As a friend and professional colleague of Barbara Gross since the early 80s, I have come to admire her talents, intelligence, generosity, cheerfulness, grace under pressure, and commitment to Palo Alto's quality of life for all its residents and visitors. She is one of the brightest and most valuable jewels in our crown. Her community work through the Garden Court Hotel has made our community far stronger than it would have been without her vision and active support of so many causes and organizations. What a legacy she has created! The Chamber of Commerce is only one of dozens of organizations that are stronger because of her participation and wise counsel. Thank goodness she will be continuing to connect the hotel to the community, as I'm sure Jeffery Phillips will do as well. We wish them both continuing success and fulfillment and thank them both for being such effective leaders in our community.

@Judy...having known Barbara since the mid 80's myself, I couldn't have said it any better than you just did.

There are probably few people in our nonprofit community who have not benefited from the generosity and commitment of Barbara Gross in her role as General Manager at the Garden Court Hotel. Her level of involvement and caring has elevated the hotel to a place in the community that is unique and greatly valued. So many of us who volunteer in Palo Alto know the Garden Court as a viable venue for our events and our fundraisers, and we. in turn, support the hotel by referring as many guests as we can.
Barbara is a woman who has led with vision, commitment, grace and patience. Certainly on behalf of Bay Area Cancer Connections, I want to say a sincere and huge thank you for all that she and the Garden Court (because of her) have done in support of our organization.

Barbara is a wonderful community leader. Over the years, I have asked her for advice or help with several community projects, and she has unfailingly been responsive -- even on issues that were outside her daily world of work. Her generosity in supporting community activities is also well known. Barbara is one of the people who contributes to making Palo Alto a supportive, engaged community, and I'd like to join many in thanking her as she moves into the next stage of her career.

I have always admired Barbara for her professionalism and dedication to the community and to the Garden Court Hotel. And, she has always been a friend and mentor to me over the years. I wish her all of the best!

All hail Barbara Gross! A great City deserves a great champion like you, but rarely finds one. Your commitment to the community, its quality of life, and especially its arts has enriched Palo Alto in thousands of ways and made it a destination not just for technology, communication, medicine, and education, but for its culture and compassion as well. TheatreWorks is immensely grateful to you and the Garden Court Hotel for many years of exceptional support. Together you have been a cornerstone of our growth as a leader in the arts in Silicon Valley. Thank you, friend to all--we hope you will continue your fine work in the community for years to come. Robert Kelley, Artistic Director, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

Congratulations to Barbara. I admire her leadership, collaboration and sponsorships here in Palo Alto. I'm also quite excited to see that Jeffery will be leading the Garden Court Hotel during this transition. I'm positive that he will step forward into his new role with the same commitment and enthusiasm he demonstrated in Leadership Palo Alto. Congrats to you both!

I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Barbara at the Garden Court Hotel for three years. Simply put, she is the most genuine and generous woman I have ever known.