BOMA Boston holds June briefing on Boston Marathon events

BOMA Boston held an Emergency Preparedness briefing on June 20th to discuss the tragic events that occurred this past April at the Boston Marathon. A panel of experienced security and building operations experts discussed the moments leading up to the bombing, as well as the response within 30 minutes of the incident, effective emergency preparedness actions taken, and lessons learned from a building management perspective. The program was moderated by Brian Kickham, CEO of Northeast Security, Inc. and speakers at the program included Jeff Horblit, president of Northeast Intelligence Group; Sarim Son, director of security, Westin Copley Place; John Tello, assistant director of life safety and security, Boston Properties Prudential; and Mike Walsh, national portfolio manager - Simon Property Group at AlliedBarton Security Services. At the conclusion of the presentation, attendees engaged in a question-and-answer session with the speakers. On July 11th, BOMA Boston will be hosting their first Executive Series of 2013, featuring Richard Davey, secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MASSDOT). Davey was appointed as secretary and CEO of MASSDOT by governor Deval Patrick in August of 2011 is responsible with developing Mass. into a national leader in transportation excellence. In his presentation, Davey will address the Commonwealth's transportation infrastructure as it exists and his vision for the future. BOMA Boston's Executive Series was developed in 2007 to bring members of the BOMA Boston community the highest level of networking and education in an accessible environment. The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards Season is Underway! The 2013 TOBY season has officially begun, as BOMA Boston announced their call for entries this past month for submissions for 2013. The celebrated TOBY Awards, which annually recognize the best managed buildings in Boston, will take place Thursday, November 14th, at Westin Copley Place. Buildings are judged based on a written submission and a building tour, and are eligible to move on to regional and international competition provided they win at the local level. Every year in preparation for the TOBY awards, BOMA Boston holds several programs to help property management teams enhance their submissions in hopes of winning the prestigious TOBY Award. A "TOBY Tutorial" roundtable held on June 6th kicked off the TOBY season, which featured a panel consisting of members of property management professionals from two TOBY winners and an International Judge. Each panelist offered advice on best practices for improving a building submission and tips for conducting a memorable building tour. The session also contained an interactive component where panelists participated in a question-and-answer with the attendees. The next two TOBY programs will include building tours of two buildings that won a TOBY in 2012. One will be based in the city, and the other in the suburbs. These TOBY tour tutorials will take place at 125 & 150 Cambridge Park Dr. (2012 Suburban Mid-Rise Winner) in Cambridge on July 16th, and 33 Arch St. (2012 Earth Award) in Boston on August 6th. These tour tutorials afford property management teams the opportunity to see first-hand how a successful building tour is executed and apply certain techniques when running their own tour during the judging period. For more information about the TOBY awards, or upcoming events, please visit www.bomaboston.org