristen Bates, Southern New Hampshire University, NH
Bonnie Lorento, event planner, Southern New Hampshire University, NH
Nicolle Paeglow, associate director, Conference Services, Boston University, MA
Andrew Vigue, assistant director, Conference Services, Boston University, MA
News from University of Vermont, Burlington-submitted by Shane Cutler, director
- Michael Howard was hired on January 5, 2009 as our office support assistant providing service as our point of service for the department.
- Denise Zang was promoted on February 2, 2009 within our department and is now our conference services and marketing manager, which oversees all our income-expense activity including professional conference planning, non-University events, summer conferences, and departmental marketing.
- Maureen Cartier was promoted on February 2, 2009 within our department and is now our senior conference coordinator, which oversees all our conference coordinators whom provide professional conference planning and management of all non-University events.
- Steve Sweet was hired on February 17, 2009 as our summer conference coordinator and now oversees all our overnight summer campus and conferences.
News from University of New England, Portland/Biddeford – submitted by Norma J. Charette, director
- After returning from the March 2009 Boston ACCED-I Conference, we have taken the next step in some new and creative marketing ideas
posed in the first ever “Marketing Institute” and we are now live online with our own UNE Conference Services Face Book Page; check it out!! - We have added another online dimension to our portfolio of offerings and services for our clients and have partnered with Acteva, to provide our clients with full online registration service capabilities.
- UNE is proud to announce the opening of the Peter and Cecile Morgane Hall on our Biddeford Campus. This building dedication will be home to the College of Arts & Sciences with a specific focused approach to research.
- UNE Conference Services has undergone a re-organization within the university and now resides under the auspices of Harley Knowles, vp of institutional advancement.
- Special mention to Kelly Clough, Conference Coordinator, on her recent engagement to Brady Alden. An October 2009 wedding is planned, please wish her well.
- Special mention to Emily Peterson, Conference Coordinator, on her recent engagement to Rob Griffin, please wish her well.
From ACCED-I Connections, January - March 2009
Region 12 had a very productive regional meeting October 22-24, graciously hosted by Norma Charette, Emily Peterson and Kelly Clough of University of New England. Attended by approximately 50 members, the focus of the meeting was ‘green initiatives’. Members also enjoyed Portland, Maine - a charming and interesting city!
Michele Tourangeau, director of special events and bookstore operations at Hampshire College, was featured as a new member in the August issue of NACAS College Services publication. NACAS is the National Association for Collegiate Auxiliary Services.
College of the Atlantic's website features an article about their new "green" student housing complex - the Kathryn W. Davis Village. Jean Sylvia, assistant director of summer programs, has forwarded the link to the article, http://www.coa.edu/html/pressreleasesarchive_pg2_496.htm.
Imad Zubi and his staff of Mount Holyoke are excited about their new LEED-certified 175 bed air conditioned residence hall that they will be using this coming summer. Built in 2008, this is the first newly built residence hall on campus in roughly 40 years. With lakeside views and suite style living, this residence hall offers a unique living experience for MHC students. The new residence hall will be considered two separate halls, although they form one large building. Each of the two halls share a common living room space, game room, computer lab, Golden Pear kitchen, and continental breakfast facilities. Residents of the new residence hall are housed in doubles, singles, and suite style rooms. Suites have many different variations including double roomed suites and single roomed suites. All suites have a common space that is only accessible to the residents living in the suite.
After a very successful "Going Green" ACCED-I Region 12 Conference, University of New England is proud to announce that their Conference Services Operation is going paperless! They will send out electronic client contracts, invoices and client evaluations as they work with their newly implemented Kinetics Software. This Going Green initiative is also spilling over into the university overall as they are working with the Sustainability Coordinator to catapult an internal "Going Green" Workshop for all university employees.
UNE Conference Services has also been successful in the design, creation, and full execution of a new look on their website.
Best wishes to all for a good 2009!
From ACCED-I Connections, November - December 2008
Submitted by Roberta Hudson:
As this issue goes to print, Region 12 members will be attending their Fall regional meeting. We will provide a detailed report in the next issue!
