BRIGHT NIGHTS CELEBRATES Successful 2007 Season and New Web Site
Chicopee, Massachusetts—Thursday, February 21, 2008, at 8AM, at WWLP-22News, sponsors and supporters will gather to celebrate the success of the 2007 season of Bright Nights at Forest Park and get the first glimpse at the new web site—www.brightnights.org. The festivities will include remarks from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Spirit of Springfield Chair and Eastfield Mall General Manager Arlene Putnam, Spirit of Springfield President Judith A. Matt, Executive Director of Springfield Parks, Buildings & Recreation Management Patrick J. Sullivan, and representing sponsors will be Trish Robinson, Senior Vice President for Strategic Communications and Community Responsibility and Deputy Head of Government Relations, MassMutual Financial Group, Jerry Drummond, Sales Team Leader - Energy Solutions, Siemens and Maura McCaffrey, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Health New England. The Spirit of Springfield will take the opportunity to recognize sponsors, Springfield Parks Division crew and the volunteers. The corporate community has always been supportive of Bright Nights, but most especially during the 2007 season. The team from the Springfield Parks Division work from October to March installing, maintaining and dismantling the larger-than-life displays. Volunteers are many and include Springfield Police Officer Carl Prairie, Patricia Gagnon, Senior Communications Specialist, Charlie Breguet, Videographer/Editor and Keith O’Connor, Media Relations Manager all from Baystate Health, Leslie Bercume, Director of Advertising & Graphic Design and Patrick McColley, Senior Interactive Designer from Health New England, and members of the Massachusetts Air and Army National Guard. Their roles are varied but all are important to the success Bright Nights at Forest Park. Officer Prairie installs the radio transmitter. O’Connor selects the music for the radio broadcast. Gagnon and Breguet create the PSA’s. The National Guard assists with the Bright Nights Road Race. Bercume designs the marketing materials, and McColley created the new web site. On hand to premiere www.brightnights.org will be McCaffrey. McColley has worked for months to create the new site which will provide information about the event and activities, and a virtual tour of the displays. Many utilize the web site for information about days of operation, rates and to register for the Bright Nights Road Race. During November 2007, there were 20,044 unique visitors and in December 2007, the number increased to 29,044. The Spirit of Springfield attributes this in part to the People Magazine site, “Holidays Across America”, which featured Bright Nights as one of ten holiday attractions. Others included Disney World and Radio City Music Hall. The 2007 season of Bright Nights at Forest Park was supported by Baystate Health, Big Y World Class Markets, Clear Channel, Comcast, C & W Realty, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Friendly Restaurants, Hasbro Games, Health New England, Kentucky Fried Chicken and A&W All-American Foods, MassMutual Financial Group, Mercy Medical Center, Northeast Grounds Management, Northern Tree Service, Siemens, The Republican, Sheraton Springfield, United Bank, Urban League of Springfield, Verizon, Western Massachusetts Electric Company and WWLP-22News. Bright Nights at Forest Park is produced by the Spirit of Springfield and the Springfield Parks Division. |