New Leader for Berkshire Country Day School

Print Story | Email Story
LENOX - The board of trustees of Berkshire Country Day School has hired Paul Lindenmaier of Rhode Island as the new head of school after a nationwide search. Lindemaier is head of the Lower School at Moses Brown School in Providence, an independent coeducational day school of more than 775 students through Grade 12, where he has been since 1999. He has played an active role throughout the Moses Brown school community, serving as a member of the Administrative Council, Division Heads Committee, Cross-Divisional Program Review Committees and as chairman of the All-School Diversity, Academic Long Range Strategic Planningand Co-Curricular Program Balance committees. He also serves on the Head's Admissions Review Team and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Self-Evaluation Steering Committee, among other committees. Prior to Moses Brown, Lindenmaier spent six years as head of school of The School in Rose Valley (Pa.), and before that as an elementary teacher at Germantown Friends School, an independent day school in Philadelphia, and at a public school in Vermont. He holds a master's degree in educational leadership from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., where he graduated with distinction in 1997, and a bachelor's degree from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., where he received his elementary teaching certification. Lindenmaier will take up his new position on July 1, 2008, succeeding Rob Peterson. He will be relocating to the Berkshires with his wife, Margaret, 15-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, who will enter BCD's third-grade class in the 2008-09 school year. "Lindenmaier's unanimous selection as BCD's next head of school follows a comprehensive four-month nationwide search process which attracted a number of strong candidates interested in our school," said Sion Boney, president of the board of trustees. "We all feel strongly that Paul embodies the combination of experience, vision, and energy that we as a community are looking for in a head of school to build on the 60-plus years of tradition and educational excellence that has made BCD such a unique and outstanding independent school." "I was honored to learn that I had been selected as the next head of school at Berkshire Country Day School and am enthusiastic about the prospects of working with such a talented and dedicated group of educators, trustees, and parents," said Lindenmaier. "BCD's reputation, extraordinary programs, and demonstrated commitment to excellence in academics, the performing and visual arts, and all other aspects of learning attracted my interest and were affirmed during the search process." The independent school, established in 1946, offers prekindergarten through ninth grade. The school community is dedicated to encouraging academic excellence at the highest level, advancing each student's unique potential for well-rounded development, and fostering responsive and responsible citizenship, according to the school's leaders. More information can be found at www.berkshirecountryday.org
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

View Full Story

More Lenox Stories