City of Pawtucket Honors Their Own
MAYOR DONALD GREBIAN
By Patty Zacks
On Friday evening, October 27, the Pawtucket Hall of Fame (PHOF) Committee) welcomed six new members into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame, and also celebrated two individuals given our ???Person(s) of the Year??? award at the historic Pawtucket Armory Arts Center.
This year???s banquet was our largest event to date, and drew a crowd just shy of 300 people.
Attendees traveled from as far away as California, New York, Florida and W. Virginia as well as other parts of New England to honor these individuals.
The Committee wishes to thank the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center, Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, The Times, Neville Lassotovitch Design, Minuteman Press of Pawtucket, the City Of Pawtucket and Alison Bologna from WJAR/NBC10 in addition to the 76 businesses, elected officials and individuals that took out ads in our program book.
Their support extends the outreach of this very important program.
The PHOF began in 1986 as a way of acknowledging all the ???good??? that makes Pawtucket that unique city we love, as a way of honoring those that have left their imprint on the community.
This award is given to those selected nominees who have gone “above and beyond” in their community service activities and/or who have been vehicles that shine a positive light upon the city ……. Today, this tradition continues.
The Committee is comprised of 12 individuals with various backgrounds from the community who volunteer their time each month throughout the year for ultimately making this annual event a special evening for the inductees.
I would like to thank the Pawtucket Hall of Fame Committee ??? vice chair, Diane Dufresne, treasurer, Larry Monastesse, secretary, David Deloge as well as committee members: Paul Audette, Cheryl Babiec, Moussa Camara, Mary Ellen Minton, Bill Mulholland, Henry Rosenthal, Maria Vaz and Herb Weiss for their dedication and work on this committee.
This year???s class of inductees represented a diverse group of people who have all followed different paths in life, but shared one common characteristic ??? ???determination???. In their own unique ways, they have all played active and visible roles in Pawtucket???s history and its community.
This was the community???s way of publicly saying ???thank you??? for their efforts, successes, and simply making us proud.???
We were pleased to welcome our 2017 Pawtucket Hall of Fame
Inductees: (civic activist) Janina ???Jean??? Babiec; (American film director) Kevin Lima; (the late ??? coach and coordinator) Robert K. Neill, Sr.; (legendary RhodeIsland radio broadcaster) Ron St. Pierre; as well as our two historical inductees this year: (the late) Edwin Darling and (the late) Dr. Ellen R. Jolly as well as our ???Person(s) of the Year???, Mayor Donald R. Grebien from the City of Pawtucket and Adrienne Marchetti, Director of the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen.
I believe our 2016 Pawtucket Hall of Fame inductee, Melvin Alperin summed it up quite well ??? ???To be part of a community, you need to participate in that community???. Perhaps this awards event might serve as a simple reminderthat we really don???t know how we each may impact someone???s life.
Who would YOU like to nominate for 2018?
Patty Zacks, serves as Chairman of the Pawtucket Hall of Fame. She is a Pawtucket resident and is the proprietor of the Camera Werks.