Tugboat 23 Consulting

06/05/2023

Another rainy Making History in the books! Rain never stops the fun, and our program partners did an amazing job of creating really interactive stations. Thanks also to our fantastic volunteers, and all the teachers and aides who brought their students out to play in the rain!

05/23/2023

This is a brilliant idea for building community! My recommendation would always be a popcorn machine rental! What other things would YOU spend the funds on?

The city is encouraging people to host neighborhood gatherings by waiving permit fees, and handing out checks.

04/15/2023

Next time I am sitting at the dining room table measuring rubber duckies, I can remember that at least I am not attaching doilies to balloons for an RBG-themed party for a 1-year-old....

In Los Angeles, children’s birthday celebrations have spiraled into mini-weddings.

02/15/2023

another fundraising Valentine, this time from the excellent Vu Le!

[Image description: A bunch of paper hearts in red, pink, and white, and in various sizes, scattered on a white rug and wooden floor. Image by Element5 Digital on Unsplash] Hi everyone, a couple of…

02/15/2023

Here's another one, from the always-excellent Vu Le!

[Image description: A bunch of paper hearts in red, pink, and white, and in various sizes, scattered on a white rug and wooden floor. Image by Element5 Digital on Unsplash] Hi everyone, a couple of…

02/15/2023

Happy Valentine's Day! (amazing homemade fundraising cookies by Lauren Irizarry Galarneau shared with permission)

01/27/2023

Caution - this video by my friends at Films is extremely contagious. DO NOT WATCH if you prefer to frown or scowl!

  For any of you who have viewed past versions of our Smiles Video, you may remember the story of its origin, but I’ll repeat it anyway for those who […]

01/25/2023

Talk about a wild and wacky event - here is one I would love to do!

SARANAC LAKE — Bob Seidenstein and Jack Drury are constantly spitting out contenders for a “string of words that have never been said before,” and “

01/02/2023

My favorite number, obviously!! Happy 2023 everyone! May it be a year of good health and joy.

Cheers to 2023 being a good year 🥂🥳 Happy New Year everyone!

12/29/2022

If I had an office, you know I would dream of being a flamingoer! Some of the other pranks in this thread are legendary!

“Back in June, I help my mom clean out her pool shed. There's a strand of old twinkle lights with plastic flamingos. "Throw them out," she says. "They don't work." But I see that the flamingos came off easily, so I start to pull them off. "I can do something with these."”

09/20/2022

I've managed a lot of lines in my events, and I have always had a volunteer designated to officially end the line as we reach closing time. So of course I was curious to know about the endpoint of the greatest Queue of all time:

Christina Heerey lined up overnight to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state in Westminster Hall. Then she did it again.

08/02/2022

Have you helped plan a memorial service/celebration of life for a loved one? I would be grateful for you to share your thoughts on the process https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZJS8SSK

As many of you know, I have been planning nonprofit events of all shapes and sizes since 2003 – first as a staff member and volunteer, and full-time freelance since 2011 as my Tugboat 23 Consulting gig.

The pandemic-related slowdown in events, plus the loss of my father and a beloved uncle in the months prior to the pandemic, caused a lot of soul-searching. I realized that my biggest strengths in event planning – adding the creative and intensely client-specific aspects to the day – are a good fit for helping families celebrate the life of a loved one.

I know how planning memorials in our stage of life often involves juggling busy work schedules, family drama, children, executor duties, and grief. I would like to take the weight off of busy shoulders and help others create personal and meaningful celebrations of life. I am envisioning helping with the sort of events that are planned for a few weeks/months after a loss as opposed to the funeral itself.

I’ve created a short survey for those of you who have been in the position to honor a loved one. Your feedback from your own experiences will be extremely valuable to me so I know what may be most needed by others. If you have questions or want to contact me right away, please reach out at [email protected] or by phone/text at 617-599-8509.

PS: I will still be doing my nonprofit events – by no means am I shutting down my primary business, but simply adding to what I offer.

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

07/12/2022

The live broadcast of Webb's first images wass amazing, inspiring, and so well-done. Of special importance to event planners was the fact that they had a backup exoplanet specialist on hand. That is the sort of super-extra planning that makes my dorky heart happy! https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages

The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

05/23/2022

Since I have a vested interest in bicycle travel due to the Ciclismo Classico Bike Travel Film Festival, I especially enjoyed this article - some great trails here that I'd never heard of! https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/travel/cycling-bike-paths.html

Tens of thousands of miles of abandoned railroad tracks have been developed into recreational paths since the 1960s. Here are scenic pathways through deserts, valleys, mountain passages and more.

05/23/2022

Hi everyone! I am seeking some more volunteers for Making History on the Common on Monday, June 6th. The event, for my longtime client Friends of the Public Garden, is a beloved field trip for about 800 Boston Public Schools students (grades 3 through 5) who learn about Boston’s history through stations set up on Boston Common. It's our first time since 2019 so we are all so excited!

