The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. logo of the Six Trees (based on the six founders of the company). Our Motto:
“A Tree grows from the strength of its roots and not from the top of the Tree” meaning that all employees opinions are noted and respected.
My boss contacted me after my Summer I class was done and asked if I could teach the Summer II class too with the same schedule After the success of our first class project, I said yes but with one catch. I had one less week to teach the class.
My first class’s final exam was on Monday and then classes started Wednesday. Because we met on Monday’s and Tuesday’s were the class days we would not meet until the next week and that fell on the Forth of July weekend so in the first two weeks of classes we met the first Tuesday of the second week of classes and that put us two weeks behind.
So on the third week of classes, we finally met with the full schedule. I had a lot of catching up to do. That being said, I had to get their Team project done and we were playing with time. I had to have at least two weeks to do the project and unlike the Critchley’s Candies project, I wanted to keep it closer to home.
The blog on the successful Critchley’s Candies Team Project:
I thought of three Merchants in Hasbrouck Heights that I thought could use some help with their Digital Marketing and Online presence. I talked with Roy Vorisek, the owner of Heights Flower Shoppe, who I have known for years and asked if he would partner with me this semester. I thought it might be a nice idea to promote one of our Merchants this time around. He loved the idea, but the only problem was that he would be leaving for a trip with his family before the Presentation and would not be returning until we finished class.
The Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ (decorated for Halloween)
I was concerned that no one would be there to see the Presentation but he could send one of his family members who worked at the store so she could give her opinions. We then worked out of game plan of things he wanted to promote and ideas for Digital Marketing that the students could work on. I presented him all my ideas based on his needs in the store and then I presented the Team Project to my students.
The Proposal for “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Heights Flower Shoppe-We Keep Growing”:
We were under a lot of time constraints just like the Summer One course in that we only had six full weeks of class, and we would miss two more days of class, so we were going to be rushing through this project. Funny though, this is what I told the students they will be experiencing for the rest of their lives. Last minute requests from both bosses and clients that you might have to achieve and finish in a weekend.
So I prepared the field trips. The first one was an optional extra credit trip the Thursday after I handed out the assignment and then the next Tuesday I met me students for a formal tour of Heights Flower Shoppe and then our Team lunch at Bella Pizza a few doors down. This is when the real work begins.
In a now in a class this quick, you do not have the time to goof around and I made my students fully aware of this. So I arranged the field trip with Ray and his staff, made sure that all my students attended and we started the tour of the store.
We started the tour with a discussion on the history of the store and Ray’s career in the flower business
The owner, Ray Vorisek, gave my students a talk first on the history of the store, his career as a florist and how the whole family participates in the business. Then he took us on a tour of the second floor that will be used for the new Christmas shop and bridal salon in the future. Then I let my students walk around and talk to the owner and his staff, who were working feverishly getting out orders that afternoon.
My students listening to Ray discuss the flower business
Ray explaining the assortment of flowers
My students touring the store and studying the merchandise
Our Team picture after the tour
The students had about a week after this tour to finish and present the project to myself and the owners niece, who would be working at the store as the rest of the family members would be away on vacation. We finished the visit in less than an hour.
As part of the tour, I took the students out for lunch five doors down at Bella Pizza at 197 Boulevard for Cheese pizza and soda. I find that when a Team ‘breaks bread’ with one another, they gel together.
Bella Pizza at 197 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Our ‘Business Lunches’ are a way for the student consultants to get to know one another and start talking about the project in a more casual manner. There was a lot to discuss and it is easier over lunch with a few laughs.
The Special Events and Marketing Team having lunch
The Special Events and Marketing Team dining together
Members of the Marketing and Special Events Team dining together
Ray Vorisek and his daughter, Gabriella with our Senior Vice-President of Operations
It was a really nice lunch and I got to talk with Ray about some of the challenges of the business and catch up on ways he was promoting the business. Heights Flower Shoppe is a very successful business with a good following but the issue is that his core customer base was getting older and things like the way holidays were being celebrated were changing. It was going to be out job to tap into what the younger customers were looking for and how to reach them.
For the next ten days, my students worked hard, had challenges to overcome, co-workers who could be somewhat uncooperative and worked late nights to finish the project in time for our presentation on August 5th, 2025. I thought for a barely two week time frame, the student consultants did a wonderful job on the project and here is their hard work.
This was the commercial that the Marketing Team put together for store to promote it for the Digital Age:
The Commercial on Heights Flower Shoppe
The Team Presentation on YouTube
The Presentation was a huge success with both the Marketing Team and the Special Events Teams presenting their ideas with new logos, interesting Tik Tok and YouTube videos promoting the store and new special promotions such as ‘Children’s Bundles’ and holiday events highlighting Christmas, Easter and the Wedding season.
Ray’s niece, Nicole, attended the Presentation and gave us wonderful feedback on some of the ideas. Which ones were realistic and which ones would need more work. I do admit the students can be elaborate with the project and their ideas, but it is best to present all ideas first and then tailor them down to the clients budget and logistics.
The Corporate Picture for the Paramus Team-Heights Flower Shoppe with CEO Professor Justin Watrel at the end of the Team Presentation
After the Presentation was over, I hosted a small reception for both the students and our attending guests. I bake cookies, brownies and bring in snacks like chips, sodas and waters for the students and their guests for a job well. Our last time ‘breaking bread’ with one another for the conclusion of the project. It was a bit rushed but I think the Team did a great job.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Corporate reception for the Paramus Team
The next week before Final Exam, we had the Team Wrap up and each student discussed what they learned from the project. This is where I get my insights on the project and where I need to tailor my CEO skills. Just as much as the students learn from me, I learn so much from them as well. “From the students we are taught” from the ‘King and I’.
Then I presented my President of the Division her official Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Presidential hat, of which she seemed very excited to receive. It was a very difficult project to do in less than two weeks and she was up to the challenge. Respect well-deserved!
This is the first time in my career at Bergen Community College that I have taught a summer class and it was a very interesting experience. I have taught Business 101, which is the Introduction to Business class for many years but not in a modified seven week period. Normally this important entry level course is taught in fourteen weeks.
With an issue with my car the first day of class and then the Memorial Day holidays the next week put us two days behind and then I had to work on a modified Team project for the students. This would be a challenge. I had done all the on campus events I wanted and there was not much time for one of the bigger more detailed events. So I decided to reach out to a local business to help me out.
I was going to use the florist across the street from the campus and thought that would be the perfect client. The couple unfortunately was selling the business and even though they liked the idea thought it would not work since it would not help them as they were looking for a buyer of the business.
I then had another idea with a business I passed all the time driving up and down Kinderkamack Road on my was back and forth to work, Critchley’s Candies in River Edge, NJ. The business had been around for seventy years and I had met the owner once before. I thought would he help me out?
I was very lucky in that the store had a new owner, Rossana, who was willing to partner with me and liked my proposed ideas. I was lucky that she was looking for ideas to expand her business so it was a win win for the two of us. This would give her free marketing and a fresh perspective from a younger customer and would give the students an opportunity to help a small business owner.
I made two trips to the store to get some ideas and look over the merchandise. They have a nice selection of candies and chocolates and a whole new line of handmade candies that are made in store.
The inside of Critchley’s Candies
The selection of candies at Critchley’s
The selection of handmade candies
Once myself and Rosanna, the owner, worked together to fine tune the project, I brought my class to the store for their field trip. We had a two week deadline on this project and there was a lot to do (they actually did the whole project in ten days).
Over the weekend, I picked my Executive Team and fine tuned the project with more details to each section of the project. It had to be pared down because unlike many other Team projects, we had only two weeks to pull this off and present it to the client.
The proposed project:Critchley’s Candies: We’re Making it!
On one of the rainiest mornings we had in a long time (it never stopped raining for a month), I met my students to tour the candy store. We had a really nice time touring the store that morning and Rossana’s full time employee, Nancy, led the tour with myself and the class.
My students on the tour of the store
My class getting a feel of the merchandise
Nancy, one of the employees of the store led the tour discussing the different lines of merchandise.
We discussed the different types of gummies, jellies and hard candies the store carried.
The video of the tour of Critchley’s Candies that day:
My class and I touring Critchley’s Candies with Nancy, one of the long service employees at the store. She explained all the candy lines to us and what chocolates were made in house.
She then discussed the individual chocolates that are on sale for creating boxes for gift giving.
Me tasting the homemade Milk Chocolate Covered Oreo
When we finished the tour, we had a candy tasting. Everyone got a chance to taste either a homemade Milk or Dark Chocolate Covered Marshmallow or Oreo Cookie. It was a sweet way to end our tour of Critchley’s Candies. Then it was on to our Team Lunch.
After the tour was over, our class took a group shot at the store with Nancy.
After the tour was over, I took my students on their first ‘Business lunch’ and we met as a class at Pompilio’s Pizzeria at 223 Westwood Avenue in Downtown Westwood, NJ. I have taken students here before for lunch on about five other Team projects.
This gives the students the opportunity to get to know each other and have some Team bonding. The pizza is also excellent here too and they have very fair prices and a wonderful ‘school special’.
The Team Lunch:
Pompilio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant at 223 Westwood Avenue in Downtown Westwood, NJ
Some of my students at our Business Team building lunch
The pizza here is excellent
From this point on the students were on their own to create the project. We have already had a series of Board meetings in class and I have had to face two students dropping the class ( I just don’t think this is for everyone).
For the next two weeks, technically ten days, the students worked with their teams on completing the assignment. This meant meeting on their own time and trips back to Critchley’s Candies to film commercials and Tik Tok videos.
We had our last Board meeting the day before the Presentation to wrap things up and go over any missing items. I strictly informed about dress code and performing the role as Student Consultants. From this point on, it would be up to them. They were also assigned two papers to finish the project up.
Paper Three: What would I change in the store if I bought Critchley’s Candies from the owner:
On Tuesday morning, June 24th, 2025, the Presentation took place in our classroom. The first mode of business for each student was to pass the ‘Dress Code’ grade. I have students come in formal business attire. My way of turning group of Gen Zers in to Gen X. Image is very important when trying to sell a concept or program and you must look the role.
With the exception of a few hiccups, the whole class looked very professional considering it was 95 degrees outside. It not been this hot all week but it felt like 100 degrees. Thank God the air conditioning was working in our part of the building that day and the classroom was very comfortable.
The Presentation started late as one student got a flat tire and we had to wait for him. At the same time the owner of the store had an issue at her full time job that got resolved just as the student arrived in class. We started the Presentation at 11:00am and now it was full attention on the project.
The President this semester, Peter McNamara and the Senior Vice-President of Operations JC Abella welcoming everyone and starting the Presentation.
Marketing Team Member Kim Perez discussing the history of Critchley’s Candies to the audience.
The Marketing Team discussing the new ‘Store Jingle’ for the commercial
The Commercial on YouTube:
This includes the store jingle at the end of the commercial.
The students also created a Tik Tok video on the store and its wonderful selection of chocolates.
The Tik Tok video:
The Tik Tok video on Critchley’s Candies
Marketing Team member Matthew discussing the creation of the ‘Store Jingle’
The Product Development and Special Event’s Team discussing the QR Codes Program for the store’s boxed and individual candies.
Product Development/Special Events Team Member Aisha Martinez discussing the new ‘Summer Camp Care package’ proposal. This included a prototype of the packaging.
Team Leader of the Product Development/Special Events Liam discussing the ‘In-house Birthday Party’ program. This caters to that jaded Bergen County child who has seen it all. This birthday concept was very creative. It made it fun to have a birthday at the store.
His proposal for the ‘Birthday Party’ invitation with Vice-President of Product Development/Special Events Joel Fife to the right and President McNamara and SVP Arabella to the left looking on.
The Presentation concluded on time with a Q&A and a discussion on some of the ideas needing adjustments. Overall the owner of Critchley’s Candies, Rossana Rossi, who I partnered on this project seemed very impressed by the results. Then we took our Team picture with the owner and her employee, Nancy, who had led us on the tour of the store two weeks earlier.
The Paramus Critchley’s Candies Team with the owners of Critchley’s Candies.
After the Presentation was over, everyone took their jackets off and I hosted a reception for the students and our guests. I baked cookies and brownies and had an assortment of snacks and sodas for the students. I thought this went by very well for a class that had been here for only seven weeks.
The reception at the end of the Presentation
This is when I can say that I am very proud of my students!
The Official Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. website for the project with QR codes, Commercials, Logos and pictures from all the visits and the presentation:
On the evening of May 22nd, 2025 our college, Bergen Community College, on the Paramus Campus held a wonderful evening of music, dance, art, fashion and culinary delights through the partnership of the Colleges of Art, Music and Culinary Arts in the School of Business/Hotel Management, which make up the incubator, the Bergen Institute of Creative Arts (BICA). This evening showcased the talents of not just the students but the Professors who taught them as well.
The opening reception welcoming everyone
We started the evening with a wonderful cocktail party which the Culinary students created for everyone to enjoy. The food was wonderful and so beautifully displayed.
The delicious crab cakes and beef and cheese tartlets on the table.
The Caramelized Pork Belly has an Asian flair to it
The Vegetarian Quesadilla
The crab cakes were a big hit
The infused Water, Freshly Brewed Ice Tea and Virgin Sangria were offered as beverages
During the Cocktail Party, I got to talk to some my counterparts and some of the students on their works that night. They had done a wonderful job. The Art Department had their works hung all around the Cocktail Party.
The artwork’s theme dealt with the Migrant Crisis
Pictures of people involved in the Agricultural industry
The Fashion Program also put their designs and fashions on display during the party as well.
The student designers that evening showed their designs first at the Cocktail Party
After the Cocktail Party, we moved into the auditorium for an evening of entertainment. We would be getting to see the talents of the Theater, Dance and Music departments as well. The first to perform were members of the Theater Department, who did a wonderful job with their performances. These students could really belt out a tune.
The musical performance of student singer, Francesca Muffoletto, singing “Always Something More”
Then student singers, Ashlyn Kurtzmann and Christine Dunning performed “Perfect Strangers” from the musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”.
The start of the performance
The student singers performing “Perfect Strangers”
Our Dance Department performed next and student dancers, Manna Tao and Lila Knowles performed the dance, “La Bicicleta”.
The student dancers performing “La Bicicleta”
Then our Music Department performed next and one of our Professor’s in the Music Department, Professor John La Barbara, performed with students Steven Hanst and Haydn Day, original songs that he had written. All the music was a Brazilian theme and harmony was brilliant.
