Hello there, Greater Hartford BOMA's president Wes Nicoll with the monthly president's message. If you've ever read my messages, you know how they start, a quick note about weather (maybe not so quick). So after a brutal winter weather wise, here in the northeast, it looks like we are finally turning the corner. With daily temperatures here in Conn. finally in the 50 and 60 degree range, we can all hopefully catch up on spring maintenance that was delayed due to the "hanging on" of the winter climate this year. So all of those nice surprises I spoke about last month that the winter left behind will need to be done on a shorter schedule then usual.
March and April are a couple of busy months here for BOMA. As the weather turns, so does our focus.
On March 27th, at The Society Room of Hartford, we held a fascinating program on the new CT Fastrak Rapid Transit System. This project has been the subject of a lot of discussion in Conn. over the last few years as it has progressed. This program gave us all an excellent opportunity to find out what it was really about. Michael Sanders, the administrator of the Office of Transit and Ridesharing for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, gave a great presentation. We got an overview of the whole project, highlighted the benefits of using the system, and found out exactly how it worked. Many of our members left with a whole new understanding of exactly what the project was and how it will affect their property if they are located along the route.
March 30 - April 1, brought the BOMA Middle Atlantic Conference of the Building Owners and Managers Association, otherwise know as "The Mac." This year the MAC was held in beautiful Boston at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. A hearty congratulations goes out to BOMA Boston chapter president Rick Page and his group for putting on a fantastic conference. Sunday was a business day for us as we conducted the various business of the MAC. Monday was a day for education, networking, and some fascinating speakers.
And the speakers were fascinating. Our breakfast keynote speaker was Roger Berkowitz, president and CEO of Legal Sea Foods. He provided some excellent commentary of the advertising history of Legal Sea Foods. If you haven't seen their ads, I highly recommend you check them out on YouTube. Our next session was a panel discussion "Then and Now" regional perspective, moderated by Larry Lenrow, and featuring Benjamin Comm, Thomas Hynes, John Powers, and Catherine Pullen. The luncheon keynote speaker was the very entertaining Shelden Yellen, CEO of Belfor Holdings, Inc. and a former participant on the show "Undercover Boss."

Tuesday was tour day. My personal favorite of the MAC. We took a tour of the iconic Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. We also saw the marathon finish line and did a Development Tour of the Seaport District, and finished up at Jerry Remy's Seaport Restaurant.
Back on the local level, we held our first "BOMA After-Hours" program on Thursday, April 10th, at the Spotlight Theater in downtown Hartford. Look for another one of these events coming soon, and next time we should be out in the sun!
As for what we have on our horizon for events, April's program is on the very successful Energize CT's C-PACE program which allows building owners to finance qualifying energy efficiency and clean energy improvements through placing a voluntary assessment on their property tax bill. This will be on April 23rd, again at 7:30 a.m. and again at The Society Room, Hartford.
May 15th will be our annual Golf Warm-up event, Nine/ Wine/ and Dine to be held once again at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield.
Other programs to watch for later this year will be a walking tour of Hartford, a tour of the new Jackson Labs facility being built in Farmington, and a return of the TOBY awards!
And of course, our signature golf event, the Annual Gus Johnson golf outing at Avon Golf Club once again this year will be held on July 14th. We hope you can join us!
As always, we can always use your help to make our group stronger. We have committees that could use a little help, we have sponsorship opportunities available, and of course, we are always happy to welcome in new members. Feel free to stop by and check us out at http://www.bomahartford.org.
Wes Nicoll is the president of BOMA Greater Hartford, and is with Griffin Land, Bloomfield, Conn.