MAC GM Keith Callahan Named Facility Manager of the Year

Keith Callahan was recently honored as Facility Manager of the Year by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). Callahan is the General Manager and Managing Partner at Blue Sky Holdings, Inc., the parent company that includes Manchester Athletic Club in Manchester by-the-Sea, MA, MAC Fitness in Rowley, MA, and MAC Fitness in Gloucester, MA.  The award was given by the USPTA New England Division at its winter convention held at Chatham Bars Inn Resort and Spa in Chatham, MA November 7-9.

The USPTA’s mission is to raise the standards of the tennis profession and promote greater awareness of the sport. Manchester Athletic Club has consistently followed in that tradition. Under Callahan’s direction, the club has built a new outdoor tennis venue and home to the Boston Lobsters professional tennis team; fostered a longtime relationship with renowned tennis coach, Nick Bollettieri, and hired USPTA-certified coaches who are supported with continuing education and professional development. The club has also been chosen a USTA Regional Training Center of New England and one of 12 Certified Regional training centers in the country. It is home to MAC Tennis Academy, a tournament-training program for high-performance juniors, as well as a nationally-recognized 10-and-under program that has been producing New England’s top players for over a decade. In addition, the club created the MAC Sports Foundation, which provides scholarships to juniors in need as well as grants to community and school programs. 

It’s an honor to receive this award, said Callahan. I’m blessed to be surrounded by a team of tennis professionals at Manchester Athletic Club who love what they do and strive every day to improve their game, their teaching methods and the quality of our program.” Manchester Athletic Club owner, John Donovan, added, “Keith’s commitment to excellence reflects the overall attitude here at the MAC to always improve where we can. In tennis, that means we keep learning, by consistently educating not only our players but our coaches as well.” 

Manchester Athletic Club is a full-service health club and features 12 tennis courts, the Gymazing! Child Center, iXl programs for young teens, a fitness and strength training center staffed with certified professional trainers and nutritionists, indoor aquatics center, multiple group exercise studios, and an outdoor pool with playground.

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      Keith Callahan of Manchester Athletic Club, recipient of the USPTA’s Facility Manager of the Year Award.

GMG Good Eggs

The Sargent House is cheering the work of GREAT GOOD EGGS! Two out-of-town teen visitors decided to clean us up just in time for Harvest Festival! 

Angel and Wesly took the train from Boston to visit dear friend Peggy Russell of the fun POP GALLERY. The leaf strewn slippery slopes inspired them to pitch right in and rake out our new fabulous and fragrant Generous Gardner beds and lawn. 

Their reward? Peggy took them to a CACC film and for pizza across the street!   

Pop into POP and thank Peggy for us again!  Let her know how much all of Gloucester appreciates Angel and Wesly’s egg-cellent labor! 

With great appreciation,

The Egg-elegant Sargent House

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Community Stuff 11/18/14

Hi Joey! Would you please post this info about my beautiful class? This is my fourth fortunate year doing this work. It’s an amazing hour of art and circle time. This makes a wonderful holiday gift for children and grandchildren! thank you! hope your sweet girls are well. peace, colleen

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Tom Magliozzi Quote of the Week from Greg Bover

“Happiness equals reality minus expectations”

Tom Magliozzi (1937-2014)

A native of Cambridge (our fair city) MA, Magliozzi was, with younger brother Ray, host of the NPR call-in show “Car Talk” which started locally on WBUR before going national, first as a weekly segment with Susan Stamberg on Weekend Edition, then in its own right as an hourly program, produced by Doug (The Subway Fugitive) Berman. Although they were auto mechanics and owners of a garage, Tom had an engineering degree from MIT and later an MBA and PhD from Northeastern and Boston Universities. He ran an international consulting business and taught at the university level for many years, but it was his infectious laugh and unbridled silliness for which he is most remembered. The show was recognized with the Peabody Award in 1992, and is widely considered to have changed the nature of public radio.