Professor John La Barbera with his trio performing “Aqua De Coco”
Professor La Barbera’s original song “Aqua De Coco”
After his performance with his trio, Professor La Barbera performed music from the movies with musician Gunnar Marks, one of our Music students on campus.
The last performance was all the music students, Gabrielle Buttacavole on vocals and Gunnar Marks, Steven Hanst on guitar, Aden Even-Ezra on bass and Michael Ramirez on keyboards performing original songs by both Gabrielle Buttacavole and Gunnar Marks.
The students performing “Share Air” written by the students
After the Intermission, Professor Mary Bays from the Fashion Department introduced her student designers and then they started the fashion show.
Professor Mary Bays introducing the student designers and they started the fashion show.
The Fashion show
The Fashion Show
The Fashion show
The Fashion show
The Fashion Show
Then the student designers came out with their models and did the runway finish with all their creations. These above creative designs were by student designers Michael Agostino, Camila Stefania Rodriguez Cervantes, Ediliana Pena, Priscilla Reyes, Donna Mendoza and Maritza Gomez. Their designs were quite unique.
The student designer and his creations
The student designer and her creations
The student designer and her creations
The student designer and her creations
After the Fashion Show was over to a very rounding success, Professor Ronda Drakeford, Chairwoman of the Hotel and Restaurant program thanked her students for providing the wonderful food for the program. The Culinary students did a wonderful job with both the cocktail hour and the desserts that followed the end of the program.
Then the performances ended and we all went outside the Ciccone Theater to have the dessert hour, which was not quite an hour as all the students, parents and faculty enjoyed the sweets and they were devoured quickly.
The Raspberry Tartlets served after the show
The Raspberry Chocolate Tartlets after the show
It was an excellent evening of students and faculty showing the immense talent of the students at Bergen Community College on our Paramus Campus and the skills they will bring forward in their future colleges and their careers. Congratulations to all our students involved with the Bergen Institute for the Creative Arts (BICA).
Every semester for my Business Marketing, Management and Communications classes, I create one big Team assignment for my students. In a Commuter College, it is a lot tougher for students to get to know one another between their studies and their jobs, so I create these projects to foster learning, creativity and especially Teamwork.
This was the first time I had ever taught International Marketing and it was a challenge I really wanted to tackle. With International Tourism in a state of flux due to the economy and politics, what type of creative programming and offerings do we have to attract a foreign customer?
Promoting Bergen County, NJ for tourism has been one of biggest challenges I have had and how we get all these places to enter the modern era with a fresh approach to getting people to visit their establishment. The ‘Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County’ has been our most ambitious project to date. We took the website and plans the County of Bergen had planned and expanded it in every direction.
We added in special events, fundraising ideas, scavenger hunts and walking tours along with a new direction in promoting these sites through Digital Marketing and outlets like Tik Tok, YouTube and using QR codes so that the younger generation can use their phones interactively.
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Our Corporate site (created my one of my former President’s:
As my International Marketing class entered its second month and before I ran the Midterm, I introduced the Team Project, similar to the one I created in 2020 just as COVID hit “From Revolution to Renewal-Exploring Historic Bergen County, NJ”:
The project that we started right before COVID closed the college:
With that class, I had planned a series of field trips once we got back from Spring Break but we never went back to campus. That project was done with work that had to be done online and with what we had because we could not leave our houses at that time. This project was to do what that project could not accomplish.
So I approached Vivian Davis, of the Bergen County Historic Division, who I had worked with for years in my time at the Department of Disabilities Services for the County, and who I initially worked with on the first project and asked her to help me again. She is running the ‘Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County’ event. Would she let me help her coming up with a different angle on advertising the event and some new ideas for special events and a fresh perspective on looking at the event from the students viewpoint?
It would be one of the most ambitious projects that I had ever attempted for this company model. She agreed to let me help in my own way plus be available for being a listening ear for the students and assist us on the Team site visits and tours.
It was a great partnership as she got much needed research and ideas for advertising while the students learned something new about their communities that they did not know. Even I learned about historical sites that I never knew existed and I have lived here off and on for the last thirty years. Everyone got something positive out of it and it was a win-win partnership.
I put together the project and had Vivian look it over and with some adjustments, it was a go and I presented to my students two weeks before the Spring Break in March. We would work on this project for the next seven weeks along with a series of site trips to places in the ‘Bergen 250’ roster. It would be an eye opener project for everyone involved.
The initial project concept for the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Team Project “The Bergen 250”:
I chose my Executive Team from a series of what I call “Alumni Students”, who I had in other classes and I knew their work and how they had performed in other Team Projects that I had run. I chose the remainder Student Executives from a look series of papers I had them write for the class promoting Foreign Tourism and Advertising.
Paper Two: Promoting McDonalds Foreign Food items for the American Market:
These two papers are how I determined who would be on what Teams and how they might perform on that section of the project. For the most part I was right. I saw this at the end of the project.
I broke the class into the following Teams: Marketing, Talent, Historical and Food Service with each Team having their own responsibilities (Please read the project). They were led by the President and Senior Vice-President of Operations, who reported to me as their CEO. Both of these students had participated in previous projects that had been equally ambitious.
The two weeks before the Spring Break, the Student Consultants got their game-plans together, divided the responsibilities and started their research on the historical sites being promoted by the ‘Bergen 250’. There are a lot of historical sites in Bergen County that date back to the Revolutionary War and before To the time of Dutch settlements.
When we arrived back from the break, I arranged a series of Field Site visits that I took my student to so that they could experience and tour the sites up close. These were also location trips for of Food Service division who would be arranging a series of special meals at these sites.
The first place the Team visited was the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fair Lawn, NJ. This historic home and grounds were going to be one of the locations for a special event for the Food Service Division.
The Garretson Forge & Farm at 4-02 River Road in Fair Lawn, NJ
We had done a promotional project on the site a few semesters before with much success and now we would be arranging a ‘rustic’ Afternoon Tea on the grounds and promoting the gardens with a Flower sale.
The Student Consultants starting a tour of the Garretson Forge & Farm led by historian Vivian Davis.
The students touring the historical kitchen
The students touring the historical room at the Garretson Forge & Farm
Our class picture at the site
Our host and ‘Client’ Vivian Davis joining us in the group picture
The trip to the Garretson Forge & Farm was one of a series of trips that I thought would be important to the students to get a feel for these sites rather than just passing by. We also could incorporate layouts and use of historical items for our Scavenger Hunt that people could download to their phones that our Marketing Team was creating for their part of the project.
The next week we went out into the field again, this time to the Baylor Massacre site in Old Tappan, Nj and the Haring Farm Cemetery, a tiny family plot on what used to be the Haring Farm both in Old Tappan, NJ.
The Baylor Massacre site is where the Patriots had gotten ambushed by the British on a tip from a local resident and instead of following protocol of war, the British bayoneted the troops and through their bodies in a ditch. The bodies had been rediscovered only in the last fifty years when they wanted to develop the land.
With the Haring Farm Cemetery, this was the final resting place of Abraham Haring, a prominent farming family in the area, on what was once hundreds of acres of land of the Haring family. As Vivian explained to us, these families always assumed that the farm would be there and in the family hands.
The Baylor Massacre site at 486 Rivervale Road in River Vale, NJ
Walking around the site before the students arrived
The site of the graves
The location of the old mill where the bodies were thrown
Vivian’s counterpart in the Historic Division, Colin, joined us on this day for this tour and was better than me on explaining everything.
Before everyone got there, I had been to the sites the day before and while the Baylor Massacre site is well taken care of by the County, the Haring Farm Cemetery was a mess of fallen fences, fallen trees and branches all around the site, making it dangerous to walk around. I even touched a dead branch and it came crashing down.
The entrance to the Haring Farm Cemetery at Old Haring Farm Court in River Vale, NJ
The cemetery looked so much nicer when it was cleaned up
I always felt like the family was watching me as I had such a positive feel at the site
Even the family tombstones looked a lot better
Being married into the Haring family via my father’s older brother’s wife sister in law, I felt an obligation to clean this place up. So in a two piece suit the next day, I got to the graveyard early, removed all the branches, raked the whole site, fixed the fence and raked the entire site, cleaning the tombstones while I was doing all this.
There is a good feeling when you honor and respect the dead
After cleaning the site, I got myself together and went back to the Baylor Massacre site and started to meet the students. Some arrived early and started to walk around to get a feel for the site.
Colin and I talking to the students about the incident at the site during the Revolutionary War
The Baylor Massacre site was going to be used for a Jazz Concert to honor the soldiers and Patriots whom had passed with a food truck event to go with it along with historical walking tours that evening. The evening event was planned with luminaries lining the paths and the gravesite being lit for the evening to honor those who had passed.
First we walked the entire site to understand the logistics of the event
After the tour and discussion of the site we took a few group pictures of us at the site. In some cases, this was the first time almost all the students had visited the site. This shows how these sites need to be better publicized.
My class at the site with the Memorial in sight
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Team Picture at the Baylor Massacre site
After the tour of the Baylor Massacre site, we headed up to the Haring Farm Cemetery, which was up the road. When we all got there, Colin explained to us that rather than burying their loved ones in a church graveyard, some families wanted to have their loved ones buried close by and again these families thought these farms would always be in the family hands.
Vivian had explained to the students at the initial meeting that one of the past times people had during the Revolutionary War was picnics at cemeteries and graveyards. This is where we got the idea of graveyard tours with a box lunch. We would create an interactive map with QR codes that people could tour with their ‘to go’ lunch.
We arrived at a cleaned up cemetery
The renovation of the site was done by an Eagle Scout
We took some time to understand burial rights of farming families and get a feel for the family members
We toured the small site and Colin explained to the students that Bergen County was dotted with these types of sites because of the number of family farms that once made up Colonial Bergen County, NJ.
We took our group shot while respecting the resting place
After all my students left after the both tours, I went back for one more look and again, I felt such a positive presence as if the family were so happy that we visited.
The weather prevented the next field trip and we had to concentrate on the project so after lecture, the students worked with their groups. Throughout this part of the semester, I would alternate between lecture one day and being ‘out in the field’ the other. This the students had a better experience of being ‘in the industry’.
As the project progressed and started to come together, we took our last and most ambitious field trip to Park Ridge, NJ, to the sites of the ‘Farm to Table Dinner’. This site tour included the Wortendyke Barn, the Pascack Reformed Church, where the Candlelight Tour of the Wortendyke family graveyard would take place and then to the Pascack Valley Historical Society, where the Cocktail Party would take place to open the event.
Then after the site visit, I would be wrapping the afternoon with lunch at Pompilios Pizzeria in Downtown Westwood, NJ for a Team dinner. It was a long afternoon but the students got to experience so much and see a lot.
Our first stop was the Wortendyke Barn, one of the few surviving Dutch-American examples of early American barns.
The barn in the early Spring on one of the few nice days of the week
Vivian met us again for the first part of the tour and explained how the barn was designed, who the Wortendykes were as a family presence in Bergen County and the use of the barn since it became County parkland.
We then moved on to take the next tour at the Pascack Reformed Church, one of the oldest churches in the State of New Jersey. Our tour was hosted by Pastor Sharon Gross-Gill, who had joined the church and loved the idea of the project promoting the church and its historic values.
The Team touring the second level of the church
The team touring the bell tower of the church
Our Vice-President of Marketing ringing the church bell. Each Team member could ring the bell if they wanted to try it.
We were then joined by the church historian who gave us the tour of the Wortendyke family plot
Touring through the Wortendyke family plot
Our Team picture with Pastor Sharon Gross-Gill at the Pascack Reformed Church graveyard
We then moved on to a quick tour of the Pascack Historical Society, which has an interesting display of early Dutch artifacts and only Wampum making machine (Native American currency) in the United States Almost all my students had not seen these things before.
The Pascack Valley Historical Society at 19 Ridge Avenue in Park Ridge, NJ
I have to thank the amazing support of the Pascack Valley Historical Society Board for coming out in full force to help support this project.
The Board touring with us at the museum
The Team with Board member, Peter Meany, as he explains how the Wampum machine worked.
Our Team group picture with the Board of the Pascack Historical Society
I wanted to thank Board Members Kristin Beuscher, Peter Meany, Ralph Donnell Jr., Christopher Kersting and Patrick Dolan for being our hosts, leading the tours and some of them showing up for our presentation of the final Presentation.
After the tours were all over, I took the entire Team to lunch in Downtown Westwood for a Team building pizza lunch/dinner. It had been a long day and the students had worked so hard the whole day, it was nice to break bread with the Team plus the pizza here is excellent. We had a really good time at lunch and everyone got to know each other a little better.
Pompilio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant at 233 Westwood Avenue in Westwood, NJ
Members of the Talent Team with the Marketing Team
Members of the Historical Team dining with the Executive Team
The pizza here is delicious and I love taking my Teams here for lunch
This was the last of the field trips before the presentation two weeks later. One of the pitfalls of the projects that I did that semester was the Spring Break in March and then the Easter Break in late April which had some of my students traveling for the break. I am happy to say that everyone showed up and did their work.
The presentation went by really well and was well attended for an afternoon event. Several parents as well as boyfriends and girlfriends showed up. Vivian and Colin both showed up with their boss from the Division, so the real life ‘clients’ were there for the presentation.
The formal Presentation on YouTube of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. “Bergen 250-The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ”:
Senior Vice-President of Operations Gabriela Chavasco welcomes everyone
The Executive Team leading the Presentation
Vice-President of Operations Brandon Robertson leads the presentation of Foodservice Special Events
Vice-President of Marketing Bart Potensky leads the Marketing Team in their presentation of the Advertising gameplay
Vice-President Kate Trinidad leads the Talent Team on the inside operations of keeping the company well supported from Corporate
After the successful Presentation was over, we took the official Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Corporate pictures.
It was a job well done for the entire Team. I also want to thank Vivian Davis and Colin Fitzpatrick from the Historic Division of the County of Bergen in New Jersey for all their support and guidance and feedback on this assignment. It really was a “Team Effort” from everyone involved.
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
The Behnke Museum Project:
I created the Behnke Museum promotion as a way to promote this wonderful museum located right next to the Bergen Community College campus for tourism. It is such a terrific museum but it never seemed to have any visitors. Not only that, it seemed that no one at the college including the Professors had been there or even knew what it was as they passed it everyday on their way to work. This project, which was the first project in the class, was going to change all of that.
