Just a few short weeks ago, dozens of Boston By Foot volunteers made their way to Education First’s gorgeous headquarters for our annual Awards Reception. During this evening of joy and festivities, we celebrated many well-deserving Boston By Foot volunteers, including those who gave twenty or more tours this season, retiring committee co-chairs, Flansburgh Travel Fellowship winners, and a handful of guides who have served BBF for five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five years!

Foot Pins:

The following people were awarded Foot Pins to honor their years as a BBF docent:

5-year pin recipients: Jeffrey Berman, Dana Bos, Rebecca Camerato, David Coviello, Debra Dellanina-Alvarez, Abhi Gupte, Alison Harvey, Anna King, Billy Lewand, Shawn McGuinness, Elisabeth Piquet, Tracy Vrablik, Joni Youngwirth
10-year pin recipients: Bob Dermody, Neil Dugas, Charlie Eisenmann, Jean Hunt, Kate Neave, Lynn Smiledge, Frank Vincent
15-year pin recipients: Meredith Anderson, Tom Coppeto, Gene Moulton
20-year pin recipients: Liam Sullivan, Nancy White
25-year pin recipients: Robert Anderson, Christine Shirey

Footly Fortitude:

The following Docents were acknowledged for giving 20 or more tours:

20 Tours: Sinjin Smith
21 Tours: Rebecca Brooks, Bob Malsberger and Michelle Saracusa
22 Tours: Andrea Bonanno, Willa Brown, David Coviello, Sally Ebeling, Sheila Frazier, Beth Greenwood and Dennis McCarthy
24 Tours: Terri Evans and Edythe Harkins
25 Tours: Martha Vicinus and Joni Youngwirth
31 Tours: Sherry Krause-Mazza and Ronnie Tate
33 Tours: Tom Coppeto
35 Tours: Sharon Fogarty and Linda Poznauskis
36 Tours: Michele Steinberg
50 Tours: Tom Revay
54 Tours: Laurel Perkins
58 Tours: Steve Kluskens
60 Tours: Tom McNamara
62 Tours: Gretchen Grozier
69 Tours: Margaret Bratschi
89 Tours: Elisabeth DiCicco
225 Tours: Bob Perkins

Committee Co-Chairs:

Five retiring co-chairs were recognized: Liam Sullivan, Tours of the Month Committee; Karen Burke, Volunteer Events Committee; Jeffrey Doucette, Academic Affairs Committee; Dennis McCarthy, Continuing Education Committee; Shawn McGuiness, Special Tours Committee. Also recognized were retiring Editorial Board Member Dina Vargo, and retiring Volunteer Liaison to the Board of Trustees Dayl Cohen.

Flansburgh Traveling Fellowship Winners:

Two winners of the Flansburgh Traveling Fellowship were announced: Elisabeth DiCicco who will travel to England, Ireland and Scotland; and Martha Vicinus who will travel to Paris, France.

Distinguished Service Awards:

This year’s Distinguished Service Awards were presented to Peter Micheli for maintaining BBF’s regular posts on Facebook, and to Michele Steinberg for managing BBF’s Twitter presence for over a decade. These two guides have the perfect flair, wit and savvy to boost BBF’s presence in the ever-changing world of social media. They support our staff and serve as our main representatives on Facebook and Twitter by preparing and posting timely tweets and posts to engage and inform thousands of our followers. This work takes constant attention, requires knowledge of the latest trends, and of course it has become more and more important as a promotional tool for Boston By Foot. Both guides have been at this work for years, and although their posts and tweets are read by thousands, they are not often acknowledged as the “voice” of BBF social media.

Docent Emeritus:

In 2017, Boston By Foot established the Docent Emeritus position to honor the contributions of longtime volunteers and enable them to continue a lifetime connection to the organization after they have decided to end their active involvement. After 10 or more years of service, Docents may choose to become Docent Emeriti. They will receive lifetime Volunteer Membership benefits and the lasting title of Boston By Foot Docent Emeritus or Docent Emerita. This year we added the following volunteers to the ranks of our Docent Emeriti.

Justina Chu, Class of 1994
Marylee Gilchrist, Class of 2005
Diana Larsen, Class of 2001

We sincerely thank all of our newly inducted Docent Emeriti for their many years of service to Boston By Foot, and treasure our ongoing relationship. We also thank not just the award recipients listed above, but also every one of our wonderful volunteers. Their passion and love for Boston By Foot is beyond compare, and we’re so thankful to have such a strong and devoted community.