Greg Bover

Our Friends Atlantic Saltworks Are Vying For A Shot At The Next Great Food Business Contest From Sam Adams and Entrepeneur.com Using Gloucester Salt!

Our Friends Atlantic Saltworks Are Vying For A Shot At The Next Great Food Business Contest From Sam Adams and Entrepeneur.com Using Gloucester Salt!

You can vote for them here
They Are One Of Five Finalists and Voting Is Super Easy

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We’re searching for the next great food business and we need your help.

Entrepreneur has partnered with brewer Sam Adams for its Brewing the American Dream Wild Card Pitch Room contest where one lucky small business owner will have the opportunity to claim an impressive grand prize: a game-changing $10,000 business grant and mentoring from top experts from Sam Adams.

Entrepreneur has created a virtual pitch room to help select a Wild Card Winner who will travel to New York City to compete for the grand prize against regional Pitch Room finalists from Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York in a live throwdown December 4.

Here’s where you come in: We’ve narrowed the field to a selection of finalists who’ve submitted 2-minute videos of their best sales pitch targeting prospective retailers for their food or beverage product. We need you to vote for the submission you find the most creative, passionate and viable. Just cast your vote for the Wild Card spot soon. Audience voting begins November 13 and ends November 19 … so cast your vote for the Wild Card spot now!

Article updated November 12, 2014 to reflect latest contest phase.

 

Community Stuff 11/17/14

Phyllis A Annual Meeting

at Rocky Neck Cultural Center
January 24, 2015 4:30-7 pm
Join us for chowder and cream puffs!
Hear the amazing news of the past year, and our plans for 2015!

Suggested donation of $10.00 per person
RSVP


Hi Joey:
Love keeping up with your e-paper “ Good Morning Gloucester” which I read regularly.  However, I did want to mention to you, have you gotten any e-mail about the St. John’s Country Cupboard Fair” and most importantly the Harvest Festival?
Although I promised everyone that I would not get involved with it this year it so happens here I am again.  There are two major things happening that I would like to emphasize this year. First I think the “Godspell”  and Wendy Betts concert with sing-a-long music during the Harvest Festival at Trinity needs a good plug. I saw the kids in Godspell this afternoon and they were terrific and they got a standing ovation to a packed St.John’s.
Secondly I think I would like it if you could mention the Country Cupboard Fair as well as the Harvest Festival since they are the first event open at 9:00 am next Saturday, if that is at all possible.
We have about 5 days  and frankly I need as much help as i can get. I think with the all the events mentioned in our poster we should have a great program before Thanksgiving. We just need to get the word out.
Thanks a million.
Al


To All,

The Rockport Navy Committee will sponsor its annual Mass General Hospital Blood Drive on Saturday, December 6, 2014 at the Rockport Police Department.

“Blood is a medicine that can only be given from one person to another – no other source is currently available.” (http://www.mgh.harvard.edu) Blood supplies often run low during the holiday season due to increased need and donors feeling they are too busy. A half hour can save three or four lives!

The blood drive is dedicated to those who have served and are still serving in the US military. We’d like to get as many donors as possible. This year we are going to have a raffle. Anyone donating or attempting to donate blood will be eligible.

We are asking if you would notify your family, friends and coworkers about the date of the blood drive, and to ask anyone you think might be willing to donate a raffle prize to contact Sharon or Roger. Prizes can be gift certificates, merchandise, gift baskets, artwork, etc.