With the help of Fred Behnke and the Board of Volunteers, we partnered together to help the museum promote itself for tourism and put the museum on the map. I created with the help of the Executive Team and the Student Consultants, a series of promotions, commercials and ideas to bring traffic into the museum. The Student Consultants also created an Instagram site for the museum, helped create a website and translated pamphlets into Spanish, Korean and Pilipino to help promote the museum to an outside audience where English may not be the first language. We started the project out with a tour of the museum.
The Sunday Extra Credit tour that my class at the museum
On the Sunday before the formal Class tour of the museum, I gave the students extra credit towards their project to come in on a Sunday and tour the museum at their leisure. About a third of the class took advantage of it.
The next class, I picked my Teams, set up the Executive Team and then it was ‘full steam ahead’ with the project.
We arrived at the museum later that week for our formal walking tour of the museum and the class was broken up into two teams one upstairs and one downstairs.
The Class Field Trip to the Behnke Museum as part of the project
The Team Field Trip to the Behnke Museum
Touring the first floor of the museum
After the tour was over, we took our official Team Corporate picture for the project. Even though it was a gloomy day, it was all energy and smiles and a lot of promise to help the museum gain more visitors.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Behnke Museum Team picture with the Museum Volunteer Staff
The Student Consultants had a week to put the Presentation together and create a commercial to promote the museum and their PowerPoint on their ideas to create excitement at the museum. Here is their project Presentation and PowerPoint on the project. Please remember that they had seven days to do this.
The Team Picture after the Behnke Museum Presentation to the Museum Volunteer Staff:
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Paramus Team for the Behnke Museum
The Behnke Museum Volunteer Staff was impressed with the students ideas and thought there was a lot good ideas that they can use.
Commercial Group One:
Commercial Group Two:
Marketing Commercial Team Two:
Commercial Group Three:
Marketing Commercial Team Three:
Commercial Group Four:
The Bergenfield Tourism Project: The Bergenfield Museum, Coopers Pond Park and South Church Graveyard Tour Project:
This is when I got the idea of doing the same project in a larger form. I saw the Bergenfield Museum, a small gem on the other side of Coopers Pond Park, that did not much traffic considering the museum is open both during the week and the weekend. The building was an original Demarest homestead and the family had their family plot in the South Church which is located right next to the park. So I approached both the museum and the church to partner with me in creating a project to promote this corner of Bergenfield, NJ for tourism.
Cooper’s Pond Park during the Summer months
So I set up the next series of tours for my students that encompassed the Bergenfield Museum, Coopers Pond Park and the historical South Church graveyard where the Demarest family plot was located. The Bergenfield Museum building is the original Demarest family homestead so it tied in nicely to the project.
Walking through Coopers Pond Park inspired this fascinating project
Two weeks after the Behnke Museum project, I introduced this project and the next week we took a walking tour of all three sites starting with walking through Cooper Pond Park, a WPA project and one of the most beautiful and underrated parks in Bergen County.
We met with the Bergenfield Volunteer Board at the museum to start the tour
The Bergenfield Museum at 100 Cooper Street in Bergenfield, NJ
The President of the Bergenfield Museum Board, Joanne, helped me organize the Team Field Trip of the museum. She had four other docents from the Board helping in four different rooms so each Team would follow each other through the rooms. Each Team had about ten minutes in each room for the docent to explain the collection to them. The Student Consultants got to visit the museum on their own time as well.
Our class being greeted by the President of the Bergenfield Museum, Joanne
Touring the Living Room of the old Demarest Homestead
Touring the old Dining Room and the Chair Factory display in the museum
Touring the Kitchen area of the old homestead
Touring the Military Room of the museum
Discussions of the function of the kitchen on the farm
Discussing the Chair manufacturing in Bergenfield, NJ
The Student Consultants touring the Living Room
The Teams taking notes during the tour
After our tour of the museum was over, we took a group picture outside of the museum with the Board of the museum.
The Student Consultants from Bergecco-Parc Consultants Inc. visiting the Bergenfield museum
After we took the group shot, we walked through the park again to my take note of its Depression era past and beautiful views and colors and made our way to the historic South Presbyterian Church and its historic graveyard where the second half of the project would take place.
South Presbyterian Church at 150 West Church Avenue
Touring the South Church graveyard for the historical walking tour with members of the Church volunteer staff
The tour was lead by Bob Carpenter, a historian who is helping renovate this historical graveyard
The tour of the historical Demarest family plot, which ties into the museum building’s historical past, was lead by historian Bob Carpenter, who is helping the church renovate and restore the graveyard. Mr. Carpenter explained to us how he was fixing all the plots and historic tombstones and how the maintenance of the stones needs to be carefully done.
Mr. Carpenter explains how to maintain the tombstones in these historic graveyards
Video of the walking tour of the historic graveyard:
Both the church volunteers and Mr. Carpenter explaining to the students how families were buried in the 1700and 1800’s
We finished the tour that afternoon inside the South Church to learn its history in the community. Though it will not be part of the project, the church offered the students a glimpse into Bergen County’s past as the original church was built before the Revolutionary War.
The Student Consultants touring the pews of the South Church
Once the tour was complete, the Student Consultants had a better understanding of the locations where the project will take place.
The new project will include walking tours, historical aspects of all three locations, and ways of creating a Destination Marketing Plan for domestic and foreign tourism. This will take place when the Student Consultants present their ideas to myself and the museum and church staffs.
The student consultants had four weeks to this project and put together their game plans. The had to put together commercials to promote the Bergenfield Museum, Coopers Pond Park and the historical cemetery of the South Church. As an extra credit assignment, I had the students develop a Halloween walking tour with food and create a separate commercial for this of which three of the for groups completed.
Quiz Four-The Holiday Project
Before the Team made their final presentation, they created Quiz Four-The Corporate Holiday Party
They did a great job on the ideas for the Corporate Holiday Party and came up with some clever menus and logos.
The Holiday Project PowerPoint:
The Christmas Greeting from the Executive Team:
Executive Greeting:
Team One Greeting:
Team Two Greeting:
Team Three Greeting:
Team Four Greeting:
Then came the big Presentation on December 11th, 2024 and this group did an amazing job with ideas for the Town of Bergenfield promoting the Bergenfield Museum, Coopers Pond Park and the South Church’s Historic Cemetery. Each Team tried to top one another.
The whole idea of the Bergenfield Project was not just to promote the museums, parks and historic churches but to create Destination Marketing Project to promote the Town of Bergenfield as a place to visit for both domestic and foreign tourism. This is the project that promotes that vision:
The Bergenfield Team website for Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc:
The day of the presentation the students had to be in professional dress with men expected to be in Jacket and tie or a suit and the ladies in blouses, slacks, suits and dresses. We presented this project to the Board and members of the Bergenfield Museum and to the Communications director of Bergenfield, NJ, which really gave the students a stamp of approval.
I thought the commercials the students came up with were very clever.
The Commercials of the Bergenfield Museum:
Team One:
Team Two:
Team Three:
Team Four:
The Children’s Walking Tour of the Bergenfield Museum:
Team One:
Team Two:
Team Three:
Team Four:
The Coopers Pond Walking Tour:
Coopers Pond Park sits between the Bergenfield Museum and the South Church and is one of the most beautiful parks and underrated parks in Bergen County. The students were tasked with creating a Walking Tour of the park.
The beauty of Coopers Pond Park in Bergenfield, NJ during the Christmas Holiday season.
Team One:
Commercial One:
Commercial Two:
Team Two:
Team Three:
Team Four:
The Historic Graveyard Tour of the South Church:
The South Church Cemetery is one of the oldest and historic cemeteries in Bergen County and home to the Demarest family plot, one of the most prominent families in Bergen County. The students were tasked with creating a short Walking Tour video promotion for the project to promote the South Church for tourism.
Team One:
Commercial Two:
Team Two:
Team Three:
Team Four:
Some of the Student Consultants also for extra credit created a Halloween Walk for the Church.
The Corporate Picture at the end of the Presentation:
The Executive Team of the Bergenfield Museum project
Another excellent Project from the Student Consultants of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.-Paramus Benhke/Bergenfield Team
I couldn’t have been more proud of a group of students who created an excellent project!
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Spring 2024 Executive Team for the “Bergen 250: Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm” project.
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
This semester I thought back to our project last semester on the Bergen County Historical Society and the success it was and how impressed both myself and the Executive Board of the Bergen County Historical Society both were that evening.
The Project “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “Touring at the Bergen County Historical Society”:
I think a lot of these historical sites do not get the attention they deserve and with the 250 Anniversary of the Revolutionary War happening in two years, these wonderful sites needed to be showcased. They needed to dusted off, revamped and a fresh perspective was needed to tell their story. This is where the project for the “The Bergen 250: Tourism at the Garretson Forge & Farm” came from.
The project “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “Bergen 250-Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm”:
That and the tour the former President gave me during the holiday season when I begged to see the Christmas decorations for the Sinterklaas celebrations were still up. I needed pictures for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” and “MywalkinManhattan.com”.
My blog on Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm on VisitingaMuseum.com:
When I toured the home during the holidays, I approached them on using the home as a future project and she seemed to like the idea. This is where the partnership for the project came from.
Our first visit to the site was on “Pea Day” in March 2024 for an extra credit assignment to start the project off so that the students could see the grounds and experience the farm and its attributes.
Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fair Lawn, NJ for “Pea Day”
Visiting the farm house and gardens on “Pea Day”
The volunteers planting at the Garretson Forge & Farm on “Pea Day”.
Observing the Master Gardeners and Volunteers on “Pea Day”.
The students coming in on their day off to attend “Pea Day”
Everyone took turns getting their hands dirty on “Pea Day”
We also had a special field trip to the Garretson Forge & Farm on class day so that everyone could tour the farm and the farmhouse. Outside “Pea Day”, it was the first time anyone in my class had ever visited the site.
We started the tour on a rather gloomy night. We had just had a rain storm but that did not stop our visit. Our whole class attended the trip (it is a mandatory part of both the project and the class) and it was a interesting tour for all of us.
Our host was the President of the Friends group that helps raise money for the site. We started the tour after the rain storm with a trip through the barns to see some of the old farm equipment. The were some interesting artifacts that included farm plows and horse drawn articles to carriages and sleds.
Then we toured the gardens where the volunteers had just finished the plantings of the summer fruits and vegetables. The President explained that the fruits and vegetables that were grown here were donated to a soup kitchen in Paterson. I thought this was a great idea.
Then were toured the farmhouse, which I had just been to for a private tour during the holidays. The kitchen was set up for a harvest meal now and I explained to some of the students how food was cooked back then in the hearth.
Then we toured the small museum and looked at the family tree, where generations of Garretson’s had lived. Our last stop on the tour of the farmhouse was the main living room where the Sinterklass event was held and many of the talks on domestic life on the farm.
This is where we concluded the tour and many students asked questions about life at that period of time. After the tour was over, I took the students out to dinner as part of their Team Building. It is important for the students to get to know one another.
The start of the tour near the barns.
Our tour of the grounds, the barns and life on the farm.
The grounds near the second barn. Touring the gardens at twilightTour of the kitchen.
Discussing the expression “Sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite” and where it came from.
Discussion on the second floor.
The second floor had been added on years later.
Discussion on farm living.
Discussing the furnishings and how the farmhouse ran as a farm and a home.
Continuing our discussion of life on the farm.
Talking about life on the farm.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. tour of the site.
Our group shot with President of the Garretson Forge & Farm April Barth.
After the tour was over, I took my class to Bella Vita Pizzeria in Fair Lawn, NJ for their first Corporate dinner and Team building exercise. The dinner was wonderful, and the pizza was excellent. It really warmed us up after a cold night of touring and the students seemed to enjoy getting to know each other over a hot pizza dinner.
Bella Vita Pizzeria at 1761 River Rd A, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410:
My Teams dining together at a “Corporate” pizza dinner.
The company Team dining together that night.
The aspect of dining together is an important part of the Team Building exercise and you can tell by the pictures that my students enjoyed it.
The next few weeks were preparing the project for the presentation. We had a visit from Vivian Davis, who I had known for years from working in the Division of Disability Services when she was one of our speakers. She now was running the “Bergen 250: The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County” and we had incorporated part of this in the project. I had given her a copy of the project and she came into the class to discuss what she was planning and the significance of the Revolutionary War had on the towns in Bergen County. It was a real history lesson on some of the towns in Bergen County and some of the historical homes and sites in Bergen County.
This project was a bit more intense than my morning class. While they designed the rigors of the Bergen Room Bistro, my evening class was putting together an entire game plan of Revolutionary War events for the ‘Bergen 250’.
I had the students working on an Independence Day event, a Children’s Walking tour of the property, a Mid Summer dinner with a Revolutionary War themed dinner, a continuation of the Sinterklaas event that would extend visiting the decorations in the house another two weekends and then a new Digital Marketing campaign for the site with a commercials and posters.
The night of the presentation on April 24th, it all came to life. The students each showed the PowerPoints with their ideas, menus and commercials to promote the site. They really had some interesting ideas.
Finishing the evening with my Student Consultants was great. The students were so excited to finish and I have to admit it was quite the journey for me too. It was a lot of work (and money) to pull this event off but it went by well. The Board of the Garretson Forge & Farm really seemed to enjoy it and asked lots of questions.
Vivian Davis, who is running the “Bergen 250″ asked the most important question of the night, if I was to run all of these events, would your age group come?” This got the students thinking and one said, “We are a busy group with college and work. If you want our age group to come, you are going to have to cater to things we like.” I thought that was fair and gave her something to think about as well.
We then took our Board picture. I am always so proud of my Student Executive Consultants. They come dressed for work.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. “Bergen 250″: Garretson Forge & Farm” Executive Team.
I want to thank my President of the Team Project, President TJ Fischer and SVP of Operations Camila Alvarado and the entire Team of Vice-Presidents, Team Leaders and Team Members for tackling this very difficult and very detailed job of promoting this wonderful historical site with such detail.
The questions on the project were excellent and direct and audience was very impressed by how thorough the project was done that evening. To all my Student Consultants, you did an excellent job!
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Executive Team picture in the Bergen Room on the Bergen Community College campus for the project “Dining at the Bergen Room: the Ultimate Dining Experience” on April 24th, 2024.
