By Ariana Hanley
Happy October, Beacon Hill!
The second forum of the 2021-2022 Beacon Hill Women’s Forum season took place at The Hampshire House on Tuesday, October 12. The Neighborhood Narrative this month featured a local Charles Street boutique, Matsu, owned by Dava and Masayuki Muramatsu. Matsu recently moved their storefront to Beacon Hill from Back Bay and is filled with artisan-crafted products for the home imported from Japan, Italy, and France. In addition, Matsu carries fine clothing for the perfect “fashion forward” look! Be sure to watch the exclusive interview with Matsu owner, Dava Muramatsu, and our very own, Holly Sullivan, at https://beaconhillwomensforum.org/neighborhood-narrative/.
BHWF was honored to welcome Josie Gardiner as our October Forum keynote speaker. Josie, an experienced master trainer and fitness aficionado, shared her successful career story, along with keys to longevity! As a previous fitness instructor at Hill House in Beacon Hill and Reebok master trainer for over 20 years, Josie has always had a passion on helping the aging population. When Josie first began her career, the word aerobics did not exist. Opening one of the first exercise studios in Massachusetts many years ago, Josie was determined to empower individuals to exercise in a fun lighthearted environment. Josie and her business partner, Joy Prouty, have had continued success in the fitness world as they have traveled all over the United States to teach, train, and create fitness music tapes to encourage and guide the aging population to a healthy life full of movement and exercise.
Josie faced a major hardship in the late 1990s when she battled uterine cancer. This was a challenge to her physical health and was the first time she lost control and had to get back in shape. This experience lead Josie to focus on empowering women who have faced vast health conditions to work their way back and be healthy again. By guiding clients to listen to their bodies, exercise in moderation, and live a healthy lifestyle, she has made a huge impact on countless individuals. Josie reminded the women in the room – You must have self-esteem – believe you can do it and that you will do it! Live with purpose… and don’t forget …wine gets better with age, age gets better with wine!
Josie’s story, energetic personality, and wisdom on how to live a higher quality of life was remarkable.
The Beacon Hill Women’s Forum is a nonprofit organization established to help bring women in and around Beacon Hill together to form a close community of support and inspiration. We welcome a speaker, always a woman with a unique, formidable story to tell, to our monthly Forums which meet on the second Tuesday of the month at The Hampshire House from 6pm to 8pm (social hour, followed by the program starting at 7pm sharp). Visit The Beacon Hill Women’s Forum website to learn more about our membership options. www.beaconhillwomensforum.org.