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    2014 Shop Rockport Event Friday December 5th

    Hi Joey C!
    Join us in Downtown Rockport, Friday, December 5!  Participating cafes,
    galleries and shops will be serving hor d’oeuvres, wine and drinks while
    you shop throughout downtown Rockport and enjoy a night of special
    promotions from 4-9pm!
    Visit our Facebook page for more information:
    https://www.facebook.com/shoprockportma01966
    Thanks for sharing!
    Dawn @ La Provence

    ShopRockport2014

    GloucesterCast 104 Featuring Guests Kim Smith, Donna Ardizzoni and Host Joey Ciaramitaro Taped 11/16/14

    GloucesterCastSquare
    GloucesterCast 104 Featuring Guests Kim Smith, Donna Ardizzoni and Host Joey Ciaramitaro Taped 11/16/14

    Topics Include: Free Grand Prix Of Gloucester Cyclocross Rapha T-Shirt For One Of The First Ten Verified GloucesterCast Subscribers- Subscribe Here, Congratulations To Pat Conant Winner Of Facebook Contest, Thanks To Paul Morrison For Fresh Limes, Good Egg James Fiahlo Copper Dory Planter Raises $350 For Paul Russo Brain Cancer Foundation– High Bidder From Gayle Piraino GAP Promotions is the High Bidder, Clean Gloucester and The One Hour At A Time Gang Cleans First Parish Burial Ground, Revitalization Of Magnolia Continues, The Chesire Cat, The Magnolia Consignment Store,Chef From the Patio Now At Magnolia Pub, Sawyer Free Library, Passports Wine Dinner Coming Up This Thursday, Electricity Rate Wrinkle, Arthur Bevalaqua, Solar Panels, Gloucester Clam Ads Turn Out To Be A Positive, The Idea That Unless You Are Losing Money You Are A Bad Person, The Football Post, Over Prescribing Drugs To Control Kids,Science All Around Us, Nubar Alexanian, Tom Ellis,  Paul Boudreau, Turducken Is Out, What Will This Year’s Thanksgiving Food Fad Be, The Chateau’s Fried Ravioli, Joey’s Favorite Things- Krups Coffee Grinder, Bonavita Pourover Coffee Maker, Contigo Autoseal Coffee Travel Mug, Prynt , Taste Of Magnolia, Lillian LoGrasso’s Event, Lobster Trap Tree, Shop Rockport, TBT Post, Alpaca Sweaters, Brother’s Brew Will Be Open For Shop Rockport, Marshall’s Farm Stand, Thank You To Nichole’s Family To-Do Post, Joppa Flats, Ruby and Luke McElhenny and Dax Who Was Named After Dax Shepard, The Alpaca’s That Eat You.

    freetshirtcontest

     

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    Subscribe to Get The GloucesterCast Podcast by Email For Free

    Click to Listen to The GMG Podcast On Stitcher Radio On Demand For Free
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    Update 3: Electricity Prices

    Update #3

    GMG FOB Art Bevilacqua Educates Us Further:

    Art writes-

    In our market (post deregulation in 1998) there is an auction each day where the companies running generators bid to provide their output into the grid. Each generator has different costs, fuel, operating and maintenance, etc., so their prices can be all different from each other.

     ISO-NE receives these bids and each afternoon at about 4pm they run a model that uses a load forecast for the following day. Next they go to the “stack” of available generators and turn them on in the model, starting with the least expensive and turning them on until they have met the load forecast for the each hour of the day.

     The price of the last generator turned on sets the price for that hour.

     There are some other constraints in the background – for example they might have to “turn on” generators whose price is not the next most expensive, such as wind or solar that they are forced to buy even though their costs are extremely high.

     After the model has run, they issue the plan for the following day, essentially purchasing all of the day’s power by about 6pm.

     Finally, as the actual day progresses, things happen – a generator might become unavailable, or the actual load in an hour might be higher or lower than what was expected. When these things happen ISO has to dip further into the stack of generators, of retreat from the stack, and this causes the real-time price to wiggle from what was expected. These real-time calculations happen every five minutes.

     The bottom line is that the actual electricity cost varies every five minutes, and thus each and every average hour.

     Go to www.iso-ne.com and click on “more real time data” in the upper box to see this happening.

     On a grander scale, if we have a stretch of very cold weather, some fuels might become constrained, or less available (and thus higher cost) than expected. This can lead to periods of time where the cost of energy will run high, and this is what happened last year. If a plant is located in an area with weak gas supply, such as Providence RI, then that plant might be forced to back down and/or will suffer very high fuel costs.

