Boston By Foot hosted a virtual 2020 End-of-Year celebration on December 19th. BBF volunteers, staff and board members were in attendance as Foot Pins were awarded, Docent Emeriti were recognized, and retiring committee co-chairs were thanked for their service. BBF Executive Director presented the 2020 Distinguished Service Award to Dennis McCarthy, who played a key role in our shift to virtual content. The evening ended with a viewing of our 2020 Season Appreciation video.

Foot Pins:

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

5-year pin recipients: Florri Aversa, Alice Brown, Nancy Cahn, Harriet Costa, Kate Fontanella, Joanne Harrington, Alfred Kaplan, Mary Beth Karr, Mark Krumm, Bob Malsberger, Tom McNamara, Eileen Ryan, Anne Smagorinsky, Joyce Tanner, Janet Van Liere, Timothy Wallace, Laura Whitcomb
10-year pin recipients: Mike Baurer, Arwyn Carol, Katie Kelly, Judith Liben, Gisela Nilsson, Tom Revay
15-year pin recipients: Babz Clough, Pat Mattheisen, Liz Morgan, Pamela Pacelli
20-year pin recipients: Andrea Bonanno, Sue Cnudde, Mike Fitzgerald, Judy Glock, Doug Upton
40-year pin recipient: Harry Friedman

Congratulations and a hearty thank you to all of our guides for their years of service – there wouldn’t be a Boston By Foot without you!

Committee Co-Chairs:

Academic Affairs Committee Co-Chairs: Sharon Fogarty and Michael Bauer. Mike’s term as co-chair ended on 12/31 – thank you Mike!
New Tours Committee Co-Chairs: Martha Vicinus and Lauren Sterling
Tour Series Committee Co-Chairs: Joni Youngwirth and Janet Van Liere. Joni’s term as Co-Chair ended on 12/31 - thank you Joni!
Tours of the Month Committee Co-Chairs: Laura Whitcomb and Sally Ebeling. Laura’s term as Co-Chair ended on 12/31 - thank you Laura!
Events and Activities Committee Co-Chairs: Anna Marie Bracco and Diana Vaughn

Boston By Foot is so grateful for our Committees and their dedicated Co-Chairs, thank you for dedication and countless hours of service – especially in this uncertain year!

Distinguished Service Award:

There were a lot of people involved in the Boston By Foot 2020 season who participated in all new ways, but this year’s Distinguished Service Award went to a volunteer who really pushed the virtual BBF to a whole new level. This guide has remarkable patience and persistence, and demonstrated that all "old dogs" can learn new tricks. This guide did whatever was necessary to make sure they could lead tours this past year – including working with fellow guides for hours on how to Zoom in Zoom. This guide made BBF’s tours the envy of architecture tour groups worldwide, and he was always a delight to work with. The recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Service Award was Dennis McCarthy!

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.

Margaret Bratschi, Class of 1988
Harvey Cohen, Class of 2009
Kent Hewitt, Class of 2007
Fran Lanouette, Class of 1993
Eleanor Roselli, Class of 2002

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.