Written by Julie Dalton, Platt Builders
The theme of the November PRO NE meeting was Designer Bath’s 5th Anniversary of the opening of their Watertown showroom. Designer Bath is part of the Salem Plumbing Supply family, and the showroom has become a great gathering spot for industry events; it was time to celebrate it!
With warm, welcoming remarks from Mindy Sevinor, the showroom manager and granddaughter of Salem Plumbing’s founder, the evening featured a festive steel drum band and a signature cocktail: Bubbles & Berries. Robert Calabrese, from event sponsor Oceania, also welcomed guests and acknowledged how nice it was to be out among people since Canada’s lockdown lasted far longer than our own. He was clearly grateful for the celebration.
Oceania’s beautiful products were on full display, including a British racing green bathtub! Guests included New England Home Magazine’s Kathy Bush-Dutton, Adams + Beasley’s Eric Adams, Chris Pike from Clarke, architect Stuart Parsons, designers Jodi Swartz, KitchenVisions, Diane Burcz of Diane Burcz Interior Design, and Rachel Brooks (Feinmann), three members of Platt Builders, and JJ Przybylski from Mastodon Moving – among many others who chatted the evening away. It was a fun night celebrating the hard-working group at Designer Bath – cheers to many more!
PRO New England events like this are great opportunities to not only celebrate the achievements of our colleagues but also to meet those we may not already know and to learn how we are all connected within this industry. I have learned so much from the expertise of other marketing professionals, designers, and architects, and even from our competitors that I have met at these events.
As the resident extrovert at Platt Builders, I often say that I’m happy to connect the dots. Walking into an event blindly can be overwhelming for anyone…and then having to make connections and talk intelligently?! Gasp! I have two tips: never go at it alone and have a plan. Ask someone you’ve connected with in the past if they’re attending the event and then plan to walk in together. Even better: bring a guest!! PRO offers discounted pricing for guests of members. Don’t know anyone? Give me a call, I’ll happily walk in with you and start connecting the dots together. As for having a plan: define your Why. Why do you want to go to this event? Why is this event important for you? Know your Why and then make conversation that reflects that intention…all while noshing on yummy treats and sipping Bubbles & Berries. It can’t get much better than that!
