the academy journal
program. Members comprise of 35 % of the attendees at the special events and renewals are on
the rise with over 115 paying members to date.
During the 2013 calendar year, members are offered ½ price admissions to regular open-to-the
public special events and additional benefits such
as: free historic tour tickets and a discount in the
gift shop. We continue to evaluate the membership program as we seek to encourage active participation at special events and cultivate stakeholders invested in ongoing historic preservation
efforts.
Church, Cairnwood has been striving to spread
the light of the Word by useful service and by inviting our clients to explore the teachings of the
New Church.
New Church doctrine on marriage has been
supported at the “Caring for Marriage” dinner
hosted at the estate annually. We have continued
to offer couples planning on a ceremony at Cairnwood the option of a New Church wedding service
and recommend Reverend Chuck Blair as an officiate. This initiative has been in progress since
2009 and 32 coupl es have chosen to host a New
Church wedding service at the estate to date. The
majority of these couples had not received a New
Church education or had past affiliations with the
Church prior to reserving their event at Cairnwood.
With an average attendance of 150 guests
at Cairnwood private events, we can conservatively report that 4,800 visitors have attended a
New Church service at the estate and have been
exposed to the New Church’s unique beliefs on
marriage. As part of the program offered through
Reverend Chuck Blair, the couples received a series of personal pre-marriage counseling sessions
prior to their nuptials. Many have since become
actively engaged congregation members at New
Church LIVE, become baptized members of the
Church and have chosen to baptize their children.
Media and Marketing Coverage
With marketing trends shifting quickly, Cairnwood worked to diversify its advertising initiatives. We continued to explore all avenues of outreach. By building relationships with photography
companies, Cairnwood has been able to urge them
to submit their images to local media. Due to this
effort, the Philadelphia Inquirer featured a Cairnwood wedding in their “Love Section” in May 2013
and Philadelphia Wedding Magazine featured a
Cairnwood event in the “Real Weddings” section
of the May issue.
Social media is an ever-growing and changing
source of marketing. We continue to post on Facebook and Twitter, however recently Cairnwood
has become more of a presence on Pinterest, a pin
board-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. A following for Cairnwood has developed on the Pinterest site with brides, architecture
devotees and vendors sharing images of the estate.
We have also explored Instagram as another avenue of outreach.
Word-of-mouth has continued to grow tourism and inquiries to the estate. By focusing on a
worthwhile and 5 star guest visitor experience, we
have generated loyal clients and visitors who are
willing to refer friends and family. One example
occurred this past April, after attending a wedding
at the estate, radio personality Pierre Robert gave
Cairnwood a glowing review during his afternoon
radio show on 93.3 WMMR.
In Conclusion
The mission “to restore and maintain the home of
John and Gertrude Pitcairn as an educational, cultural and hospitality center, serving the Academy,
Church Community and surrounding area” has
continued to be the guiding principle. Cairnwood
Estate developed strategies to support the Academy by striving to be financially self-sustaining
while offering unique opportunities to the schools
and community. The staff maintained stellar customer service for a variety of public and private
events while achieving a new benchmark in total
number of annual rentals. Cairnwood continued
to contribute to the Bryn Athyn Historic District’s
recognition and visibility through strong client relationships and quality reputation based on New
Church principles.
New Church Outreach
Since its original charter, The Academy has spread
the doctrines to thousands of students. As an independent member of the Academy of the New
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