I realize this is a workday and we’ve arranged our volunteer shifts so that one option is a 8:00 – 9:00 AM “set-up” shift that would allow you to help out early and then go about your day. The other shift is roughly 9:15 AM until 1:00 PM – but I’m very flexible to the times you have available; just let me know what works from you.
During-event tasks include: food tent (apples and potentially other snacks), check-in / info, program helper for protests station, program helper for pillories station, program helper for Three Sisters Garden station, line helper for carousel. Let me know if you have a preference, especially if you’re interested in helping out at a station!

Whatever your task, you will enjoy being part of an event that really reaches these urban kids. And bonus - you will probably see some goats in a minivan!!
https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/.../making-history.../

05/19/2022

I am a huge baseball fan and always have been. This is a great article about giving the fans the most fun and joyful experience possible - what I strive for with all my clients - and really breaking new ground in a tradition-laden sport. Go bananas go! https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-05-16/savannah-bananas-baseball-revolution-mlb-rules?fbclid=IwAR1T1p7j5_2CvT7U3eooEVu2Z2aEOYeo17lH3emgijGIL_nGZfo3hydsbPI

The Savannah Bananas have thrown out every boring baseball rule, attracting thousands of fans. This is why Banana Ball has MLB's attention.

04/29/2022

I love working on an event as beloved as - I was hanging flyers in Beacon Hill today and all the shopkeepers were overjoyed that we are finally back after two years away. The excitement is building!

Also, I finally got to wear my special mask on official Duckling Day business!

04/27/2022

From the Random Things Written in E-mails category:

"...if your Minion needs to take their head off for a while"

03/31/2022

I actually have a pretty busy Spring event schedule (yay!!), but in addition to that and my weekly elementary school subbing gig (so fun!) of course I end up doing events for some of Joey's clubs/teams. I just made reference to a "backup snowball" in a planning email - any day I get to contemplate snowball contingency plans is a very good day!

(photo from the source of said snowballs)

03/26/2022

My labor of love!

Looking for something to do this rainy evening? Don't forget that the online 13th Annual Ciclismo Classico Bike Travel Film Festival is available for viewing tonight, tomorrow, and Monday! We've already had viewers from USA, UK, France, and Spain, and the feedback has been AWESOME! Enjoy some bike inspiration to kickstart your spring riding :) http://ciclismoclassico.com/filmfest

03/04/2022

Want to help out in Ukraine? Here is a well thought-out list gathered by my friends at NEID Global!

https://www.neidonors.org/ukraine-resources

The King Baudouin Foundation, a NEID member, has established a fund to help support emergency relief for the people of Ukraine. The fund is pooling contributions, to be distributed to three local nonprofits working on the frontlines of the country’s response to the crisis - Caritas Ukraine, Pe...

02/23/2022

I used BFIT as a venue a few years ago and got to know about its impressive history and about the important work they are doing nowadays. What a great thing for them to receive a transformative gift that is unrestricted, no less!!

The gift is the largest in the history of the school, which trains a largely nontraditional student body for a host of technical careers.

01/14/2022

This is one of those yearly traditions that I just love. A colleague, Reflection Films, puts together their "Smiles" montage. The smiles and humanity in these 90 seconds are absolutely contagious - in only the best of ways, of course! https://reflectionfilmsonline.com/smiles-2021/

  2021 felt like something of an extension of 2020. Happiness can take a hit or two, but it always survives. Our clients last year gave us plenty of joy, […]

12/20/2021

We have never had a dog on the before, and I wouldn't have expected the first one to be almost 100 lbs! I gave Tucker the dog my tinsel necklace so he could be festive too 🎅

11/05/2021

Just left a message for a colleague, saying I had an "urgent lamination situation" - it is nice to have weird projects again!

10/19/2021

This is one of the unexpected things making me miss my dad: I'm finishing a first draft of a fundraising appeal letter. That doesn't sound like the usual missing-a-deceased-parent situation - but Dad really enjoyed reading my fundraising letters, and always wanted to be added to mailing lists so that he could receive one of "mine" in the mail. I think it was one of the most enthusiastic ways that he would share how proud he was of me, though I never doubted his love and regard.

I do miss him so much, but mainly I smile. He would especially love that this letter is on behalf of libraries - one of his favorite things.

09/24/2021

Definitely on the list of "things you don't want to have happen at your event":

A giant 'moon' has rolled to freedom in Henan province after it escaped festival celebrations

07/14/2021

I somehow never posted the stand-alone Make Way for Ducklings video here when it came out. I was by the Public Garden yesterday and WOW it is green from all the rain. Worth a visit! In the meantime, I dare you to NOT laugh when the penguins are completely ignoring the story! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTBU_UpgxUY

Duckling Day celebrates mothers everywhere! Inspired by the tenacity of Mrs. Mallard from the famous Make Way For Ducklings, the official children’s book of ...

06/22/2021

My unofficial workplace, the Robbins Library, has reopened! Here I am jumping for joy! So nice to be back at the bee table getting stuff done.