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Welcome to the 59th Congress of UICH "Les Clefs d'Or"

London 2012

Dear Members and Friends of Clefs d’Or,

What a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to the 59th International congress in London as your new president. On a personal level, being Canadian, there is no country in the world where I would have wanted to start my duties as your International President. 1976 was the year when Canada was accepted as the 17th member country and that was thanks to Great Britain who sponsored us. I feel a daughter of Great Britain for this and I come to honor the society which has fathered us.

My first words of immense gratitude will be addressed to President Crowdy, Paul Still, Simon Thomas, Madeleine Calon, among others which are leading the troops for success and already the numbers have been achieved in presence.

As we embark on another week of education, this cordial gathering is rich of networking friendship and passion. Our goal as we gather for another congress is to meet concierges within our chain of hotels and network with colleagues who may assist us in cities we may not have any properties. It is with great pride I reach out to all of you, as it is the passion and friendship with which we conduct ourselves that allows us to manage our relationships and service our guests. Our dedication to maintaining the personal warmth in our service is the key to our success and is what allows us to build loyalty and trust with our guests.

The educational is bridged to Toronto, and we shall see again our dynamic Gerald Parent facilitate the event with Roberta Nedry from Hospitality Excellence. Our long time partners American Express, IHT, Chabé Limousines will be among us and will support us one more time. Another top hotelier, Mr. David Webster, will be our key note speaker and another panel of the highest executives from our most important hotel groups will honor us.

Past President from Japan, Etsuko Higashide is heading a special report on Women Concierges… we are very proud to announce the Charte of our Values which was presented in Vissoie and so much more to come.

The British section has been busy finalizing what promises to be another memorable congress which will mark our history. Their efforts and contributions will pave the path for the future heritage of Les Clefs d’Or in London and around the world.

Congratulations to all which made an effort to participate from every corner of the world. I know you shall return to your countries reenergized with the new friendships you will find and enriched by our educational which will mark the beginning of 2012 on the right pace.

Casale

Always yours in Service through Friendship
and Service through Excellence!!!

Virginia Casale
President UICH, Les Clefs d’Or
Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile, Canada

POLAND


“ZLOTE KLUCZE CONCIERGE POLSKA"
Great history, tradition and legendary skills of the Les Clefs d’Or Concierges served as the inspiration for us, Polish Concierges of the Grand Hotels to create our own association. In March 2008 all Polish Concierges gathered for a meeting which resulted with a plan of constant cooperation and exchange of information and experiences. The idea proved to be effective and invaluable when fulfilling requests of our most demanding Guests, the association was established and now regular meetings are held. One of our goals was to become a link within the “circle of friendship”, connecting professional hotel Concierges in over 40 countries around the globe. Thanks to the friendly support of the Danish and Hungarian sections of Les Clefs d’Or and thanks to the spirit of openness characteristic for all member countries, Poland became a full member section during the 59^th Congress in London in 2012. Currently, over 20 Polish Concierges actively work on improving our skills, on enhancing the image of our profession and cooperate daily for the sake of our valuable Guests and Customers. Our biggest ambition is to make everyone feeling like at home, when being far away. And that is much easier when cooperating with professionals according to the credo “In Service through Friendship”.
POLAND 13 members Created in 2008 Member since 2012 UTC/GMT +1 hour	Stowarzyszenie “Złote Klucze Concierge Polska” ul. Pięciolinii 8, m. 40, 02-784 Warszawa Tel: +48-501-091-644 piotr.prasula@wp.pl For more information ... http://www.zloteklucze.pl	Piotr Prasula President

Virginia's Winter message

Dear Colleagues and Friends of Les Clefs d’Or,

What a pleasure and honor to address you for the second time on our wonderful web site as your new president. My first words of immense gratitude will be addressed to General Secretary Michael Romei who maintains all the communication channels open from our Blog to our upcoming Revue which you should be reading over the Christmas holidays. Secondly, my sincere appreciation goes to my entire Executive Board; from our 3 Vice Presidents, Emmanuel Colin & Simon who work diligently across the world in their different duties to our Assistant General Shujaat Khan who so actively assists us with special projects such as The Andy Pongco Award, The Book of Members, etc. My invaluable Treasurer Jean-Roland who keeps the accounts, and our French President, Lionel who maintains our Paris office all in good order. Our Past President Robert, maintains his contribution on many levels and will be part of the Andy Pongco committee at this upcoming congress. My seven Zone Director Heroes also need to be mentioned; Maurice, Tamas, Federico, Gregory, Michael, Simon and Sami. Our Sages: Marjorie, Aldo, Denis, and Roger who are the advisors and keepers of our statutes, follow us always with great passion.

