President’s Message

SITE SoCal President 2008:
Gaetan E. Mousseau

Dear SITE Members:

 

Please allow me to borrow from our 2008 SITE International president, Padriac Gilligan, when I say this is the year to “Come Together.” We have many exciting programs, meetings, and opportunities to come together to enrich our industry, our careers, and ourselves.

 

How can I tell you about the future until I thank you for what we accomplished in the past? We raised $152,000 for charity at our 2007 Holiday Event at the Grand Del Mar held this past December. We couldn’t have done this without our whole industry coming together. We began with a great team led by Kim Hester and supported by Geraldine Gatehouse and an outstanding group of volunteers. We had industry sponsorship from our host hotel, The Grand Del Mar, along with Strategic Partner Sponsors, namely Tourism Vancouver & Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism Ireland, Marriott Incentive Rewards, and Extraordinary Events. It was truly a GRAND event, but without those industry supporters who donated so generously and those who came and bought auction items it could not have been the success it was.

 

Yet, it's time to move on into 2008. As such, it is with deep regret that we are saying goodbye to two dear friends and board members: Cynthia Cohen and Joe Vina. Each one has served with distinction and we will miss them on our board. Joining us this year is Gabriel Haigazian and Geraldine Gatehouse. We hope 2008 will be another Chapter of the Year winning year and such result will only be possible with the constant support of all of you. 

 

Some of the programs you can expect from us in 2008 will include a tighter focus on sustainability. We went to a paperless system of communication and online registration several years ago and have found it has increased our reach and made us more accessible to members and industry supporters. Under the leadership of Jennifer Shafer, we are introducing a year-long community service plan that begans with our California Wildfires fundraising drive at our January 22nd meeting that raised $1570. Jennifer and her community outreach team have created a calendar for additional activities throughout 2008. Please take a look at it here and get on board.

 

We will be participating in the SITE Run the World Challenge, a fundraising effort for UNICEF and a fun fitness program as well. Watch for details to come as we put our team in place to WIN.

 

We had record membership growth under the strong leadership of Nigel Bramich and Constance Hoffman last year and we are looking forward growing even stronger this year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, we trust you'll do it soon and if you plan on joining SITE, why not do so this month and get a full year’s benefit.

 

We hope you’ll join us for meetings in 2008. We have already enjoyed the first of two planned meetings with MPISCC and are hoping to build bridges with MPIOC and MPISD as well. We have meeting dates confirmed for the first half of 2008 and are only awaiting confirmation for the remaining dates of the year. We are working with our partner SITE chapters, Chicago and Northern California for additional cooperatives in 2008.

 

We are eagerly looking for a property host for our 2008 Holiday Event. If you would like to suggest a property, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

 

Finally, we welcome any feedback that will assist us to exceed the expectation of our members in 2008. If you have anything in mind and want to assist us to be Chapter of the Year, please contact one of our board members and we will delighted to listen to your comments and make sure that it is addressed at our 2008 Board Retreat on February 22-23 and throughout the coming year.

 

Kind regards~

Gaetan E. Mousseau

President, SITE-SoCal

Sales Manager, Group, The Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey 

4375 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey  CA  90292

Direct: 310-574-4336

Mobile: 310-678-2551

Hotel: 310-823-1700 ext.4336

Fax: 310-823-8421

E-mail: gaetan.mousseau@ritzcarlton.com