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Two semesters ago we created the project “It’s Cultural on Campus-Bergen Community College” publicizing the Gallery Bergen, The Ciccone Theater and the Bergen Room Bistro to the outside community. It was a ‘Digital Campaign’ to bring people to the Bergen Community College campus from all over Bergen County, NJ to enjoy all the wonderful things to do and see on our campus. The project was a huge success and all the Professors and Departments involved really enjoyed the Presentations (See Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Six):
Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Six: “It’s Cultural on Campus”:
One of my counterparts on campus loved the campaign and ‘hired’ (asked me) to expand the project for a “Digital Campaign” for the Bergen Room and expand the project with all new menus, commercials and create a special Themed Dinner for the student dining room. This resulted in “Dining in the Bergen Room”:
I got Professor Drakeford and Professor/Chef Morrisey involved in the project and we worked together to see the best ways to promote the success of the Culinary Program’s Student Run Dining Room.
I created the Teams two weeks before the Spring Break and got them started on their project. When we returned from the Spring Break, we arranged for the class to dine in the Bergen Room. Chef Morrisey and his Team of Culinary Students created a special menu for us when the Bergen Room was closed and the students got feast on a four course meal courtesy of the Culinary Arts Department.
Having lunch with my students at the Bergen Room on the Bergen Community College Campus in Paramus, NJ:
We started the Testing Menu with a Pumpkin Carrot Ginger Soup.
Then we had the second course with a Toasted Green Salad with a light Cream Dressing.
The main course was a Chicken in a Creamy Peppercorn Sauce, Baked Pasta and Roasted Brussel Spouts.
The meal was completed with a Cream Cheesecake that tasted more like a cream cake and topped with Fresh Strawberries.
All the Teams got to dine with one another and get to know each member in a less formal setting.
This meal got the students to know their product better and look around the Bergen Room and see how they could take this student run dining room and transform it to a special themed event that would dazzle myself and the other Professors and bring in the paying public. Here are some of their ideas:
Along the way, I had various speakers come in to talk to the students. Professor Tim Blunk from the Art Department and the Curator for Gallery Bergen, our on campus Art Gallery came in to talk to the students about the artists that are available on campus and the number of students on campus who are looking for projects for their portfolios. He also discussed some of the happenings at Gallery Bergen.
Professor Jim Bumgarner, the head of our Theater Department, came in to talk to the students on the student singers, actors and dancers that study at the college. He discussed upcoming shows and theater events planned for the future. He added too that there are a lot of students looking to add to their resumes on projects like this.
Our last in house field trip was to the Horticultural Department and to the Greenhouses in Ender Hall. Dr. Steven Fischer, who is head of the Holocultural Program, gave us a tour and talk on the growing seasons, the plants that are grown and available in the greenhouses, the arrangements that are created for the Bergen Room Bistro.
The tour of Greenhouses on our last inhouse field trip with Dr. Fischer explaining the greenhouses.
Asking questions about the floral arrangements used for the Bergen Room.
Discussion of the grounds of the Horticulture Department grounds.
It was a good tour and opened the students eyes on how events were decorated and where the flowers came from and how they were grown. The students were creating their centerpieces for their theme dinners and I wanted them to see where they would get the flowers from.
My President and SVP of Operations on the field trip to the Greenhouses.
We finished our last Board meeting the week before the Presentation and then the Executive Team had a week to make the adjustments. We would be presenting the Project in the Bergen Room Bistro on April 24th, 2024.
The new Corporate website for the Bergen Room Team:
The Presentation Day had some hiccups along the way but overall it was a great Presentation. I was so proud of the students. Each of the competing Teams set up for extra credit a table in the Bergen Room on how their Dining Experience would be set for the evening of their meal. I have to say that the Teams did a nice job with the decorations and all received extra credit for their place settings. There was a lot of creativity in this class.
The were the three Team tables on how they would be set for their ideas for the Student Fundraiser.
Team One’s Display Table
Team Two’s Display table (The Wining Team)
Team Three’s Display Table
The Three Teams then started their Presentations to Chef Morrisey and his student staff, invited guests and friends of the students who came to see the Student Consultants ideas. What creativity! Each team had to present their theme, their menus, music for the event, artwork, floral arrangements and Social Media campaigns. It was an afternoon of a lot of creativity and though that went into each Teams ideas.
Here are their Commercials promoting the Bergen Room:
Team One:
Team Two:
Team Three:
Here are their Presentations from the afternoon. Each Team had to ‘pitch’ their ideas to the Culinary Team.
Team One:
Team Two:
Team Three:
The Teams competed for the prize being the most creative and effective project to sell the Bergen Room Bistro to the outside community.
Team Three even created for extra credit a AI version of visiting the Bergen Room.
After the Team conclusion, it was time for questions and answers. The point of the whole project was to get the students ready for a career in business and marketing and there were questions of why the project was taken so seriously. The answer I had for one parent was that you want your son or daughter to get a good job out of college? It is better they get their lumps here than on a new job. They will be more prepared for the workforce.
One parent did compliment me in that his son was so excited about the project and it really showcased his son’s talents in filming and graphics. That was nice to hear that students are excited about their work. I know that these are the students that will get good jobs out of college and be prepared for Corporate expectations.
I couldn’t more proud of a group of students that banded together to showcase this wonderfully run student dining room.
Have you been there yet?
I took pictures with my Executive Team before the Presentation. I very proudly wore my Alumni Chef’s Jacket from when I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1998. I don’t think it had been out of the dry cleaning plastic since that time.
Professor/Chef/CEO Justin Watrel with SVP of Operations Ayesha Zulfiqar and President Tugay Bera Bozogluer.
Professor Justin Watrel with the winning Team Project from Team Two. I was very impressed with their work. The Team was lead by Vice-President Mauricio Benitez and Team Leader Dennis Shkembi.
My group picture with Team Three lead by Vice-President Taner Ender and Team Leaders Kane Cheng.
Our Corporate picture for the Bergen Room Team at the end of the Presentation.
I am so proud of my students each semester. I like knowing I am training the next group of Executives for their future.
I did not know how I pulled it off but I did. Teaching three classes while taking three classes and serving on four Executive Boards plus all my volunteer work. I never sat still from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and I am still at it.
Christmas never starts in December for me. It starts just after Halloween ends. One holiday just seems to blend into another as the holiday season has moved from Thanksgiving weekend to Halloween weekend to start the holiday season. I swear, we sit at the Halloween Parade talking about Sinterklaas four weeks later and then there is it is. Literally four weeks later.
My Christmas started on Thanksgiving Weekend. I joined my family for the Thanksgiving Buffet Dinner at the Lambertville Inn again this year. I almost did not go as I had a major paper in my Digital Marketing class at NYU plus another paper due in my Hotel Sales & Marketing class. That on top of the fact that I was so busy working at Bergen Community College that I would have never had a good time knowing there was so much work to do. A couple of very late nights later, there I was at the brunch again with my family.
The Thanksgiving Brunch at the Lambertville Inn dining room.
The marvelous selection at the Lambertville Inn for Thanksgiving.
Enjoying the Pasta Bar at the Lambertville Inn.
There was such a great selection of entrees, soups, salads, sides and desserts it took some time to just take a taste of everything. On top of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, you could have roasted chicken, ham and Prime Rib plus a complete Pasta and Salad Bars.
Enjoying my Thanksgiving Dinner with my family.
For dessert, they had an Ice Cream Bar and fresh miniature pastries to choose from.
The Dessert and Ice Cream bar at the buffet.
It was really nice and we had a wonderful time. The food and the service are excellent and no one has to clean up. That is the best part with everyone running around working so much. I felt like I did not have time to breath let alone to take time out for myself. I actually felt guilty if I was not working on a paper for school or grading something. I am glad that my family convinced me to come out and enjoy myself.
The weekend didn’t end with Thanksgiving Dinner. The next day was Christmas Tree drop off for the Men’s Association as the Annual Christmas tree sale started on Friday morning. We got a text at 7:30am that the driver had just pulled up and needed everyone to show up early. Most of the guys did not show until around 8:45am-9:00am when we were originally were supposed to arrive. Still, we got the truck emptied in 45 minutes and sold our tree of the day at 9:30am. That is a new record for us. We also sold our first tree at 9:30am which was a record for us. We sold three trees by 12:00pm which we never do (We sold out in three weeks and two days).
Christmas tree drop off for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association took about 45 minutes this year due to all the high school volunteers that we had that morning.
I had stayed that morning and afternoon until 3:00pm when I had to go home to work on both my Digital Marketing and my Customer Service papers for class at NYU. Before I left, we sold 37 trees and three stands. Not bad for the first day of sales and was the sale would be for the next two weeks. I have never seen trees fly off a lot so fast. We were not just getting customers from Hasbrouck Heights, we were getting them from the surrounding towns of Lodi, Hackensack and Wood Ridge but they were coming as far away as Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and even from Hoboken and Brooklyn. Talk about word of mouth.
That evening I attended the annual Holiday Parade in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights and it was well attended but I still thought it would have had more people. The bands were a bit off key but it is still a fun parade. It got really cold later that evening. The temperature must have dropped twenty degrees from the time that the trees were dropped off to the start of the parade. Still it was a nice way to start the holidays.
The Hasbrouck High School Marching Band opened the parade downtown.
The floats in the parade.
The Santa Float was at the end of the parade.
The Tree Lighting ceremony ends the parade every year. It was really cold that night.
The week in between Thanksgiving and the first week of December was tough for me as I had three papers to work on and it was the week before my students at Bergen Community College presented their final projects to me. It was stressful as we had the last of our Board Meetings to discuss the final touches to the projects.
Then came Sinterklaas weekend and the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas weekend where I had already committed months earlier to help volunteer for both events. Talk about being stretched thin that weekend. The year before I was bringing my computer up for my Business Analysis class on my Rockaways History in Tourism project and this year it was Digital Marketing project on New York City Tourism+Conventions and Customer Relationship Management on Luna Park (which I had to write the paper all by myself and contribute to the PowerPoint). Trust me, it was a weekend of long days and nights.
That weekend started at the Kingston, NY Snowflake Festival, followed by the Sinterklaas festival and parade the next day and then the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Christmas Party after that. I never stopped running around.
It was a rather gloomy Friday and before I headed up to the Hudson River Valley for the Snowflake Festival and Sinterklaas (and everything else), I stopped by the Ringwood Manor to tour the house and see all the Christmas decorations and visit my friend, Leah, who I had worked with when I was still working for the County. She was helping at the Ringwood Manor as a volunteer.
The house was so beautifully decorated for the holidays, and I was impressed by what the volunteers from the Woman’s Club had created in decorating the house for Christmas.
The Ringwood Manor at 1304 Sloatsburg Road in Ringwood, NJ decorated on the outside.
The formal Dining Room decorated for the holidays at Ringwood Manor.
The Ryerson section of the Manor decorated for the holidays.
I was able to spend the early part of the morning touring the house before I left for my trip. The house was magnificent and so tastefully decorated for holidays. Every room including the Carriage House and the Barn were decorated with some type of theme (see my review TripAdvisor). I was able to take about an hour and a half out of my schedule to really enjoy the self-guided tour.
After the tour, I headed up to the Hudson River Valley. Though the weather was on the warm side, it was drizzling when I got there at 6:00pm. I had been touring the Ringwood Manor earlier in the day and it was cloudy and miserable when I left.
I stopped at Auntie El’s Farm for a quick lunch and it was wonderful. I just had snack of an Jamican Beef Pattie and a Black and White cookie and that was all I needed to keep me going for the afternoon.
Auntie El’s at 171 Route 17 South at Christmas time is a pretty spectacular place.
I finally got to Rhinebeck and checked into my hotel, The Hampton Inn Poughkeepsie and then made my way across the river to the Snowflake Festival. It was just getting in full swing when it started a light rain. I walked around for a bit watching the fire eaters and admiring the decorations before I decided to head back to Dutch Reformed Church to relax inside and hear the entertainment. That’s when it started to rain.
The “Snowflake Festival” on Friday, December 1st in Kingston, NY.
My blog on the Snowflake Festival and Sinterklaas:
In 2023, the weather had been gloomy all day and misty so it was not the best conditions for an outdoor festival. It was to my surprise that when I got there at 6:00pm it was really busy. They may have been a light drizzle but that did not keep people away.
The crowds on that misty Friday night in downtown Kingston, NY were very large.
I walked all of Front Street in Downtown Kingston Stockade section admiring all the Christmas windows of the merchants and the snowflake decorations all around the downtown.
Downtown Kingston in the rain the night of the 2023 Snowflake Festival
The snowflakes that adorned the downtown.
As I walked through town, I passed crowds of people walking through the drizzle and watching a fire eater perform. So many people did not have umbrellas and the drizzle started to get worse. I figured I wanted to go someplace warm and headed over to the Dutch Reformed Church. I did not have the agenda yet but I wanted to go someplace that was inside.
When I got to the church it was once again beautifully decorated with garland and lights and the stage was rocking with violinists who were performing in sync. The concert was awash with lights and holograms dancing overhead.
The Strawberry Fiddlers performed that evening in the Dutch Reformed Church
The Strawberry Hill Fiddlers performing that night.
I stayed for four songs and it was really nice to just relax and enjoy the music. I really enjoyed the concert and I found it really engaging and entertaining. After this, I wanted to see more of the festival and hoped that the rain had stopped. No such luck as the rain continued and got worse as I left the church. I was able to sneak some Dutch cookies and cider before I left and the sugar gave me more energy.
The irony of it all was as I left the church and the rain continued, over the loud speaker near the picture taking booth, Gene Kelly singing “Singing in the Rain” from the iconic film “Singing in the Rain” came on and it synced perfectly with the rain and I had to take a video of it as it matched perfectly with the rain coming down but people still having a good time.
The video of the rainstorm during the festival when “Singing in the Rain” was played on the loudspeaker. Just as the song started it started to really pour and the song syncs to the downpour. Talk about irony:
I walked around the church and was back at the Kingston Volunteer Firefighting Museum and I stopped in as the rain started to stop. I wanted to dry off again. I had toured the museum the last two years and I just took a short tour of the museum. Christmas lights adorned the museum and the antique fire truck outside the museum that the kids were able to climb.
The nicely decorated firetruck outside the museum that evening at the Kingston Volunteer Firefighters Museum.