Other news around the region…
From Michael Ellman, director, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Conference Services:
For the first time since the Campus Center Hotel at the University of Massachusetts Amherst opened its doors in 1970, the facility is undergoing a complete renovation of its guest rooms, lobby, and adjoining areas. With a tentative completion date of April, 2009, the remodeling is a total makeover to create a three-star hotel. Instead of one or two-bedroom junior suites, the refurbished hotel will offer a mix of room types with new king, queen, or double beds. Each room will be outfitted with new desks with ergonomic chairs, dressers, coffee makers, hair dryers, plasma televisions and high-speed internet connections. The $7.2 million hotel renovation is being financed through the University of Massachusetts Building Authority.
PMSI-Professional Marketing Services, Inc., well known to ACCED-I members, has just launched a new 32 page "Green Meetings" catalog and website with over 100 new recycled and organic promotional items. PMSI President Marty Bear announced that the "Green" division of PMSI has grown over 40% in the last two quarters of 2008 based on Colleges and Schools new Green initiatives. For more information, please contact Marty Bear or visit http://www.callpms.com.
During the past few weeks the University of New England has been busy as they held dedication ceremonies for new buildings such as the Pickus Center for Biomedical Research, the Morgane Hall as well as the George & Barbara Bush Cultural Center all which are located on UNE's main campus located in Biddeford. Norma Charette, director of conference services, says these new buildings will create new research facilities for faculty, provide additional classrooms and labs for its students as well as create another venue for social functions and meeting places for faculty, students, and guests.
Yale University Conference Services has now officially added "Events" to their repertoire, reports Suzanne Shaw, events manager. Although the department has been doing some events for sometime now, event management is now an official service offered by the department. Last year alone, over a dozen external events were planned and executed ranging from small meetings to a gala for 3000. Yale Conference and Event Services hopes to continue the expansion of events in conjunction with conferences by offering support to students, staff, faculty, and external clients. Tara Schule, originally an intern while attending Southern Connecticut State University, has continued after graduation to assist with conference and event planning.
As Thanksgiving approaches we wish everyone best wishes at the beginning of the holiday season!
From ACCED-I Connections, September - October 2008
Submitted by Roberta Hudson:
Our regional meeting should be exceptionally exciting this year. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 23-Friday, October 24 at the University of New England, Westbrook College campus located in Portland, Maine. Norma Charette, Region 12 director-elect, is putting together a program that will include professional development opportunities as well as proven creative revenue generating ideas. In addition, part of the program will be devoted to on-going plans for hosting the 2009 ACCED-I Annual Conference in Boston next March. The final conference agenda as well as details regarding online registration will be forwarded soon. Hotel rooms are blocked at two area hotels, the Portland Regency (800)727-3436, 207-774-4200, $109 until September 10); or the Eastland Park Hotel (888)671-8008, (207)775-5411, $129 until September 22). Members are encouraged to make hotel reservations early as it is still 'leaf-peeping' season at this time!
We look forward to seeing you all there!
From ACCED-I Connections, June - August 2008
Submitted by Roberta Hudson:
As everyone is now concentrating on commencement and summer plans, there are a couple of notes of interest within our region:
Congratulations to Elizabeth Morin, CCEP and Sherry Phillips, CCEP who both received CCEP Certification in March.
Boston University Conference Center at Tyngsboro will be sold to a group planning to complete a sale purchase in July. As of June 30, Conference Operations will end. BU has occupied the site since 1987. Please feel free to contact Kathy Sullivan at ksulliva@bu.edu if she can be of further assistance.
Mark your calendars for the Region 12 regional meeting to be held October 23 - 24, 2008 at University of New England in Portland, ME. More information will be available early fall. Best wishes for a good summer!
From ACCED-I Connections, April/May 2008
Region 12 received a great deal of interest and enthusiasm for the 2009 Boston Annual Conference at our preview table in
Norma Charette has been working on plans for our fall regional conference, and will be sending information to members soon. She has also begun an ambitious-and commendable-project to expand membership in our region.
Congratulations to Leslie Ingraham, CMP, director of continuing medical dducation at the University of New England for earning her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation this past February.
