BC Event Management, Catering staff
earn high marks for Family Weekend
Among Event Management and Catering staff at Boston College, it is known simply as “the weekend”—that exhaustive stretch each year in late September when the University hosts Family Weekend and its multiple events that include Pops on the Heights, parent activities, tailgating, a football game, and Family Liturgy on Sunday.
Throw in a Board of Trustees Meeting and, this year, a Thursday evening dedication of the St. Teresa of Ávila Prayer Garden on the Brighton Campus, and you have a stressful and demanding schedule that would test the limits of hardworking staff anywhere. Fortunately for Boston College, it is a challenge that its frontline staff meets with enthusiasm.
AVP for Auxiliary Services Patricia Bando (Caitlin Cunningham)
“The work that Event Management Director Jim Mastin and Assistant Director of Catering Operations Scott Powers and their respective teams do within this four-day period is truly outstanding,” said Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Patricia Bando. “The Family Weekend events require these two teams to execute sophisticated food and beverage services for 11,000 event guests while fulfilling the "usual" football game day catering at Alumni Stadium. They are exceptionally devoted employees who always deliver. They deserve our praise and recognition.”
Mastin, whose tenure at BC dates back 37 years to 1988, said he was pleased with the success of the Family Weekend and grateful for the kind words he and his staff received from parents, students, and colleagues who attended the slew of events.
BC Event Management Director Jim Mastin
“I could not do what I do without the outstanding and dedicated staff in event planning,” said Mastin. “This is a weekend where it takes a village for all of the events to happen. We rely not only on our own team but on our campus partners, which include Catering, Facilities, Grounds, Custodial Services, Athletics Maintenance, and BC Police, among others.”
Scott Powers, BC’s general manager of catering, said he was gratified that the weekend went well and that his staff and colleagues were being lauded for their good work, considering the countless hours they put in to making it go so smoothly.
Assistant Director of Catering Scott Powers holding the National Association of College and University Food Services grand prize award BC Dining received in July.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have such a dedicated catering team here at Boston College,” said Powers. “It is their commitment to providing the best possible experience and warm hospitality that makes Family Weekend so special for all our guests. This success is a true team effort across all Dining Services units, Event Management, Catering, and other university departments with which we work.”
BC parent Jessica Cherry, of Milton, Mass., who attended the parent events, football tailgate, and Family Liturgy, said that the weekend was “unforgettable” and exceeded all her expectations.
“BC does everything right and makes its guests feel welcome at every event, big or small,” said Cherry. “Everything this whole weekend was first rate.”
Bando said positive feedback from the BC and parent community is greatly appreciated by the staff and will help inspire them next September when the same challenges present themselves at Family Weekend.
“They take pride in the work that they do and in the knowledge that no other college or university could have been as successful in pulling of all of these events in one weekend,” said Bando. “They are BC at its best.”