As I passed the museum, I could not believed that people were taking horse drawn rides in the rain but they did and they looked like they were having a good time. I walked down Fair Street where the Senate House was nicely decorated for the holidays to see Santa. That line was the longest as the mist continued. I bypassed even seeing him but I could see him entertaining the families waiting in line to see him.
Even in the rain the lines to see Santa were long and people waited patiently to see him.
I walked around the downtown watching the musicians and entertainers as the rain started to subside later that evening and they had a group of Victorian carolers performing by the bank on Wall Street right by the most beautiful wreath I have seen this holiday season on the historical building. The effect was quite nice.
The Victorian Carolers performing by the old bank building.
The wreath on the bank building was quite spectacular against the stonework.
It was getting colder that evening as I was walking around and the rain stopped and I knew from last year where to get some hot chocolate. So I went over to the Ulster Savings Bank Lobby and had a cup with some cookies that the bank every generously sponsors each year for the event.
While I was there I was listening to Mrs. Claus tell stories to the kids and this woman really looked like Mrs. Claus. While she was telling stories, the Coach Street Players choir was singing Christmas carols. It was a nice way to spend the end of the evening. I was getting hungry after a long trip and even longer day of classes and I wanted to relax.
Mrs. Claus was just finishing to a crowd of children for storytime.
The Coach House Players at the Ulster Savings Bank lobby performing.
By 7:30pm, things were starting the wrap up and the weather was clearing. Most of the bars and restaurants were packed that night or closing for the evening. Wing Shi, the Chinese restaurant I love in Kingston, still does not have any seating inside and there was no place to sit outside so I went to Opa Gyros Greek Restaurant at 333 Wall Street in downtown Kingston. I have wanted to eat here last year watching them serve gyro meat last year on platters but by the time I walked in at the end of the festival last year, they closed at 8:00pm. I went in at 7:30pm for dinner this time and had a wonderful meal.
The sandwich was delicious and I really enjoyed the food and service.
After dinner was over, it was about 8:15pm and the festival wrapped up really quickly. By the time I turned the corner, most of the businesses had closed and the people were gone. All the activities were over and even Santa had left by that point. There were some people milling around but by 8:30pm, the town was quiet. I was able to walk around the downtown one more time and then I left for my hotel as I had to be in Rhinebeck early the next morning to help with the Sinterklaas parade. I slept very soundly at the Hampton Inn in Poughkeepsie.
Christmas windows in Kingston, NY in 2023.
Christmas windows in Downtown Kingston in 2023.
When I got to the Starr Library the next day, I was ready to go. There was a threat of rain too but by noon time the sun started to peek out from the clouds and it cleared for the rest of the day. The weather became a balmy 53 degrees which is unusual for this time of the year and we had a nice day for the event. I got to the Starr Library at 10:00am on the dot to start set up for the parade and it was a nice morning. We had plenty of people and we got the job done in about an hour. Set up was easy when you have the same people to help every year.
We started to unload the puppets at 10:00am.
Unloading the puppets took about 45 minutes.
The Owls are like old friends to me
The Four Seasons standing guard
The Sweepers were new puppets this year.
Setting up the serpent was my first job that morning.
I have been setting up the stars since my first year in 2014 helping out with the parade.
We were done setting up for the parade by 11:30pm and we had to meet back at the library by 3:00pm for the parade staging and get the volunteers to their puppets. That’s when the fun begins with that. I walked downtown to go to the Opening Ceremony which had started at noon and was able to watch the last 45 minutes of the Opening Ceremony at the Beekman Arms Ballroom. That is always interesting.
The Opening Ceremony in 2023 with the Anteater and his court.
The Opening Ceremony at the Beekman Arms with Coordinator Jeanne Fleming.
The Opening Ceremony at the Beekman Arms
The Anteater on the prowl at the Opening Ceremony.
After the Opening Ceremony was over, I stayed to hear story teller, Jonathan Kurk, tell the story of Sinterklaas and the story of the miracle of Christmas.
Storyteller Jonathan Kurk entertains at the Opening Ceremony
After the Opening Ceremony completed, I decided to explore the town. I walked around downtown Rhinebeck which is always amazing at Christmas time. It is a wonderland of lights and sounds and delicious smells as all the charities and local organizations try to sell baked goods and hot dogs all over Main Street to raise money of their organizations.
The musicians on stilts are always a favorite at Sinterklaas.
The musicians are out in full force playing on stilts and walking around the town engaging the crowds of people. Since it was a nice day this year, the downtown was getting packed earlier than it had in previous years. After listening the musicians on stilts, I figured I should go visit the Ant Queen before it got too busy. I visited her just in time as after I left the line, it got even longer behind me.
The Ant Queen on her hill in the Courtyard.
The Courtyard got really busy when I was finished visiting the Ant Queen.
The Ant Queen in the Courtyard with the crowds growing that afternoon.
After I left the Courtyard, I walked around for a bit and then realized that I had to get checked into my other hotel that night so I walked back to the library, got my car and left to go to Quality Inn in Hyde Park where I was staying that evening. After I checked in, got my room and settled in I headed back up to Rhinebeck. The crowds grew even larger in the hour that I left and all the parking spots by the library were now gone as well as most spots in the downtown. I had to park six blocks into town near the exit to the fairgrounds. That would be fun when the parade was over walking back to that.
As I entered the downtown, the Grumpuses started their dance.
The Grumpuses dancing down the Main Street.
The Grumpus dance
The Grumpus Dance
The Grumpus Dance
After I saw the Grumpus dance in the downtown, I was able to walk around for a bit before getting back to the library. I saw some of the roaming musicians, the Dancing Bear and the Pocket Lady roaming around the Downtown. Between checking into my hotel, looking for parking and just walking back to the Main Street, I did not have much time to enjoy the entertainment this time around.
After I got back from the hotel and parked some nine blocks away. I walked through the town again looking at the all the performers and bands going in and out of the now closed Main Street. The crowds had really grown once the clouds cleared and it was sunny again. As the last of the sunshine disappeared by 5:00pm, the lights came on and that is when Rhinebeck truly shines. This started with the town Christmas tree which lit brightly by the main parking lot.
The Christmas tree was brightly lit when I left the downtown area for the library.
I made my way back to the Starr Library and that is where the real magic starts. Getting ready for the parade. Every year, I come back to the library at 3:30pm and help get everyone to their puppet. The parade line up starts at 6:30pm and then the parade heads down the hill. It is the most magnificent site.
The Geese and Bee puppets as we enter Downtown Rhinebeck, NY.
The parade in full swing in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY.
The crowds were huge the night of the parade.
The whole town comes out for the Sinterklaas Parade.
As we entered the parking lot to end the parade, the crowds arrived to the main stage where the Closing Ceremony takes place. I could not believe that another parade had ended. I will blink my eye and it will be here again. It is so funny how fast it all goes.
The backdrop of the stage after the Closing Ceremony was over.
All the puppets walked by the main stage and we dropped them off with Alex and Sophia. I then watched the rest of the ceremony and then the closing remarks. Another parade was over. The fire throwers came on and did their routine and that ended the parade. I said my goodbyes until next year and then proceeded to Village Pizza for a slice before I went back to the hotel.
The owner I could tell was exhausted. He waited at the door of his restaurant and asked people what they wanted to order. I thought that was rude but figured he was protecting his bathrooms. The restaurant was still busy almost 45 minutes after the parade was over and remained busy throughout the time I enjoyed my pizza. They limited the slice menu to just plain and pepperoni so it made it an easy choice. I was exhausted by the time I got back to my hotel, took a quick shower and had the best night’s sleep in weeks. I was tired!
After breakfast the next day, it was off to Boonton, NJ to the New Jersey Firemen’s Home to volunteer for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Christmas Party. It was the first time in three years we had had the full party with entertainment and dropping off presents. The members had time before the party to socialize with each other and I even got better acquainted with the Firemen’s Home resident dog, Wells.
We no longer had to wear masks up at the home and that made for a more engaging environment. It had been a long evening the night before with the end of Sinterklaas and that very busy parade. I slept so soundly at the hotel that I felt refreshed and ready to go. I can highly recommend the Quality Inn in Hyde Park, NY. It might look a little dated but the beds give you the most relaxing slumber and will totally relax you.
After having my waffle breakfast, which is my tradition every year, it was off to the NJ Firemen’s Home again. It was a really gloomy day and I had to spend my morning wondering why the WIFI was not working. Thank God, I had finished most of my writing before I left the Hampton Inn the day before.
The waffle breakfast at the Quality Inn in Hyde Park, NY is something I look forward to each time I stay at the hotel.
When I got to the home, it really got dark outside and rainy. Talk about no fun being outside. Inside though, the NJ Firemen’s Home was decked out beautifully for the holidays. Talk about festive and jolly, with several Christmas trees all over the home and garland everywhere.
One of the many Christmas trees at the NJ State Firemen’s Home.
My blog on the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Party:
We enjoyed Sweet Rolls and Crumb cake for a late Continental Breakfast before the entertainment and had a nice time just catching up with one another before the craziness of the holidays started. Everyone was running around at parties and get togethers.
Signs of the season were everywhere as the home was decorated to the hilt for the holiday season. This was our last event of the season as the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association held its Annual December Meeting and Entertainment afternoon at the NJ State Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ.
Even the fire hydrant display was decorated.
The sign welcoming people to the party.
We had our annual Christmas Party at the NJ State Firemen’s Home and it was nice to be back. Masks were a thing of the past and we were able to see everyone again. It made for a more engaging afternoon.
The home’s Christmas tree with our gifts to the residents, a embordered jacket.
We started our day with a get together of the members before the entertainment began. It was nice to just sit back and talk to the other members before the entertainment began. Our President brought us the most delicious crumb cake and glazed raison buns and these devoured very quickly by the members.
We even got a chance to bond again with the resident dog of the NJ State Firemen’s Home, Wells, who was a former seeing eye dog that has now found a home here keeping our retired firefighters comforted and engaged. He walks around having everyone spoil him with petting and treats. Even he has to watch his weight at the holidays. All I know is that he loves being loved by everyone and likes to spread that love.
NJ Firemen’s Home resident, Wells with BCFHA Vice-President Justin Watrel.
Our entertainment for the afternoon was Dana and Daddy O, a singing duo who sang Christmas songs and told jokes. They were were good.
Dana and Daddy O performed that day for the residents and us.
Member Jerry Naylis asked his daughter and grandchildren perform again this year (Jerry was away on a conference). Daughter Stephanie Naylis-Quirk and her daughters, Regan and Riley Quirk , played the piano and sang to the residents of the home. The children sang lively Christmas songs and led the room in a sing a long with favorites “Jingle Bells” and Regan’s solo, “Silent Night” and Riley’s solo, “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus”.
Stephanie Nayles-Quirk with daughter Riley and Regan, who sang so nicely that afternoon.
After the ladies took their bows, it was time to hand out the Christmas presents from the Bergen County Firemen’s Home to the residents. This year the gift to the residents of the home was a beautiful ‘firemen’ blue jacket that had each resident’s name on it. It was a very personal and touching gift to our fellow retired firemen who we wanted to remember at the holidays. They were very touched by this.
BCFHA Vice-President Justin Watrel with NJ State Firemen’s Association President and BCFHA member Bob Ordway handing out gifts at the Christmas Party.
While members were handing out gifts, other members were serving desserts and other refreshments to the residents. Everyone had a delicious treat that afternoon after they had their lunch. The home provided delectable cupcakes both regular and sugar free to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.
BCFHA members Peter Devries and Glenn Corbet serving desserts to the residents.
After the day of entertainment was over, the members got together and took our annual member group shot. It was a fun afternoon for everyone involved. We have managed to provide the residents with all sorts of entertainment, barbecues and special events while never losing the spirit of helping our fellow fire fighters.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our firefighters, retired and still active from the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association.
It was a fun weekend but when I got home it was all homework and projects. It was a long evening but I got everything done. It would be a long week of presentations both at NYU and at BCC.
The week started out with my presentation of my project for the New York City Tourism+Conventions for my Digital Marketing class, which went by very well (I got an “A” on this) and then my presentation for my Customer Retention Class on Luna Park (I got another “A”). With those two big presentations for Graduate school done, I then had to concentrate on my students at Bergen Community College’s three final presentations on Wednesday and Thursday. It would be a stressful five days.
Still it was beginning to look like Christmas in the Village. After classes were over, there was time to walk around and admire all the decorations that people had put up and admire the Christmas tree in Washington Square Park.
The Christmas tree at Washington Square Park is always picturesque.
The diner on Greenwich Avenue decorated for the holidays.
Christmas decorations on the side streets in the Village.
Single tree in the window of a Greenwich Avenue window in the Village.
Before I got to my students presentations, I had been looking online at the Carnegie Hall website at the upcoming concert with New York Pops that I was still considering when I saw that singer Amy Grant was going to bring her Christmas concert to Carnegie Hall. There was NO WAY I was going to miss this. I had been dying to see her in concert for years at the holidays and I never saw her come to New York City before. So I arranged the tickets and after my presentation it was off to Carnegie Hall for dinner first and then the concert.
The Front of Carnegie Hall the night of the Amy Grant concert.
The inside of Carnegie Hall the night of the concert.
The concert hall was packed that night.
Amy Grant on stage at Carnegie Hall after singing “Love will find a Way”, her huge hit from the 1980’s.
Amy Grant singing this in concert forty years earlier in 1983 and sounded exactly the sound!
She sang this in the Christmas concert in DC a couple of days before she came to Carnegie Hall.
I am not going to even get into too many details of how excellent this concert was and how she engaged the audience that night with a mix of classic and religious Christmas songs from her playlist and add many more religious and inspirational songs in the second half of the concert. Her and her guest artists that night gave a superb concert that really put me in the holiday spirit after an extremely long semester and cheered me back up. The only problem was that she never sang “Sleigh Ride” which she sings beautifully and my favorite Christmas song she performs. For another concert but it gives me an excuse to see her again.
Amy Grant singing my favorite version of the Christmas song “Sleigh Ride”.
I swear myself and everyone who attended the concert that night were still humming as we left Carnegie Hall. After such a wonderful concert, I had to have some dinner and I was dying for some pasta. Patsy’s which is around the corner I was trying to go in but they were fully booked for everything for the rest of the night so I went to Amore Pizza Cafe at 370 West 58th Street for dinner after the concert. This restaurant never disappoints me.
I ordered the Clams and Spaghetti that I remembered ordering last year this time so I had to have it again. It was just as good as I remembered and worth the trip to the restaurant. Everything here is delicious.