     Also, because your meter is only read once a month, your bill has to be based on projections of monthly energy costs, which can change quite a bit. The delivery part of the bill is based on keeping the transmission and distribution equipment running and that is very stable.

     NGrid and the other suppliers try to stabilize the energy costs by asking for longer term contracts from generators, and that is what the chart shows – they are projecting out a number of months based on projections of the future as well as past history (last year’s winter). This is all a gamble because the weather people can’t even tell what will happen two days from now, let alone three months from now.

     All of the suppliers are faced with this problem – if they are in a low cost time period (the spring for example) they can offer average rates that are lower, but probably only for a short time. They couldn’t lock you in at 9 cents for a year because they know prices they pay will rise the following winter, but they might do that for a few months. The quoted prices and lock lengths will vary based on the suppliers power in the market, their trading skills, their luck, etc.

     There is some more explanation of this at: http://isonewswire.com/updates/2014/11/14/how-wholesale-electricity-costs-factor-into-your-retail-bill.html

     Also, see this: http://www.iso-ne.com/about/what-we-do/in-depth/wholesale-vs-retail-electricity-costs

     Art

    Update #2.  I just spoke to a rep for one of these companies and asked if we get a bunch of people to sign up together if it is possible to get a better rate than what is advertised and he said yes but they would call back on Monday.  Who would like to join in and hear what they have to offer?  No obligation, but I floated the idea that 5 or more of us would sign up and he said they definitely could get the rate down more.  So email me at goodmorninggloucester@yahoo.com if you want to look into it with me.  Whoever that signs up for cheaper electricity would reduce all of our rates including our own by the same amount that we could negotiate by doing it in numbers.

    With electricity prices set to jump over 30% does anyone have any advice on which company they are locking in with or if it’s a bad idea to lock in?  Seems crazy how much they’re jacking the prices overnight.

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    UPDATED 11/14/14

    In the comment section of this post  someone named Jon recommended a website which compares a bunch of different rates-

    https://www.chooseenergy.com/compare/01966/electricity-rates/

    For Commercial rates this is what they list- 12.99 per kWc for 24 months being the cheapest rate.

    Screen shot of Choose Energy’s rates this morning

    chooseeenergy

    The Supplier that we currently use, Think Energy is quoting less on all counts than anything listed on Choose Energy’s website.

    https://www.mythinkenergy.com/signup/index.php?s=viewPlans&startDate=20-Nov-2014

    Screen shot of Think Energy’s rates this morning-

    11.2cents per kWh is much cheaper for 24 months and even it’s 12 month rate is cheaper than the best rate on Choose Energy for 24 month.

    thinkenergy

    Are any other business owners out there interested in forming a group to negotiate a cheaper rate for all of us if we all agree to sign up together?  We can request a group discount and send out rate bids.  Let me know by email goodmorninggloucester@yahoo.com

    Bruce Tobey Gives Vice President Biden An Unopened Cast/Crew Perfect Storm Cap

    Hi Joey,
    Hey, thought you might get a kick out of the attached photo – I met the Vice President after a Seth Moulton event in Lynn two weeks ago and wanted to give him a gift so Gloucester might be on his mind.  Here’s the story.
    In my office I still had in an unopened bag a cast/crew “Perfect Storm” cap I had gotten as Mayor from the movie’s producers back in 1999 when they were shooting in Gloucester.  I brought it with me and gave it to him, wishing him good luck as he faced the inevitable storms of his next couple of years.

    He immediately pulled it out of the bag, ripped off the tags, put it on, and began to talk about the storm, the hardships Gloucester’s fishermen face, and his gratitude for the gift. Mission accomplished!

    Best,

    Bruce

    VP and bt

    Sefatia Waits Up All Night- Scores the Coveted Mariposa Silver Duck At The Big Sale

    Paul Morrison will lose sleep for days over this. 

