Farias named recipient of Goldman Award

Suzanne Farias

Suzanne Farias, a member of the Board of Directors of the Multi-Service Center in Leominster, will be awarded the 2008 Dr. Robert Goldman Award for Excellence on Thursday, April 17.

Farias has worked as the general manager of the Four Points Hotel by Sheraton in Leominster since 2001. Through her work at the hotel, Farias has incorporated her love of teaching and mentoring by offering internships to area high school students who pursue hospitality as a career.

She has worked with Leominster Technical Education on community business partnerships, and was a trainer for the Training for the Intervention Procedures for the Servers of Alcohol (TIPS) for 17 years.

The Dr. Robert Goldman Award for Excellence is given annually to a person in the community who exemplifies the vision and values of Goldman. As a Leominster Hospital physician, he understood how an array of social, environmental and emotional needs impacted his patients' wellness. He opened the Center in 1975 to address these unmet needs. His work continues today through the Center's programs, which emphasize prevention, education, and healthy lifestyle choices.

Farias began her career at the hotel as banquet manager in 1991.

She and her husband, Tom Farias, who was drafted into the Red Sox, they traveled with the organization for seven years before settling in Westminster. The couple has three children, Kirsten Leigh Aubuchon, Thomas Casey Farias, and Chad Robert Farias, and two grandsons, Brady Scott and Corey Jacob Aubuchon.

Farias is the chairwoman of the Board of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Supervisory Committee of the IC Federal Credit Union, a board member of the Johnny Appleseed Trail Association, a board member and the former chairwoman of the Central Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Farias is a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of North Central Massachusetts, the Advisory Board of Mount Wachusett Community College Business School, a board

member of the Professional Conference Management Association, a member of the Meeting Professionals International and a member of the Four Points by Sheraton North America Division Owners Advisory Council.

Tickets for the dinner and award presentation are $100 with tables of 10 available. Proceeds benefit the work of the Multi-Service Center. Please call Norman J. Boudreau, ticket chairman, at (978) 353- 1343 for more information.