Dan McHugh was recently hired as the director of conference and event services at Bridgewater State College. Brianne Boitano and Alexis Conley also recently joined the staff as event coordinators.
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Happy spring to all!
From ACCED-I Connections, January - March 2008
Submitted by Michele Tourangeau:
I hope that you all are enjoying the holiday season. Here in New England, it seems that it went from cool, fall weather to freezing winter! Since the last ACCED-I Connections, our regional meeting took place in Boston, MA in preparation for the 2009 Annual Conference. Thursday, we met at the Boston Park Plaza, and Friday at Tufts University Boston Campus. In addition to the informative round table discussions, former student panel presentation, and the session titled Expanding a Conference Operation presented by Shane Cutler, director of Conference and Event Services at the University of Vermont, the group was led on a site tour by two sales managers at the Boston Park Plaza. We viewed guest rooms and the facility space that will be used for the 2009 Annual Conference.
On Wednesday before the regional meeting, the 2009 Hospitality Committee met in Boston and traveled the city collecting photos, video, and data for the preview video that will be shown at the preview luncheon in Las Vegas.
Also at the regional meeting, Roberta Hudson from Yale University was appointed director-elect to take over for Danny Camacho who is no longer employed by the Conference Center at Bentley. Roberta will complete the term as regional director-elect at the Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV, as I step down and she takes on the role of regional director. Norma Charette, director of Conference Services at the University of New England, was elected as incoming director-elect and will begin her year long term also in Las Vegas, NV. Norma's autobiography is provided below. I have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to lead Region 12 and am happy to be placing the operation of the region into such capable hands.
I hope that I will have the chance to see many of you in Vegas. Please watch for more information on our regional dinner to be held during the Annual Conference and also on the fall 2008 regional meeting.
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Norma J. Charette, director of the Office of Conference Services at the University of New England which is located on two distinct campuses, the historical downtown Portland based campus and the beautiful ocean side campus located in Biddeford, ME. She has been working in this position at UNE since November 2005 shortly after receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications with a concentration in Sales and Marketing from the University of Southern Maine.
She has 19 years of experience working in a university setting with both the academic and non-credit side of the business. She arrived at the University of New England with a substantial background in the successful development and creation of credit and non-credit programs such as academic camps, sports camps, summer/winter session, and international travel based programs and faculty workshops. The experiences she gained while working on the credit side of the business at USM made it a smoother transition to UNE's Conference Services as she helped bridge the gap between the University of New England's faculty, staff, upper administration as well as changed the way the academic side of UNE previously viewed the role and face of the Department of Conferences.
The experiences she gained while in the role of the director of Summer/Winter Session and International Programs at the University of Southern Maine served as the catalyst to the collaborative efforts she has created since her tenure at UNE as she both understood and empathized with the challenges the academics were facing. The collaboration efforts she has made at UNE between faculty and staff has worked in her favor as that empathy and understanding helped to increase both the internal and eternal event planning services that UNE now provides to their constituents. This has been instrumental in giving a new fresh outlook on their department as it relates to the mission of the University.
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Other Regional Business:
Submitted by Rob Webb, CMP:
I would like to proudly announce that John Morisson is now the new operations manager at The Conference Center at Bentley. He ran operations for 17 years at the Verizon Conference Center in Marlboro, MA as well as past experience working on a college campus. I hope a lot of you get the chance to meet and welcome John at future ACCED-I events.
I would also like to take this opportunity to please ask all of you for just a few minutes of your time to complete the Economic Impact Study. The ACCED-I office can send these to you again and offer assistance if you have questions filling them out. Fill out the surveys so we can get to work for you letting CFOs and the rest of the world know the true value of collegiate conferencing!
Submitted by Norma Charette:
I would like to announce the arrival of a new employee, Emily Peterson, conference coordinator to the University of New England.
Regional News from August/September 2007 e-Communique
Submitted by Michele Tourangeau
Summer Programs at Hampshire College concluded August 12 so we are on the home stretch! All went well, and fortunately, I do not have any horror stories to share. I did notice that overall group counts were down. I have heard from a few of you that you found this as well. Industry trend? Sounds like it.