Our last Executive Meeting brought us for the first time in Vissoie, and we were so grateful to have among us two other Sages: Walter Freytag and Albert Ostertag. After so many years it was an incredible reunion for our Sages to have this moment together and we as an association directly benefit from this because they are a wealth of knowledge. My sincere appreciation goes to our President d’Honneur Aldo Giacomello and Claudio Caser, President of the Swiss section for making this meeting a reality. Mayor Simon Epiney, our host and the Swiss authorities with Chancellor Casanova, welcomed us so gracefully. This was a return to our roots in our very fast paced world. As our communication is getting easier with the latest technology and we feel closer and closer with Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc; we should never forget our past. Vissoie represents our heritage, the spirit that started after the first world war which is still alive today. We are also entering the celebrations of our 60^th Anniversary in 2012 as an international organization and what a better way then to launch it from Vissoie, le Village de l’Amitié, what a perfect setting.

The British section is busy finalizing what promises to be another incredble Congress which will mark our history. President Crowdy, Paul Still, Simon Thomas among others are leading the troops for success and already the numbers have been achieved in registration. The educational component is bridged to Toronto, and we shall see again our dynamic Gerald Parent facilitate the event with Roberta Nedry from Hospitality Excellence. Our long time partners American Express, IHT, Chabé Limousines will be among us and will support us one more time. Past President from Japan, Etsuko Higashide is heading a special report on Women Concierges… we are very proud to announce the Charte of our Values which was presented in Vissoie and so much more to come in London… . Last but certainly not least I thank also our Administrative Assistant Muffin Spielman who assists us with dictation and minutes at our global meetings.

Let us march together towards London united for another memorable congress. In the meantime may you have a wonderful Holiday Season with your families in peace & harmony and start a 2012 with good health & love in your hearts.

I remain always yours in Service through Friendship & Excellence

Vive Les Clefs d’Or !!!

Virginia Casale

President Les Clefs d’Or “U.I.C.H.”

Concierge Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile

A welcome message from the President

Virginia 1 Dear Colleagues,

My first applause will go to our outgoing President Robert Watson; he has led our UICH to another level and I look forward very much to work closely with him as I have done over these wonderful past two years. Our Executive Team remains strong and needless to say, our General Secretary and communication expert Michael Romei will achieve new heights with the assistance of Shujaat Khan. Our dynamic team of Vice Presidents: First Emmanuel Vrettos , Second Colin Toomey and our newly elected Third Simon Thomas are energized and will rejuvenate our next mandate. Our treasurer Jean-Roland Boutillé and French President Lionel Lorans will also keep a tight order in our Paris office as well as Roger Bastoni who will remain as Sages and of whom we can always count on his precious legacy.

Secondly my congratulations goes to President Toni Daoud and the entire Canadian Organizing Team of the Toronto 2011. His vision and courage to attempt such a difficult task and deliver a most successful event will mark in a grandiose way a page of our UICH history. Among all the organizers, I need to point our International & National Honorary Member, Gerald Parent, who delivered such an outstanding educational portion and who will bridge this to the next congress in London 2012. Madame Roberta Nedry, from Hospitality Excellence who collaborated on this portion, will also help in promoting our good name in the tourism industry.

My platform as I mentioned in my speech, is Education, Social and Media development, Sponsors and Hotel Corporate relationships. All our gratitude goes to our long time partners, American Express, Herald Tribune and Chabé Limousine. Over the next month, we will be sending letters to all major hotel chains to announce the London congress in January. We will offer them meeting space to have their own hotel meetings during our UICH event. This should stimulate a larger number of attendees since we will combine Les Clefs d’Or business with our respective hotel programs.

Welcome to India as our newest member section of UICH, congratulations and keep up the growth… a long awaited dream. Good luck to Poland who has officially applied and to other observing countries which have shown much interest.

Congratulations to Anabella Peling, the first woman who won the 4^th Andy Pongco Award this year from the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires, Argentina. May this also stimulate more women to step forward in our Clefs d’Or society, remember Ladies; my presidency is dedicated to you and your contribution is needed in UICH.

Wishing you all to return to Canada or come and discover it one day… all the best wishes from Montreal.

I remain always yours in Service through Friendship,

Virginia Casale
President UICH, Les Clefs d’Or
Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile, Canada

Anabella Peling

Andy Pongco Award 2011

Anabella Peling, Concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires, wins the fourth Andy Pongco Award in Toronto. Anabella receives the prize from Virginia Casale and Marjorie Silverman and declares to be very proud to be the first woman to win this high recognition.

Four Seasons Hotel - Buenos Aires, Argentina

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