Jay Ash, former City Manager of Chelsea, was surprised last night at an event at Homewood Suites by Hilton, a Colwen Hotel, by an announcement that the event space is named after him.
Maureen Foley, Colwen’s Director of Community Relations, was given the opportunity at CAPIC’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, to announce that the event space is called the Jay Ash Ballroom. Ash, who attended the celebration and who now serves as the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was City Manager of Chelsea from 2000 to 2014.
“We thought it was very fitting and appropriate to name this event space after Jay Ash, who was instrumental in the revitalization of Chelsea during his tenure as City Manager from 2000 to 2014,” Foley said after the event. “Jay worked with us, as the hotel was being planned, to ensure that we built a meeting space large enough so that city organizations could hold events here rather than going outside the city. Before the event center opened, Chelsea could accommodate fewer than 100 people at events.”
Homewood Suites by Hilton, Boston Logan Airport Chelsea, which had its grand opening in May, can accommodate more than 300 guests in the Jay Ash Ballroom, which is the largest event and function space in the city. The area can be divided into three meeting rooms or opened up into one space.
CAPIC, which stands for Community Action Programs Inter-City, is a state-sanctioned anti-poverty agency that coordinates homeless prevention activities in Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop.
“We were very honored that CAPIC chose Homewood Suites by Hilton to host this milestone event,” Foley said.