Danny Camacho, Region 12 director-elect, and I have begun planning the 2007 regional meeting. The date and location have been set; Thursday and Friday, November 15 and 16 at the Boston Park Plaza. The location was an easy choice as the Park Plaza will be the site for the 2009 ACCED-I Annual Conference and much work needs to be done on behalf of Region 12. Additional details will follow; however, please mark your calendars.
Other Region 12 “hot topics”
Bridgewater State College has had a few changes. After six years at Bridgewater, Laura Aikey resigned from her position as director of conference and event services, and is now working as an instructor for Kinetic Solutions Event Software. Dan McHugh accepted the position of director of conference and events and started on August 20th.
After 30 years in the Special Programs office at Colby College, Joan Sanzenbacher will retire this fall. Jacques Moore, who completes his ninth summer at Colby in August, will succeed Joan as director of special programs. Before coming to Colby, Jacques worked at the University of Maine, Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Farmington in their conference offices. Jacques has been active in ACCED-I for a number of years and was co-chair for the Day of Caring in both San Diego and St. Louis.
Karen Ledger continues as scheduling manager (commencement chair, EMS guru, and wedding planner extraordinaire). Karen is co-chairing the local arrangements for the ACCED-I Annual Conference in Boston in 2009 along with Roberta Hudson of Yale and Nicole Vanderpole of Simmons. They ask all our Region 12 members to stay tuned for further news of opportunities to participate in the planning process.
Yale had its first summer experience with coordinating the filming of a major motion picture on campus at the same time several faculty conferences were in progress and the high school and international programs were starting up. This was not Yale's first experience as a film location, but this one was a significant presence on campus, as opposed to previous, more localized film shoots that have not impacted the wider Yale community significantly. They were caught between the excitement of the film, the revenue generated for Yale and the City of New Haven, and the influx of visitors to New Haven during filming - and not to mention the challenge of stretched campus resources, restrictions to movement around the campus, and trying to manage activities around a constantly changing film schedule.
Filming lasted a week, but it was a long week. Susan Adler, director of Yale conference services, was charged with managing one of the location sites to protect Yale's interests. This involved working with the film location directors, approving film shoot dates and times, communicating with campus staff that would be affected by the film schedule and checking facilities for damage. She also followed up and made sure that any changes made to the facilities for the film were undone after filming ended. In certain situations she was required to be on site during filming. If you ask her if she would like to do this again, she would say, once is enough, for her, at least!
Elizabeth A.Morin, director of conference services at the University of Southern Maine has successfully completed all the requirements for ACCED-I's CCEP certification. It was challenging and she is so pleased to be certified!
Regional News from June/July 2007 e-Communique
Submitted by Michele Tourangeau
Hello to all. As we gear up for another busy summer program season, the writing for the e-Communiqué must go on. Not much on my end here at Hampshire College, just wishing everyone a very prosperous and successful summer! Big congratulations to Laura Aikey who will be leaving Bridgewater State College on June 1 and joining the team at Kinetic Software as a trainer/implementation specialist. Luckily, she will still continue working with ACCED-I as she is able to transition her Board of Directors position into the corporate representative spot. Good luck Laura!
Region 12 “hot topics”
Norma. J. Charette, director of conference services at University of New England, emailed regarding some of the concerns expressed by conference director and coordinators are that their administration is cutting budgets thus leaving conference areas short on staffing and funds for their growing summer staffing.
What she did was contact the academic department at her university and developed a summer internship with both the Communication and the Business Administration Departments. Two new senior level staffing positions were created in her area that they do not have to fund. These two areas are of particular interest as both majors have the skill sets in marketing analysis and communication and are a perfect fit for her area of expertise.
With this said, the University of New England Office of Conference services is proud to announce they have two new senior level staffing additions to mention; James Norris, marketing intern through the University of New England and Kelly Clough, communication intern through the University of Southern Maine.
