So last month I had written about the impending "Snowmageddon" that was bearing down on Conn. at the time. I touched on the importance of being able to adapt to whatever comes your way. Well, I am sure you are all wondering how that turned out...
Well, between the town I live in and the towns where our properties are we had snowfall totals ranging from 20 inches up to 31.3 inches. A little more then 6 inches and a lot less then 6 feet. We had the governor order all NON-Essential traffic off of the roads. We had snow rates of 3-5 inches per hour in the middle of the storm, making snow removal impossible as you could not see as far as the plow attached to the front of your truck. But we were ready. And with the benefit of the timing of the storm happening on Friday into Saturday, it all went pretty smoothly. We got on roofs and checked the snow and water loads and made sure we were within the "safe zone" (we were). We were able to get buildings open for the few tenants who HAD to work over the weekend, and sure enough by Monday morning, and way ahead of the state we were bare pavement and clear sidewalks across the whole portfolio. Of course, some of our tenants had not had their streets where they lived plowed yet, but if they could get to our buildings, we were open and ready. The benefits of being prepared and ready to adapt paid off big time. Of course never wanting to rest on the laurels of the last success and not wanting to be lulled into a false sense of security, it is of utmost importance to remain ready for the next situation, no matter what the cause.
As for Greater Hartford BOMA, we came into this year prepared for another tough year. We have seen membership declining in the past few years. We have seen support dwindle over that same period. Everybody's schedule has been tightening, along with their wallets, and we have felt the impact over the last few years.
And being prepared has paid off. We had another very successful program this month. Michael Friemuth, the executive director of the Capital Regional Development Authority spoke to our group. Friemuth was a great speaker and had excellent information on just about anything and everything going on in the capital region. He even mentioned how he had been up until the wee hours the night before finalizing the AHL deal to keep the local hockey team in Hartford, a deal which was announced later in the day. A thank you to all of our members who attended the program, as well as our sponsor, Russo Lawn and Landscaping. Our programming is off to a great start this year.
Again, not wanting to rest on our past laurels, we have more great things planned for this year. We are going to be trying some new things to try and attract new members and appeal to a different audience. In March, we are going to be holding our first "BOMA After Hours" program. A great networking opportunity, and a chance for people to participate who might not have the opportunity to get away for morning or afternoon programs and events.
We also have a great program lined up for the month of March. The title of the program is "Multi-Generational Workplaces: Engaging your Workforce!" We have an excellent panel assembled to give you some insight on how each group thinks and how they can all operate together. Thank you to our sponsor for this event, Interscape Commercial Environments.
After that, here comes Spring!!! Plans are developing for our 3rd Annual 9/Wine/Dine golf kick-off event. A great way to start tuning up your game for the year. We are also investigating touring some of the more interesting buildings and facilities in the area, hopefully including a tour of one of our local TOBY winners from last year.
Good luck to all of you dealing with the balance of this winter season and it' weather. Hopefully a turn for better weather is right around the corner. Thanks for your support and we hope to see you soon at BOMA.
Wes Nicoll is the president of BOMA Greater Hartford, and is with Griffin Land, Bloomfield, Conn.