6TH ANNUAL JUNE BRIGGS AWARDS SCRIPT GARY: Good Evening! Happy New Year! I'm Gary Newman, Managing Director of Briggs. I am so excited to be at Sardi’s and welcome you to the Sixth Annual June Briggs Awards for Excellence in Destination Management Services in New York City. 2007 was a wonderful year for New Yorkers, for Euro tourists and thankfully, for Briggs. This past year, for our “Incentives Begin at Home” program we took the entire Briggs office to Florence and Rome, Italy. Mamma Mia! And we didn’t just walk across the Ponte Vecchio, we walked through it on a private tour of the Bulgari Corridor ending up in the “pretty, itty-bitty Pitti Palace” as Cole Porter would say. We went truffle hunting, rode horse & carriages, ate like emperors and tossed coins into the Trevi Fountain - alas, Arriverdci Roma! This year, we are going green spending a weekend closer to home at the incredible Mohonk Mountain House at the foot of the beautiful Catskill Mountains. In July, Tony and I escorted our free-lance staff across the Williamsburg Bridge to the “mean streets” of Greenpoint (that's in Brooklyn) for the Italian feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Giglio committee personally welcomed us to the festivities and afterwards we all had a fabulous meal at the legendary Italian restaurant, Bamontes. So, how fitting that tonight we are at the legendary Sardi's. No other restaurant says “Broadway” like Sardi’s - the birthplace of the Tony Awards. And there's no more appropriate place to honor this year’s four outstanding partners. Since 1927, Sardi’s has been the dining room of the theatre community. Many opening nights have been celebrated here - with cheers or tears following hot off the press reviews from the New York Times. We are very privileged to be here tonight surrounded by these wonderful caricatures of famous artists of the Great White Way. Every star you see has dined here. There’s Ethel Merman from Gypsy - “If I could have been, I would have been. And that's show business.” Or Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame - “Live, Live, Live! Life is a banquet, and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death! " Jessica Tandy in Street Car Named Desire - “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Deborah Kerr (car) from (Tea and Sympathy) “Years from now when you talk about this --- and you will --- be kind.” Jerry Orbach (42nd Street) “You're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!” Joseph Papp - "Gary, where's my coffee?" - I worked for him in the 80's. Carol Channing (Lorelei) “A kiss on the hand maybe quite continental but diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” Mae West “My left leg is Christmas and my right leg is New Years. Come up and see me between the holidays." And I'm sure you all know…… Stella!!!!!!!! (Marlon Brando - Streetcar) How about “The Sun will come out tomorrow!” (Andrea McArdle - Annie) Or… “If you believe in fairies, clap your hands (Mary Martin - Peter Pan) "What a dump!" (Betty Davis) “Blow out your candles Laura.” (George Grizzard - Glass Menagerie) “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!” (Yul Bryner - King and I) I can't help feeling star struck surrounded by so many shining stars - and by that I mean you, the real celebrities who make it possible for our clients to enjoy this incredible city every day of the year! New York has certainly survived a lot these last few years and like the portraits at Sardi's, “we’re still here.” So Tony and I thought it would be appropriate to present some special lyrics Tony wrote from the Broadway musical Follies. To present this song, I would like to introduce one of our own, the one and only, Marta Cooper.
MARTA: I would like to introduce John McMahon and my apologies to Mr. Steven Sondheim.
SONG:
We’re still here!
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