At Smith College in Northampton, MA, The Offices of Summer Programs, External Event Coordinator and Scheduling Systems Administrator (R25) have joined the Events Management Office of Smith College. Merging these areas into one team (Peg Pitzer, Steve Campbell, Diane Jacobs, Kathy San Antonio, Mary Pat Schmalz and Ken Molnar) under one umbrella brings us one step closer to a one-stop shop event department.
Boston University Conference Center at Tyngsboro has a new website. Please check it out at www.BostonUniversityConferenceCenter.com.
Regional News from April/May 2007 e-Communique
Submitted by Michele Tourangeau
Hello to all. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces in Baltimore this past month and to meet the abundance of new people; especially from our region. I think it’s a very good sign of magnificent things to come! I hope that you enjoyed the regional dinner at Ciao Bella in Little Italy, and were able to spend some quality time with your colleagues.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my friend and colleague, Ryan Earley from the Conference Center at Bentley, who has just completed a second term as Region 12 Director. The leadership and support that Ryan has provided to our region and the ACCED-I organization as a whole bring the term “going the extra mile” to a whole new level. Ryan leaves very large shoes to fill, and as the incoming Region 12 Director I only hope that I can measure up. Please feel free to contact me any time with questions, concerns, comments, or just to say “hello.”
We have had a very busy couple of months at Hampshire College. On April 6, we hosted an Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast for 550 people with keynote speaker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. The logistics involved in pulling off an event like this were complex to say the least, but the morning went almost flawlessly, and all, including the Governor and his staff, were thrilled.
Other regional “hot topics:”
Yale Conference Services is very excited to announce that Suzanne Shaw, Facilities Events Manager for Quinnipiac University is joining Yale Conference Services on April 23 as summer housing and events manager. Suzanne has six years of experience planning events at Quinnipiac and for the last several years managed a small summer housing operation. While at Quinnipiac she also earned an MBA in Management and Marketing. Suzanne previously attended several ACCED-I Region 12 meetings, presented at the 2005 regional conference and is excited to become more involved both regionally and nationally in the future.
The University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center released four seals March 20, 2007 that had been stranded in Maine and rehabilitated at their onsite center. The seals released at Granite Point in Biddeford were two hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) and two harp seals (Phoca groenlandica). Both hooded seals were released with satellite tags in order to track the seals and gain valuable data regarding natural seal behavior. Visit the WhaleNet website for information on its satellite tagging program and visit WhaleNet's information page to track the two hooded seals released by MARC.
UNE's Animal Marine Rehabilitation Center is taking full advantage of its natural and human resources as they have recently built, operate and maintain the Marine Science Education and Research Center.
This center is the only facility of its kind anywhere, giving researchers a unique opportunity to create important new knowledge in marine science, the environment and human health. This state-of-the-art facility truly provides a window to the sea. UNE boasts programs and development in the areas of marine mammal rehabilitation, aqua-culture and aqua marine science as well as environmental education.
The Boston University Corporate Education Center has recently changed its name to Boston University Conference Center at Tyngsboro. The Conference Center has 17 meeting rooms, three full-service dining rooms, an outdoor dining area, three computer labs, two tiered amphitheaters and a 280+ seat auditorium. Located just 30 minutes outside the city on picturesque campus grounds, the Boston University Conference Center is the perfect combination of a professional atmosphere with comfortable surroundings. Visit online at http://www.BostonUniversityConferenceCenter.com.
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The University if New England would like to announce the selection of its newest Conference Coordinator, Mark Purvis. Mark joins UNE with many years of experience in special event planning and has a proven track record of excellent customer service that is locally and regionally recognized. He will be the primary contact for the University Campus located in Biddeford, Maine. -submitted by Norma Charette
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The University of New England is expanding and, as a result, is proud to announce the opening of a brand new air-conditioned, combination classroom facility and suite-style residence hall in September, 2007. The Sandra Featherman Hall, named in honor of UNE's most recent past president, is set to open in September, 2007 and is located on the Biddeford Campus of UNE. This facility will accommodate a total capacity of an additional 150 conference participants on the Biddeford campus which will compliment our existing 975 suite-style and traditional housing accommodations. -submitted by Norma Charette