My Clams and Spaghetti dinner
The Clams and Spaghetti here is excellent.
After the concert and dinner were over, I felt much better about myself. It had been really rough up until this point and I still had to face the rest of the week. I swear I hummed “Find a Way” for the rest of the evening. That had been the highlight of my night.
I walked around the Central Park South and admired all the decorations on the buildings. Then I went to see the tree at Rockefeller Center and the crowds had lessened this late in the evening. It was so much nicer to admire the tree.
The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was spectacular this year.
Skating at Rockefeller Center is always popular.
I then walked around Midtown to look at all the decorations that Manhattan is known for. This is Corporate Christmas at its best. The streets of Fifth and Sixth Avenue compete every year to see who does it best. There are wreaths, trees and decorations that celebrate the holidays in an elaborate way. It really represents Manhattan and its traditions during the holidays.
Corporate Christmas on Sixth Avenue during the holidays.
The decorations on West 57th Street during the holidays.
The Snowflake on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.
West 55th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue.
West 55th Street by Eighth Avenue is always decorated with lights.
I was nice to just walk the streets of Manhattan in the late evening and have time for myself to reflect, all while I was humming “Find a Way” the whole time. I had forgotten how beautiful New York was during the holidays and could not believe has fast things happened after Halloween. It was like Christmas was on overdrive and then it was there.
I really needed that night because it would be full steam ahead for the rest of the week as my students presented their projects and PowerPoints to me back to back on Wednesday and Thursday. Plus I had the extra pressure of having guests from Glen Rock Town Council and the Museum at the Station coming to the Glen Rock project and members of the Executive Board of the Bergen County Historical Society coming Thursday night to that presentation. With the exception of a few hiccups, all went by well with all three presentations.
Wednesday was the most grueling with “I’m Glad I’m in Glen Rock: Be a Tourist in your own Town” and “Go Bulldogs Go-Open House 2024” back to back that day. It was going to be a lot of note taking and making sure that the students were ready for the presentations with grooming and dress code standards to attend to that day. Some of these kids had never dressed like this before.
The “I’m Glad I’m in Glen Rock” Team did a really good job on their presentation but there were some problems in the Marketing Team that needed to be addressed. They had put way too much explanation on what Marketing is and less of a presentation on the subject matter.
The Paramus ‘Glen Rock’ Team
My Executive Team from Paramus for the “I’m Glad I’m in Glen Rock, NJ-Be a Tourist in your own Town” project.
This got revamped when we got an invitation from Glen Rock City Hall to present the project to the Mayor of Glen Rock and the Council on December 19th, the week before Christmas in City Hall. That put pressure on that class to get it done on time. We would end up revamping the entire Marketing part of the project.
My blog on “I’m Glad I’m in Glen Rock, NJ-Be a Tourist in your own Town”:
My class who worked on the “Go Bulldogs Go”, the Spring 2024 Open House did a great job presenting their project that night as well. I was just upset that no one from the college bothered to show up. The ideas the kids came up with were excellent and would have been good had they been done in real life.
The Open House Team the night of their presentation.
My Executive Team in Paramus for the “Go Bulldogs Go Open House 2024”:
I did not have much time to relax as I had my third presentation the next night for the Team marketing the Bergen County Historical Society. That had been an experience as I heard so late back from the Society to help us that the students had only four weeks to pull it all together. Again, this is where the students always impress me.
The BC Historical Society Team.
My Executive Team in Lyndhurst for “Tourism for the Bergen County Historical Society”
My Blog on “Tourism at the Bergen County Historical Society”:
This team I had also taken out into the field, and we went to the Bergen County Historical Society the night of one of their Board Meetings and we were able to tour all three historical houses and the displays in the Steuben House. They were able to see the grounds and see the outside property. Many would revisit that weekend to take pictures and film the Washington’s Crossing event that weekend. After I took them out into the field, I took them out for a pizza dinner. They deserved it!
I was able to handle all three of these projects, my five Graduate papers and three classes, the Sinterklaas Parade, Christmas tree drop off and sales, the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Party and keeping up with all my Christmas blogs and updating all the historical houses that I was visiting for my blog. I have to say that I was in the car, on the bus and walking a lot but somehow, I pulled the first week of December off without losing my mind. There were still three more weeks to Christmas and a whole lot more to do.
After the last Team project was done for the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. concept, I had to hand in my Term paper on the “The Chalfonte Hotel” in Cape May for my Hotel Sales and Marketing class the next morning. Thank God, I had finished it a week in advance and had handed in it in early. It made that Friday morning class easy, and my Professor at NYU seemed relieved that he did not have to chase after us.
The evening I went to the Open House Christmas tour of the Merchant House in Manhattan. I had been on the haunted tour a few weeks earlier and wanted to see the Christmas decorations. I was lucky that I was able to get on one of the last tours of the evening.
The Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street for Christmas.
The Merchant House dining room decorated for a Christmas party.
The Parlor decorated for Christmas.
The tour was the perfect way to decompress after a long week and that was the hardest week of the holidays behind me. There were other papers to write and things to do so it was nice to just walk around the home and enjoy the decorations.
The second weekend was just as busy as the first one. We lucked out and it was a very mild Saturday afternoon. I made another trip to the Hudson River Valley to visit more decorated houses for my blog, VisitingaMusuem.com.
Many of these homes are rarely open during the year, let alone for the holidays and you have to plan at the right time to visit them. My first home was the Madame Brett Homestead in Beacon, NY, which is only open the second Saturday of the month and then after that I visited Boscobel, which is in Cold Springs, NY. In between those two, I was able to visit the Putnum County Historical Society, which was still open before my trip to Boscobel. It was a lot of running around up and down Route 9.
Beacon, NY is such a great town to visit. The stores and restaurants are really nice, and the town was so nicely decorated for the holidays. I was able to walk around the downtown before my tour at 1:00pm and it gave me some time to revisit some of the stores I had not seen in a while.
The downtown was nicely decorated for the holidays. While it does not have the same charm as Rhinebeck or Red Hook being a bigger downtown, there is a more artsy, hipster look to it with the street artwork and store displays.
Downtown Beacon during Christmas.
I walked around the town admiring the gift shops and the clothing stores and looking at what they were carrying for the holidays.
This was the difference in Beacon versus towns like Red Hook and Millerton. The stores there cater to the locals and there is a charm to the everyday merchandise that people need as opposed to rows of gift shops that cater to visitors. It begins to look like a version of a mall and less like a community. Still there are many stores here that have a personality and some very playful displays. Finding an evil snowman in one store was a play on the holidays.
One of the merchants was very clever with their holiday display.
The Madame Brett Homestead at 50 Van Nydeck Avenue in Beacon was not as decorated as I thought it would. The tour guide that I had in the summer said how the Garden Club decorated it so beautifully.
The Madame Brett Homestead at Christmas time.
The Madame Brett Homestead at 50 Van Nydeck Avenue in Beacon was not as decorated as I thought it would. The tour guide that I had in the summer said how the Garden Club decorated it so beautifully.
The beautiful Dining Room at the Made Brett Homestead during the holidays.
After the wonderful and informative tour of the homestead and a full walk around the downtown area, which was really beautiful during the holidays I had to find a place for lunch.
Santa’s reindeer?
I stopped in BJ’s Soul Food for lunch to regroup for the afternoon of walking and touring. Talk about the most delicious Cheeseburger that you will sink your teeth into. God, that hit the spot. Their menu was extensive and I will have to remember this the next time I visit.
It was then I realized that I had not been to Boscobel, the historic mansion in Cold Springs Village down Route 9 since before the pandemic and wondered if it was decorated and open for touring like the other homes. It had not been on the Hudson River Valley listing of decorated mansions because not every home was open in the winter.
As I was reading the local newspaper, there was a private touring night that evening and I called and got the last reservation at 6:00pm. Talk about luck! After I finished eating, I left Beacon and headed down to Cold Springs. I never realized how close they were together because I got down Route 9 in record time and it was only 4:30pm.
I had passed the always closed Putnam Country Historical Society and this time around they were open so I visited there first before returning to Boscobel. Talk about a very underrated little museum. The Society museum was packed with information on the history of the town and the country plus a display on the Native American history of the area. They also had an interesting display of the former foundry’s for iron producing that I never knew were in this area.
The Putnam History Museum at 62 Chesnut Street in Cold Springs, NY.
This is a great little museum displaying some of the most interesting Native American art that I have seen in a long time. It was very detailed in the displays and had a lot of Lenape artifacts that were displayed. For such a small museum, they mounted two interesting shows.
The sign of the museum.
The museum was having a major exhibition from their collection of Lenape art from the local area including a canoe that had just been authenticated as a reproduction but still historically accurate. The exhibition was very detailed on the life of the local tribes in the Cold Springs area.
The back section of the displayed the foundries that used to dominate the towns surround Downtown Cold Springs. A surprising change from the sleepy historical town it is now.
The recreation of the canoe that was thought to be real but still authentic in its style and make.
The Foundry display and articles made in the area.
I was only at the museum the last 45 minutes it was open but was able to enjoy all the exhibits. After this weekend, they were closing until the Spring so I was happy I was finally able to get inside.
I then left for Boscobel, the home of the Dyckman family that had been moved to this spot in the 1960’s. The interesting part about Boscobel is that it was brought to its current location piece by piece and rebuilt here. I had not been here since 2018 and was lucky that they could fit me in for the tour. It was an amazing evening and the mansion was so beautifully decorated for the holidays.
Boscobel when I arrived for the Christmas tour of the mansion. It was not quite twilight at that point.
Boscobel all lit up after the night fell. It was a fairyland of lights.
The Grand Staircase at Boscobel
The decorations of the Grand Staircase at Christmas time.
The Dining Room set for a Christmas feast.
The Back Drawing Room with the ‘Christmas Table Tree’
The Gardens that night.
The fountains that night.
The Gift Shop and the Meeting Room where the reception after the tour was held.
When I finished the tour of the mansion I joined all the other people who were on the tour with me for refreshments in the gift shop. It was really nice.
They had hot cider and chocolate along with cookies, candies and fruit for us. I thought this was a nice touch after the tour. They also had contemporary Christmas music playing while we all talked amongst ourselves.
After the tour was over, I stopped in downtown Cold Springs to tour the business district. It is hard to believe that this sleepy little hamlet filled with upscale stores and restaurants was once the center of the boundaries.
The downtown is now filled with upscale stores and restaurants that cater to both locals and tourists. Being on the train to Manhattan has also changed the town. More people from the City have moved up here seeking the slower and ‘quaint’ lifestyle of the Hudson River Valley.
Cold Spring, NY is such a beautiful little town both during the holidays and in the summer when I have visited. It always has something going on. In the summer, I have been to concerts here and walked though their downtown admiring the stores and looking at restaurant menus. The parks here are really nice as well. Both the Gazebo and the Band Stand were beautifully decorated for the holidays.
The Gazebo in downtown Cold Springs near the train station.
The Band Stand in Downtown Cold Spring, NY decorated for the holidays.
I got home rather late that night and then had to be up the next morning early to be in the City again from the ‘Holiday Brass’ concert at Lincoln Center. I had been waiting to see this concert for years. When I had chance to get tickets, I jumped at the chance to see this concert.
Everyone taking a bow.
The band playing for the holidays is such a special treat.
The Holiday Brass taking a bow that afternoon.
It was such a wonderful afternoon of Christmas music done by the Brass section of the New York Philharmonic. I had been dying to see this concert for years and it was very much worth the hype. The men and women of the band were excellent. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. I stopped for lunch at Amore Pizza Kitchen up on 58th Street and had their pats Bolognese. Their food is just amazing.
The Linguine Bolognese.
I went home and worked on my research papers for the rest of the afternoon. My Digital Marketing paper was due that Monday on New York City Tourism+Conventions and my Customer Service paper on Luna Park was due on Tuesday. I had finished both before this weekend started but had to put the final touches on them. I got ‘A-‘ on them both and pulled off straight ‘A’s again both Fall semester and for my ‘J’ Term class in Abu Dhabi. I had never worked this hard before in such a short period of time.
I also had to give my classes their Christmas Quiz Four on planning the Corporate Christmas party and these students never cease to amaze me what they can do in such a short period of time. The menus and well wishes were so creative. I would have to spend the rest of the week preparing their finals. I kept saying to myself one more week.
The weekend before finals at Bergen Community College began, I snuck up to the Hudson River Valley to see one more set of decorated houses.
I had visited the Clermont mansion up in Germantown, NY earlier in October for the Halloween tour and it had been since pre-COVID since I had seen the house decorated for the Christmas holidays. I attended their Open House as well during the day and checked the schedule and Staatsburgh, the other Livingston mansion was having their Open House that evening with entertainment similar to the evening in Boscobel. It was the perfect way to get my mind off finals week.
As I toured the homes along the Hudson River, I stopped at some of the small towns that line the east side of the Hudson River. They are usually so beautifully decorated for the holidays and trust me they did not disappoint. I started in downtown Germantown right near Clermont. I had visited the town for Halloween and the town was nicely devoted for the fall. It Christmas time that these towns start to shine.
With a combination of historical buildings and some garland, decorated trees and wreathes all one these historical buildings give these towns a festive look and they look like something out of a Currier and Ives woodcut.
Downtown Germantown, NY at Christmas
Downtown Germantown, NY at Christmas
Germantown has its charms and it seemed the whole town was covered in garland.
The Reformed Church of Germantown at 20 Church Avenue at Christmas time.
The entrance hallway of the front door from the top of stairs.
The Library at Christmas time.
The decorated tree in the Library.
The Dining Room at Christmas time.
The Living Room decorated for Christmas
What was nice about the Open House is what a beautiful day it was to not just walk around the inside of the house but the grounds as well. I got some wonderful pictures of the Hudson River and of the grounds. It will be nice to come back up in the Spring and see the gardens again
After the tour, I stopped by the front of the house where they had a fire pit where we could roast marshmallows by an open fire. That was fun as I had not done that in a long time. The marshmallows got caramelized on the outside and gooey on the inside. That was so good.
When I got back to the Visitors Center, they had an array of holiday treats for us there as well. They had Hot Chocolate and Apple Cider, Christmas cookies, candies and other snacks to enjoy while we looked over the displays. I did enjoy that.
