On October 25th, over 230 members and guests gathered at the Inn at Longshore in Westport to honor excellence in building management with the TOBY (The Office Building of the Year) Awards. This year the awards were presented to: 8 Shore Dr., Merritt on the River, Stamford Executive Park, High Ridge Park Corporate Center and 4 Corporate Dr. A new Honoree award was added this year: The Engineer of the Year, and we are pleased to announce that James Riordan of George Comfort and Sons has been chosen to receive this award. Also honored that evening was the Member of the Year, Art D'Estrada of Newmark Knight Frank; the Corporation of the Year, R.D. Scinto, Inc.; and the Allied of the Year, Susan Rosen of ABM. Congratulations to all of the winners and I encourage all the TOBY winners to enter their property in the regional judging.
Our November 15th program discussed managing your energy risks. This program focused on the present state of energy deregulation in Connecticut. We explored why owners and managers chose such divergent energy procurement strategies. Is there a best strategy? Is it mine, or yours? Where do the lines intersect on risk and reward? How do I budget? Is this what deregulation was designed to look like? With energy prices so high these days, how do we decide on whom to purchase our power from? Do we sign a short-term contract, hoping the price will drop even lower, or do we sign a long-term contract to keep the locked-in price and not worry about rising costs? Over 50 members and their guests heard from a panel of experts on their views of the energy crisis and answered many of these questions.
On November 29th the Association hosted its annual Holiday Social at the Guest House at General Electric in Fairfield. This yearly event offered great food, lots of networking, and a beautiful holiday atmosphere. The members, always generous with their gift giving, donated to the GE Christmas tree by bringing a toy that evening. The toys were then donated to local organizations and distributed to children in the area.
All 2008 dues invoices have been mailed to the 2007 members. Our membership continues to grow and I encourage everyone to send in their dues payment. Programming for 2008 is underway, and you won't want to miss out on receiving the information on these events. New this year is the opportunity to become an annual sponsor. There are three levels of sponsorship, offering multiple ways to introduce your company to the real estate community. Contact the executive office to find out more.
The 2008 EER Survey is going green this year and the survey will be available in December. This extremely useful tool is a 'must have' for every property owner. I encourage all managers to enter their property's information. Watch your email for a link to the survey in December.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the members and their families a happy and healthy holiday season and a prosperous new year. See you in 2008.
Robert Hartt of The Ashforth Company is president of Southern Connecticut BOMA.