What I Learned This Past Holiday Season

The Season of Giving

The holidays always make me think of gift giving. We ask our families and friends to give us their lists and then we try to find the perfect gift for them. The one gift they will remember long into the New Year.

Every year HFTP chapters give “gifts” to their local communities through donations and community service. Here’s the story of one chapter’s recent gift:

HFTP is About Taking Care of Each Other and Our Communities
On Wednesday, December 14, I had the privilege of attending the HFTP New England Hotel Chapter’s holiday gathering at the Sheraton Boston. The evening was filled with amazing food, great conversation and the talk of gift giving.

The event featured a silent auction with all the proceeds from the auction benefiting The Little Sisters of the Poor.

The mission of the Little Sisters is to care exclusively for the elderly poor by providing a continuum of care to the needy elderly of the greater Boston area, assuring them security, dignity and respect as they age.

I can think of no better gift than to help those who help others with our donations.

It was so fun watching everyone throughout the evening as they circled the tables writing down their bids, and of course, trying to out bid the next person. Mary Jean Kelly and I went back and forth on the Kindle Fire and with less than 30 seconds to go, I swooped in with the winning bid.  Sorry, Mary Jean.

The chapter raised $3,000 for The Little Sisters of the Poor and I believe that is a gift that will be long remembered into 2012.

I want to thank Chapter President Stephanie Breen, and the other chapter officers: Chapter Vice President Jeff S. Hartel, Chapter Treasurer Yasir M. Akram and Chapter Secretary Paul J. Devlin for inviting me to their event. I’d also like to thank all the members and guests present for their donations.

This event showcases one of the many reason to love our HFTP family – we take care of each other and we take care of those in our communities.

I wanted to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

Above photo: (left to right) Stephanie Breen, Chapter president; Emily Gilmore, director of development for Little Sisters of the Poor; Sister Mary Vincent; and Lisa Funk, CHAE, HFTP Global president.


Lisa Funk, CHAE is director of finance for Alexis Hotels and the HFTP Global president.

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