I did not have to be at Staatsburgh until later that evening for their Open House so I decided to visit the other small towns around the area to see how they were decorated and getting ready for the holidays. I swear I love the Hudson River Valley during Christmas time. One town is nicer than the other and they do a lot to make their downtowns look so festive. I decided to stop in Tivoli first, a small hamlet just south of the mansion.
Downtown Tivoli is a small quaint little town right on the Hudson River. When you drive through the downtown it is the last stop.
The downtown was busy when I got there as the Tivoli Fire Department was doing their “Santa Around Town” like we do and the kids were all waiting for Santa to come back to the firehouse.
The old Historic Firehouse decorated for the holidays.
The firehouse plaque. The building has had many uses.
The park right by the firehouse where Santa would be dropped off later that afternoon.
The merchant flower boxes decorated for the holidays.
The Christmas tree right near one of the businesses.
I never did get to see Santa that day but was able to walk around the town and enjoy the weather. It was so nice outside that you really did not need a coat. It was crisp but not cold and was perfect for touring the downtown. I left all the kids as they kept telling their parents they could hear the trucks coming back. I headed to Red Hook to check out how nicely downtown there was decorated. There is something special about Red Hook, NY during all the holidays. They just know how to decorate their downtown.
Downtown Red Hook decked out with garland and bows at the building where the Corner Counter Gourmet Shop is located.
The inside of the Corner Counter had all sorts of holiday treats to choose from.
Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop is always so nicely decorated.
I love Red Hook’s Christmas tree every year. It is so nicely decorated.
When I think of a town that is a step into the past, I always think of Red Hook. It has more of a localized feel than Rhinebeck to the south, which is place that people come up from the City for the weekend for dinner and an overnight of shopping and touring the local mansions. Red Hook has that family feel to it. Even the stores and restaurants are where locals come to eat and shop. Slowly though over the last few years I have noticed that is beginning to change. The stores have been getting gifty and more expensive. Still it is one of the nicest downtowns to visit just before Christmas.
After my tour of Red Hook, it was off to the other Open House that night at Staatsburgh, the home of the Mills Mansion. That is always a treat to visit when it is decorated for Christmas.
Staatsburgh-The Mills Mansion and home of the Mills-Livingston family at Christmas.
Staatsburgh, the home of the Ruth and Ogden Mills, is one of the most beautiful decorated houses in the Hudson River Valley and I have visited almost all of them. The house is a wonderland of decorations all done around a theme. Last year was Masks and their relation to the balls that used to happen during the Winter Season in New York. This year the celebration of the seasons decorated the rooms.
The main staircase up to the first floor rooms. This once lead from the kitchen and the servants quarters in the basement.
The Library Christmas Tree on the first floor is the most elegant room in the house. It feels like someone is home for the holidays.
The Christmas tree leading to the main hallway and the front door. This is where the Mills family portraits are located.
The portrait of Ruth’s mother in the main hallway leading to the Dining Room.
The Dining Room decorated for Christmas Dinner.
The Hyde Park Quartet performed the night of the Open House in the Dining Room.
The Butler’s Pantry with all the food prepared for the Mills Holiday Dinner.
It was nice to take my time visiting both mansions and seeing the opulence of the holidays and how dedicated the volunteers were in decorating them. There was so much care and detail to each of the houses I saw that evening. Also, the entertainment and food was a nice touch on both events that made them enjoyable and affordable to so many people who have an interest in these homes.
After the tour of Staatsburgh, I headed back up to Red Hook for some dinner before I left for home. I had the final quizzes to prepare when I got home and final holiday preparations before the last week of work before the holidays. Still I did not want the night to end. I drove to Red Hook for some dinner but toured around Staatsburgh after dark. It can be a magical place too at the holidays.
The outside of the Mills Mansion on the evening of the Open House.
The Staatsburgh Fire Department decorated for the holidays.
I went to my traditional place for dinner when I am up for the holidays at Village Pizza III in downtown Red Hook and the food and the service are always wonderful. The prices are so fair, the owner is not gouging everyone after COVID like every other restaurant is doing and the food is excellent.
Downtown Red Hook at night with all the lights on.
The Christmas tree in Downtown Red Hook with Petals & Moss Flower shop next door.
Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop and Little Pickles in Downtown Red Hook decorated for the holidays.
The bank building right across the street from Village Pizza III is always nicely decorated.
It was nice to walk around on a quiet night and admire the decorations. It is beginning to rival Rhinebeck in beauty. Dinner was amazing as usual.
Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway in Red Hook earlier in the day.
Dinner was excellent as I ordered Spaghetti & Meatballs with a salad. The perfect way to end the day. Their red sauce is fantastic and the meatballs are homemade and have the perfect blend of cheese and garlic.
The perfect start to the meal, a crisp salad and fresh warm Italian bread. You can go through a basket of it very easily.
The Spaghetti and Meatballs at Village Pizza III are delicious.
After dinner and another quick walk around the downtown to admire the lights, it was time to head home. Before I left, it was still pretty early. I decided to cross the river and visit Woodstock, NY before I headed home. I knew I would not have time to travel back up and wanted to see what their Christmas tree downtown looked like. It is always so unique to say the least.
Woodstock, NY has a lot of meaning to me during the holidays. It is where I went to decompress after my father passed away and I just got lost in myself. The mountains and the woods are so beautiful that drive around and forget everything else.
I forgot how beautiful Woodstock is during the holidays. I just parked the car and walked around the downtown for about a hour. Just admiring the lights and decorations can put you in the holiday spirit.
The Woodstock Christmas tree
The Woodstock Christmas tree was beautiful this year.
I forgot how picturesque the town was at night and this year especially they really did a nice job on the tree. The tree as usual had an unusual shape to it but the decorations were just dazzling on it. I walked around the downtown square remembering all those years of parades and the way Santa came into town. On this quiet night, it brought back many fond memories. I just could not believe how quiet it was that evening. The stores were all closed and the restaurants were all so quiet.
The restaurant I used to eat at every Christmas Eve with their disaster of entrees has not closed and replaced by a new owner.
Downtown Woodstock preparing for the holidays.
After the tour of Woodstock, it was time to go home. Talk about a trip down memory lane and touring all these wonderful towns at Christmas time really shows the beauty and traditions of the Hudson River Valley and why I love visiting there so much.
The week before Christmas was preparing for the holidays and getting Final exams done. NYU was finally done of the semester and those straight “A’s” made me happy and in the festive spirit. All of my students got their “A’s” on their projects as well. Their final exams would be on Wednesday and Thursday so there was work to do for them as well.
On Thursday morning, I had made a call and drove down to Pennsville, NJ to visit the Pennsville Historical Society and their Christmas decorations all over the house and the surrounding buildings. I knew I could never get down on the weekends prior to Christmas and I really wanted to see them after missing them for the last two holiday seasons. So I made an appointment with the President of their Society and off I went the Thursday before Christmas for the three hour trip down to the end of the Turnpike to Pennsville, NJ.
My blog on visiting the Historical Sites of Southern New Jersey:
It was well worth the trip on a glorious December afternoon. I met the ladies for the appointment at 1:00pm and it was well worth the trip. The house and the small outer buildings were beautifully decorated for the holidays.
The Pennsville Historical Society at Christmas time.
The decorations in the outer buildings on the estate grounds were just as spectacular as the main house.
The whole tour was one surprise after another with each beautifully decorated room after another. Just when one room looked the best you saw another one that topped it. Even the outside buildings that have all the themed collections such as the above amusement park were just as creative. It is one of the nicest decorated homes that I saw this Christmas. Both this and Staatsburgh were pretty amazing.
Since I had time after the tour was over instead of driving immediately back up the turnpike, I stopped in both Salem and Mullica Hill on the way home to see how they were decorated for the holidays.
The homes in the historic district of downtown really decorated for the holidays.
The historic district of North Market Street was decked with garland, bows and trees.
I had about 45 minutes to stop at the Salem Historical Society in downtown Salem to take some pictures of the Keeping Room Christmas tree. That is what attracted me in becoming a member of the museum.
The Salem Historical Society at 83 Market Street at Christmas time.
The Keeping Room is the oldest section of the Salem Historical Society and the most interesting part of the old house.
Instead of the traditional tree in the Keeping Room, the Society opted for a Victorian tree in the middle of the museum. I was a nice alternative.
I had just enough time to see the new exhibition “Toys of the Past and Present” which featured all sorts of wonderful antique dolls, games and playthings.
The quick half hour tour of the museum took longer as I got caught up in the exquisite antique toys which I have such a fascination in since my days at FAO Schwarz. The museum’s collection was quite extensive and the tour guide explained a lot of how they developed as playthings. I scurred and got out as I would have taken all day in this wonderful museum.
I then headed up to Woodstown to see how they decorated their downtown and it was just as nice. Woodstown is a nicer little town with less problems than Salem. It is more of a vibrant business district with small independent businesses.
The homes in their historic district were decked out for the holidays as well.
My last stop on my way home was downtown Mullica Hill, which is such a great little town for nice shopping and great restaurants. Of the three towns this is the most vibrant but it is also closer to Rowan University so the business and traffic of the college town is felt up this way. Its historical downtown was decked out for the holidays as well.
The Downtown Mullica Hill business district decorated for the Christmas holidays.
Downtown Mullica Hill homes that surrounded the downtown added to the beauty of the holidays.
All the stores and restaurants looked like they were vying for ‘Best Decorated Business’ with all the embellishments all over the buildings. I am sure it looked just as nice at night. There was not much time to spend in any of these towns because I had a final for my Business 101 class and I had to be back by 6:30pm. I just made the class with a half hour to spare. I gave my last exam that night and then scrambled all night and the next morning to finish my grades by 5:00pm. I handed them in by 3:00pm on Friday, December 22nd and drove back from the college content. I just put the Fall semester behind me.
I could not believe it. I pulled straight “A’s” in Grad school, ran three very successful and creative projects with my students, one being presented in front of the Mayor of Glen Rock and some of the Council members and all of my Executive Board commitments from running the Halloween Decorating Contest the last week of Halloween, to assisting in parties, get togethers and holiday events benefiting charity. Do not ask me how I ran around this much. I still ask that of myself.
Christmas Eve and Day
I finally caught my breath for a day when classes finally ended at BOTH colleges. NYU classes had ended the end of the second week of December and Bergen Community went all the way up to December 22nd. My last class was Thursday night the 21st when I had to give my final examination to my Introduction to Business students and then the grades for all three classes had to be submitted on Friday by 5:00pm on December 22nd. I felt like I was playing beat the clock the whole month of December. It just would not stop.
I had two days to get the house ready for my brother and sister in law to visit so I cleaned the house from top to bottom. Did six loads of laundry washing all the sheets and comforters, did all the grocery shopping and prepped pancake batter, baked cookies and brownies and made a lasagna with homemade meatballs for dinner I was going to make for my family to have everyone meet my new sister-in-law. When I dragged myself up on Christmas Eve day to visit the cemeteries, I was already burnt out and tired. Talk about a long three weeks.
After visiting family and saying prayers and dropping off flowers at the grave sites, it was the four hour drive down to my mother’s for Christmas Eve. It may seem like a long time but I always enjoy the drive. It gives me time to think and reflect back on the semester. Don’t ask me how I pulled everything off from Halloween to Christmas but I was able to get it all done, meet all my commitments, pull off straight “A’s” and have the students produce excellent projects that they should be very proud of for the rest of college. It was an amazing four months with so much accomplished. Now it was time to relax and enjoy the ride.
I just relaxed as I drove down the New Jersey Turnpike and just passed cars on their way to their holiday celebrations. Thank God the highway was not busy. I got down to my mom’s in less than four hours this time. Along the way down to her home, I got to see farmhouses all decorated for the Christmas holidays and that is always interesting.
Confucius Chinese Restaurant is where we spend our Christmas Eve dinner and I could not believe how packed the place was at 7:00pm. We saw so many of my mother’s friends and neighbors that it looks like everyone else has gotten the same idea that we have on what a pain it is to cook for both days. Going out on Christmas Eve has been our tradition for years.
Confucius Chinese Restaurant at 57 Wilmington Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, DE.
The owners are always so nice to us and very welcoming. Even after the busy dinner rush was over and we were one of the last parties to leave they both took the time to come to our table to wish us a Merry Christmas.
The food is always delicious and somehow we end up ordering a lot of the same dishes. We went through three orders of dumplings, two orders of Soft Shell crabs, an order of Spring Rolls, Moo Shu Pork, General Tso’s Chicken, Hunan Beef Noodles, Tai Lake Chicken and Garlic Shrimp with two big sides of white rice. For dessert, I ordered the Vanilla Ice Cream which was a throw back to the days of the Cantonese dinners we ate with my family as kids.
The Moo Shu Pork is one of my favorite dishes.
One of everyone’s favorites at dinner is the General Tso’s Chicken. The chef makes so good.
The General Tso’s Chicken is amazing.
As a family we go through so much rice you would think this was a special dish.
We eat this like it’s going out of style.
What is the best way to end a wonderful Chinese meal is a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Finishing a meal with Vanilla Ice Cream is such a tradition.
After dinner was over, we walked around Downtown Rehoboth Beach (it was such a warm night) and got to enjoy the beautiful decorations. The downtown Christmas tree was really nice that night. The town is very festive during the holidays and my mother said that you can not even drive into town for the tree lighting ceremony unless you were already downtown that day. I could believe it. It was busy on Christmas Eve night.
The Christmas tree in downtown Rehoboth Beach, DE was dazzling.
The decorations by the Gazebo.
More decorations by the Gazebo.
My brothers and I by the Christmas tree.
Us in front of the Rehoboth Beach Christmas tree.
Christmas Eve was a time we just kick back and relax before the real works begins the next day for Christmas. We all pitch in now with the cooking, serving and cleaning up. It is a lot more fun that way and give my mother a helping hand.
My mother’s Santa Collection at Christmas.
Mom’s decorations at Christmas.
Mom’s Christmas tree in the Living Room.
Her handmade Santa collection is the highlight of the holidays and her decorations.
I was exhausted by the time that we got home from dinner. My siblings had been done at my mom’s for a couple of days so they were all relaxed. Between classes and all the driving I was worn out. While everyone else stayed up to talk, I got ready to go to bed. I went to bed and slept for over nine hours. I could not believe what a deep sleep I went into. Five weeks of running around took its toll on me. I got up late on Christmas Day morning. Still I was up first and got to admire my mother’s house decorated for the holidays.
The table set for dinner
The table was set for Christmas Day a few days in advance so I got to see it that night.