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    You know what they say- “The early bird gets the……..duck.”

    #unhealthyduckobsessions

    Good Eggs Clean Up Clark cemetary

    We would like to send a great thank you to Clean Gloucester for coming to help clean up Clark Cemetery.  It was a very cold 28 degrees when we started at 8 am.  These awesome people came out anyway.  In a flurry of activity trash was picked up, brush was hauled away, a fire pit was dismantled and new community connections were made.  This could not have been a better or more fun end to our season.  Thank you again and we look forward to working with everyone again after the winter!

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    Erecting The 2014 Kent Circle Christmas Tree – photo from Anthony Marks

    Hi Joey
    Ringo Tarr and crew got got busy this weekend erecting the Kent
    Circle Chstmas tree.
    Best Anthony

    Community Stuff 11/16/14

    Tonight!

    POP Gallery presents BARBARELLA!

    Come party with the divas of POP Gallery! November 16th at the CAPE ANN COMMUNITY CINEMA @ 6:30 pm. Price of admission is $7.50 + one drink ticket and FREE SWAG BAG to early birds!

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    It’s going to be EPIC. Don’t miss it!

    PURCHASE TICKETS AHEAD HERE, or at the door.


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    Tricia O’Neill celebrates the formal public presentation of her Vincent Ferrini mural on Saturday, November 8.  From left: Tricia’s husband
    Steve Brettler, Trica, seARTS Board Member Tony Sapienza and Henry Ferrini, Vincent’s nephew and co-founder and board president of the
    Gloucester Writers Center.

    Harbortown group photo


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    Joey,

         As you probably know I’m an author with several titles available.  You’ve been kind enough in the past to make announcements when I have a new release.  I will now provide you with the dialogue for the new release.

    Gloucester native and author Barry Stacks has a new book for your reading pleasure.  The Black Flag is the third book in the Tucker Norman series.  Once again, the setting for the story is Gloucester, Mass., which is the author’s hometown. The title of the book is taken from a tradition of flying a black flag on a commercial fishing boat when someone has died at sea. In this mystery novel, several fishing boats return to Gloucester flying a black flag. Once again Tucker Norman and Associates are asked by local law enforcement to investigate this unusual situation.  The investigation delivers the reader through a maze of complicated evidence and into a quagmire filled with strange characters, who appear to have a secondary motive for their activities. The reader, as is always the case, is dragged around Cape Ann as our sleuth tries to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.  Also, the reader will find themselves dumped in that pot of boiling water known around the world as Haiti.  This is another thrilling adventure/mystery written especially for the citizens of Cape Ann to enjoy.  In 2015 there will be three more Tucker Norman novels.  Look for Rosie Crud, Johnny Hansom and Floyd in the early Spring of 2015.  Following that release look for Partly Aged Rosemary…And Time around mid-summer 2015.  Finally, around this time next year look for the release of The Boogeyman.  All Barry’s books are available on-line and at your local book store.  Also, if you have trouble finding any of Barry’s books he extends to you an open invitation to contact him via lostboy1007@tampabay.rr.com

         Barry wants to thank all his supporters for their years of dedication.

    final black flag back coverFINAL COVER BLACK FLAG

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    The Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport Holiday Fair will be help on Friday, December 5 from 4 till 9 p.m. and
    Saturday, December 6 from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. at the church, 4 Cleaves Street, Rockport. Offerings will include furniture,
    books, vintage jewelry and watches, the works of local artists, holiday crafts, themed gift baskets, vintage decorations, a
    bake sale, and complimentary cider. There will also be a raffle for a 40-inch flat-screen TV. The drawing will be on
    Saturday afternoon and winners need not be present to claim the set.


    Hi

    here’s an article from the Globe about the recent tragedy in management of the fishing industry

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/15/gloucester-looks-balance-fishing-with-tourism/yTXyvaQ1w727vrSMoqxRUN/story.html