LENOX, Mass. — Winstanley Partners, a marketing, creative design, interactive, and communications firm, has named Jaclyn C. Stevenson director of public relations.
Stevenson, of Springfield, had worked with the agency for the last year in a freelance capacity. The move coincides with a broader company restructure, through which the former Winstanley Associates and its sister company, Lenox Softworks, merged to become one, full-service entity.
Stevenson is an active member of New England's traditional and new-media communities; she co-founded PodCamp Western Mass. in 2009, and also founded an international online networking community called Thirty-something Bloggers in 2007 – a group that now has more than 1,000 members around the world.
Prior to accepting her new position, Stevenson worked as both a writer and a publicist in several capacities. She's completed projects as a sole proprietor with such clients as Cigna Healthcare, Disney World Sports, the Sisters of Providence Health System and GoNomad.com, and also was the senior writer for BusinessWest magazine from 2004 to 2008, a reporter with the Journal Register in Palmer, and the assistant director of public relations at American International College.
Stevenson holds a bachelor's degree in English from Bridgewater State College and a master's degree in organization development from American International College, and has also studied abroad at Spa Lingua in Spa, Belgium and Wadham College at Oxford University. Her work has been recognized by the New England Press Association and the Public Relations Society of America, and her community involvement includes board positions with the Community Music School of Springfield and the Valley Press Club, in addition to a former corporator's position with the Valley Photographic Center in Springfield.
As director of public relations with Winstanley Partners, Stevenson will be responsible for traditional and new-media public relations of all types for clients of the agency, as well as on behalf of the company itself.
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Jaclyn really knows her business. If you are thinking about hiring a PR professional, and you just aren't sure, call me directly at 413-997-2006 and I'll be happy to share with everyone my positive experiences.
For that matter, the same goes for all of Winstanley Partners. They're smart, creative, responsive, and get the job done.
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.
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