The Dining Room decorations.
After breakfast, we had some time to relax and open presents. This is not the extravagancy that we had as kids but we got to laugh and talk while we opened our gifts to one another.
My brother thought it would be funny to give each of us this tee-shirt as a joke to my mother and her wooden spoon when we were growing up.
One of the small gifts to my mom, a handmade Santa that I found with a artist in Beach Haven.
After the gift giving, breakfast and getting ready it now time to cook. When you have a houseful of guests on their way you have to be prepared. My older brother and I got into our ritual of helping my mother in the kitchen.
My brother and I helping prepare dinner.
My brother and I help my mother in the kitchen as it takes time to cook and greet guests. I think this is what makes the holiday more fun when we are all in the kitchen working together.
My mother also likes the fact that we are helping with the clean up and serving. She passing that part of the holidays on to us. We helped her with all the preparations that morning and the dinner looked picture perfect. We have a ball helping cook and plan our Christmas meal.
Me making my homemade potato croquettes.
I was cooking that morning and afternoon. I was making my homemade Potato Croquettes. These are are really popular at Christmas dinner.
Our dinner starts with appetizers with Shrimp Cocktail, cheeses and dips. When you have a lot of guests it is a nice way to start the meal. These were traditions that my aunt started years ago when we used to spend the holidays growing up.
The Appetizers
The appetizers
Putting the final preparations for dinner.
The final dinner set out for guests.
Our Christmas dinner
The team work for our holiday dinner was the result of a lot of hard work.
My mother’s beautiful holiday roast.
My mother’s Prime Rib roast came out like perfection.
My brother’s Broccoli Puff was excellent.
My mother and our new sister in law at her first family Christmas.
My mother and my sister in law.
Finally sitting down for dinner and relaxing after a long holiday season. Our family had a nice time at Christmas
Dinner at Christmas time. The result of team work and a lot of preplanning. My mother’s delicious Prime Rib, which was cooked perfectly, the potato croquettes and the sauteed string beans. The perfect holiday meal.
My dinner at Christmas at Mom’s.
Our desserts at the end of dinner.
For dessert, my mother ordered a specialty twelve layer cake and my sister in law made a special Russian cake from her family’s tradition. My brother and I made Christmas cookies so there was more than enough for the twelve people having dessert.
Mom’s Twelve Layer cake for dessert.
It was a really nice Christmas dinner and we had such a nice relaxing time. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening with family.
Our family at the holidays. It was so nice to see everyone at Christmas.
It was a relaxing evening once everything was cleaned up and the other guests left later that night. We just sat around and laughed and talked about Christmas’s past.
The next morning, everyone was on their way and my brother and sister in law stayed with me. While they were doing their thing in the city, I visited a lot of the sites around the City for the post Christmas week. New York City is always packed the week before Christmas and New Year and you have to elbow everyone by the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. That’s why I try to avoid that section of the City.
I went uptown to the Cloisters to take a tour of the decorations and hear about the history of the decorations used for the Medieval holidays. I forgot they Three Kings Day was coming up and they changed the tour. So a large group of us walked with our tour guide in not such great weather (it was misty and gloomy out), and looked for the symbolism of the Three Kings.
The tour took us all over the museum in search of the images of the Three Kings. The story had morphed over the years from three ‘wise men’ to the ‘Three Kings” and the interpretation of the story.
The ‘Three Kings” in stained glass.
The ‘Three Kings’ in tapestry.
The beautiful plants at the Met Cloisters during Christmas.
The Cloisters at Christmas in 2023.
After touring the museum, I went outside and toured the neighborhood. My next stop was the Dyckman Farmhouse up the road. For some reason, they had already taken down their Christmas (and when I asked the person in charge that day gave me attitude). I can see from the outside of the house it needs a lot of work. The plantings in the summer hide most of this.
The inside of the house is decorated for a family that owns a prosperous farm in Upper Manhattan. The kitchen was set for a late afternoon lunch and the bedrooms were designed for the family and their guests.
It was really cold and gloomy outside when I left the Dyckman Farmhouse. Still there was a hint of Christmas in the air when I walked down to 207th Street and at the William Tighe Park just off it. There were still Christmas trees up and the neighborhood decorated for the holidays.
The unique tree at William Tighe Park at Dyckman and Seaman Streets
The neighborhood was still decked for the holidays and people looked like they were stretching the holiday to the full 12 days of Christmas.
I got hungry walking around the neighborhood and I headed to G’s Coffee Shop around the corner for some lunch. I love this little neighborhood hangout. It is a place that every neighborhood should have, friendly service and wonderful food.
On this cool afternoon, I was starved and was in the mood for a Cheeseburger and fries and G’s always does such a nice job with their burgers. It did not disappoint me this time either.
The Cheeseburger platter and fries at G’s Coffee Shop is not only delicious but reasonable as well. The service is excellent.
After a wonderful lunch, I walked around the neighborhood and looked at the other decorations and walked in and out of stores to see what was new. Inwood and Washington Heights is changing before my eyes like other neighborhoods in Manhattan. It seems when they rezoned the City during the Bloomberg administration. The whole neighborhood is getting new buildings and parks that don’t look like they are catering to the local population. Already I can see this area changing.
Since my schedule was open for the rest of the afternoon, I decided to walk down to 181st Street to Esmeralda’s Bakery for a snack. I also wanted to see how they decorated the shopping area for Christmas. Washington Heights main shopping district is always nicely decorated for the holidays.
The 181st Street Shopping District
The stars on the 181st Street that decorate the shopping the district.
The core of the Washington Heights shopping district during Christmas.
I stopped at Esmeraldo Bakery at 538 West 181 Street for a snack and the place was pretty busy for a late afternoon.
I had to have one of their sugar doughnuts and they are the best when they are freshly made. It was the perfect sugar high for a gloomy afternoon. Esmeraldo’s Bakery is one of the few quality bakeries left that I can find that does not overcharge for a doughnut, roll or cookie. Her prices are very fair and the selection is always fresh and everything is delicious. It was the perfect pick me up while I was walking around the Washington Heights shopping district. There was still a little Christmas feel around
The selection at Esmeraldo Bakery collection.
The amazing sugar doughnuts at Esmeraldo Bakery are worth the trip uptown.
I walked around the business district and around the 181st Street shopping district realizing how much had changed since the summer and how many small businesses had closed. New businesses have opened up but I was surprised how many places had closed since I toured in August. The rents must be going up here as well.
I went back to the subway stop and admired the Christmas trees one more time as darkness fell. There was a real Christmas spirit up town as well.
The Christmas tree at 207th Street lit for the evening.
The Christmas tree in William Tighe Park.
I really enjoyed seeing the decorations uptown that I have never seen before and realized that there were traditions all over the city. Washington Heights does their own unique job decorating their neighborhood.
On the night before they left for the New Year’s celebrations, my brother and sister in law wanted to take me to dinner at a ‘typical New York” restaurant. I told them of a wonderful restaurant in Times Square at the Marriott Marquis called the “Broadway Lounge” that I had been to many times with the most spectacular views so we went there. The food and service did not disappoint us and the views were spectacular.
The Marriott Marquis in Times Square at 1535 Broadway.
The Broadway Lounge never disappoints me because as the food is pricey it is also very good and the quality I have found to be excellent. The view is the reason why everyone comes here and my sister in law made the reservation so that we could sit next to the window and that was dazzling.
The view of Times Square from our table. It is just dazzling.
The food lived up to the view this evening. I had the Three Cheese Grilled Cheese sandwich with fries with a Coke and for dessert we shared a White Cake with Fresh fruit. Very simple comfort food on a cold and somewhat gloomy night. Still the food and the service were wonderful and gave us a chance to catch up before they left and to how beautiful Manhattan is in the evening.
The delicious Three Cheese Grilled Cheese sandwich with fries and a Coke.
The White Vanilla Cake with fresh fruit that we shared for dessert.
I was a nice meal and a perfect way to ring in the New Year together early.
On New Years Eve morning, they left to celebrate the holiday in the City and I stayed at home to spend a quiet New Year at home. I run in the New Year by watching the last minute of NBC and then went to bed. Not the most exciting New Years Eve but I just wanted to stay in and relax. It had been a long month. This is how I welcomed in 2024.
Now you know why I am so exhausted! My feet never touched the ground since Halloween night.
I wanted to share these pictures around Manhattan during the holidays:
The dazzling West 55th Street at Christmas time.
Christmas on West 55th Street closer to Fifth Avenue,
Christmas lights on West 45th Street
The Christmas lights on West 55th Street.
A Christmas tree on Eighth Avenue.
Corporate Christmas tree at West 58th Street.
The Dior sign for the light show at Saks Fifth Avenue.
1251 Sixth Avenue-A corporate Christmas.
The Star on Fifth Avenue.
1221 Sixth Avenue-A corporate Christmas.
West 57th Street at Christmas.
The skaters in Rockefeller Center by the Christmas tree.
The tree at Rockefeller Center.
The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center the Sunday after the Epiphany.
The true beauty of New York City and especially Manhattan is in the details of it. It just amazes you! I do not know how I did it all and still got straight “A’s”.
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Recently our college was talking about recruitment to the school and the outreach to the high schools. I had seen the recent “Open House’ flyers and emails on campus and sent to my email and I thought the event could have a bit more pizzaz to it. You were trying to recruit students to come to the college and I thought there could be more to it. Working from our Homecoming, Welcome Week and Ambassadors programs that we had done in the past, I thought of “Go Bulldogs Go!-Open House Spring 2024”, a reinvented Open House with dinners, events, concerts and fun activities for the high school students, their parents and current students to enjoy.
“Go Bulldogs Go-Open House 2024 at Bergen Community College Project:
From here I picked my Executive Team and the various Divisional Teams to complete the project. We had the Talent Team, which pays for everything and get the Benefits package together along with the creating the Holiday Party at the end of the project. The Entertainment Team, who would provide all the musicians and musical performances to all the events that we had planned, the Food Service Team, which created all the menus, meals and ideas for serving food and snacks at all the functions. The most important Team was the Marketing Team, who had to promote the whole program to the high schools, Administration, Students and Parents, to all the events and to the Alumni. It was a big job and we only had seven weeks to put the whole thing together.
Being a CEO does have its headaches though. When you have a class of thirty people working on a project, there is a lot going on and there are those who try to ‘piggyback’ off other students and some just disappear. I had both of those. There were a lot of students I had to work with going forward on this project and a lot of leading I had to do. Having three projects going simultaneously was a lot of work for myself and my Executive Teams but I knew all of them could do it.
This was a project that I really wanted to come to life. I think we can do more for our student recruiting and wanted the programs to really shine to show the best of the college and all its attributes. The first day of the project, I broke the class up into Teams and discussed the project.
The Open House that we were creating was a three day event where we engaged both high school students and their parents, the current student body of Bergen Community College and Alumni.
I challenged the students to put a Pep Rally together for the sports teams on campus, a active concert and games, a nice International dinner and a breakfast brunch with music and an active tour of campus while promoting the campus for students to attend. The tours were created to show the best attributes of campus such as the music labs, the AI labs, the Ciccone Theater, the Bergen Room, Gallery Bergen and all our sporting facilities. There is so much at our campus that people do not see on these tours. I also do not like the idea that we burden students with financial aid issues not instead of when they accept coming so I put less emphasis on that. I want them to know all the great cultural things they can enjoy when they do decide to come to Bergen Community College.
As part of the class, I had an in class field trip around campus. I could not believe that most of these students didn’t know that all these things existed on campus. I should have learned from previous classes. This is how this all got inspired. When I asked all the students what their experience was like on campus, most of them just said that they came to class and went home. They never ventured around the campus. A few ate in the cafeteria and one or two had been to the Ciccone Theater and a few more had heard of Gallery Bergen.
The in class trip included Gallery Bergen, with its new contemporary art exhibition, the Bergen Room (in its old location) and the Ciccone Theater, where Professor Baumgartner was doing dress rehearsals but always has time to talk about the Theater Department. That really helps. Then we went outside to the new outdoor courtyard to show the students the logistics of where the concerts and some of the cultural events would take place. Then it back to the classroom to start getting the groups to work on the project. The majority of the students finally got what I was talking about and got to work. Then we started our weekly board meetings.
After seven weeks, the Teams were preparing for our Presentation on December 6th, 2023. I have to say that I was going through a lot in my personal life. Sinterklaas weekend had been the weekend before and all I had done is run around the Hudson River Valley with the Snowflake and Sinterklaas festivities in both Kingston and Rhinebeck, NY. There was a lot of running around the two towns plus running to Ringwood Manor before I left to take pictures of the mansion’s decorations for Christmas. I was not too sure how much time I would have after Christmas (I found that I had none) and was on a picture taking tour.
Then I had my own class presentations in Digital Marketing and Customer Relations class with much stress to get them right (I got ‘A’s on them both) and then had two days of my own students presentations to be followed by another presentation I had to make in Bloomingdales President Marvin Traub with his book “Like No other Store in the World” for my Hotel Sales & Marketing Class (another ‘A’) and then lead to another weekend of picture taking upstate of historical homes and towns. I never sat still and got very little sleep.
In the morning, I had presented my “I’m Glad I’m in Glen Rock, NJ” project with my Marketing class and that went off perfectly so I had high expectations of this class. My President and Senior Vice-President of Operations did not let me down. We had a few hiccups with the presentation but overall it was excellent and I was very impressed by the work and effort the students.
The project results were wonderful and it really showcased the campus with wonderful events to engage the students and their parents over a three day period. I know if the campus really put this whole event on, we would recruit a lot more students with no problems.
What was nice that evening was talking with the parents after the presentation. They were not only impressed by their sons and daughters presentation but impressed by the whole class. That all keep wondering how I get them all to dress up and especially shave. I always reply the same thing, I grade them. I really think though it is the pride that the students have in doing a good job and wanting the look the part of being an executive representing the company. This project prepares them for a future that is unknown to them but now a lot less scary.
This contains all the commercials, artwork, the PowerPoint and headquarters plans.
The Holiday Party Project:
In lieu of the traditional quiz, I have the students get back in their groups and create ideas for a Corporate Christmas Party for the New Brunswick headquarters. It always amazes me what the Teams can do in an hour. The funny part by this point is that they are so used to working with one another it becomes second nature to them. This quiz is a nice way to end the semester and maybe create some new friendships amongst the students.
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