awards

 Bedford Police Honor Officers at Annual Awards Ceremony

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Bedford Police Department
Robert Bongiorno, Chief of Police
2 Mudge Way
Bedford, MA 01730

For Immediate Release

Monday, July 8, 2019

Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

 Bedford Police Honor Officers at Annual Awards Ceremony

Back row, from left: Detective Gary Martin, Officer Craig Naylor, Officer Jeff French, Officer Sheldon Maloney, Officer Jared Weisenborn and Sgt. Jeff Wardwell. Front row, from left: Officer Tim Pike, Lt. Jim Graham, Officer Eric Isnor, Town Manager Sarah Stanton, Police Chief Bob Bongiorno, Sgt. Pat Towle, Sgt. Rich Vitale, Lead ECO Jeff Vinciulla, and Officer Jason Kennedy. (Courtesy Photo Bedford Police Department)

BEDFORD — Chief Robert Bongiorno is pleased to share that the Bedford Police Department recently recognized several of its officers and staff at its annual awards ceremony.

On Friday, June 28, the department honored numerous individuals during a ceremony at Middlesex Community College for their outstanding police work over the last year.

“Our officers are tasked with responding to a wide variety of complex situations every day, and this annual awards ceremony gives us the opportunity to celebrate and recognize their extraordinary dedication, training and perseverance,” Chief Bongiorno said. “Congratulations to each of those recognized at the ceremony. Bedford is a safer place thanks to your remarkable police work.”

  • Sgt. Patrick Towle, Sgt. Jeffrey Wardwell and Lead Emergency Communication Officer (ECO) Jeffrey Vinciulla were honored for their response as members of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) as team leaders during the Merrimack Valley gas disaster in September 2018. Sgt. Towle, Sgt. Wardwell and Officer Vinciulla witnessed multiple explosions and fires and rescued multiple people. They each demonstrated outstanding leadership and teamwork.
  • Detective Sgt. Michael L’Heureux and Officer Timothy Pike were recognized for their efforts to investigate and identify an individual who eventually confessed to stealing credit card information and making fraudulent purchases.
  • Officers Stephen Waite and Jared Weisenborn were commended for their efforts in arresting a man for outstanding warrants this April during a traffic stop. The man was later charged with Possession of a Class D drug with the intent to distribute following a vehicle inventory search. During the search, police found large quantities of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. 
  • Officer Timothy Pike was recognized for his response to a road rage incident involving a handgun in March. He observed the vehicle enter Bedford from Burlington, and was able to secure both the driver and passenger involved.
  • Officers Robert Abajian and Jared Weisenborn were honored for their lifesaving first aid during an incident in February 2019. The officers applied a tourniquet to a severely injured man after responding to a 911 hang-up call.
  • Sgt. Saunders, Officer Dineen, Officer French, ECO Dooley and ECO Vinciulla were commended for their efforts to locate a missing woman suffering from substance use and mental health concerns in September 2018.
  •  Officers Eric Isnor and Jeffrey French were honored for their efforts in August 2018 to locate a missing elderly man suffering from dementia.
  • Sgt. Richard Vitale was recognized for his deescalation of an incident in August 2018 involving a man with a machete who was standing in a roadway. Sgt. Vitale was able to deescalate the man during a very tense standoff, during which the man raised his machete and began approaching police.

Members of the Bedford Police-Recreation Basketball League were also recognized at the ceremony, including Sgt. Vitale, Sgt. Wardwell, Officer Abajian, Officer French, Officer Isnor, Officer Vinicuilla, Officer Pike, Officer Waite, Officer Jason Kennedy, Officer Sheldon Maloney, Detective Gary Martin, ECO Mary Ellen Brickley and ECO Justin Brooks.

The Bedford Police-Recreation Basketball League is a basketball league for high school students and police officers, and allows Bedford police to form positive connections with local teens.

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*Media Advisory* P.A.A.R.I. to Host Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Media Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

*Media Advisory*

P.A.A.R.I. to Host Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony

U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll to Be Honored at Fourth Annual Event

GLOUCESTER — Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) is pleased to announce it will hold its Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony this Wednesday, June 26.

The annual Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony commemorates the founding of P.A.A.R.I. in June 2015, and recognizes law enforcement, government and community leaders who have played a role in fulfilling the organization’s mission to support the creation of law enforcement based non-arrest pathways and access to treatment and recovery.

WHEN: 

Wednesday, June 26 from 6-9 p.m.

WHERE: 

Gloucester House Restaurant, 63 Rogers St., Gloucester

WHAT: 

P.A.A.R.I. is inviting the public to join Wednesday’s celebration and recognize the work of its partners over the last four years to fight the opioid crisis. The celebration is also open to the media.

P.A.A.R.I. was founded in 2015 in concert with the Gloucester Police Department’s groundbreaking ANGEL Initiative, which reinvented the way law enforcement agencies confront addiction in their own communities by viewing it as a treatable disease rather than a crime, and that people suffering with opioid addiction need treatment, not jail.

With its network of more than 450 law enforcement partners, P.A.A.R.I. is providing access to treatment and working toward a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country. This law enforcement movement is reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, reducing stigma and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities.

“For four years, P.A.A.R.I. has worked with our law enforcement partners to make tremendous strides in the fight against the opioid crisis,” Co-Founder and Chairman John Rosenthal said. “By supporting non-arrest diversion programs, increasing accessibility to treatment and recovery programming and resources, and supporting law enforcement agencies as they adopt these new effective approaches, we’ve been able to help more than 20,000 people access treatment and are changing the conversation and state and national policy around substance use. Thank you to all of our partners who are making this life-saving, important work possible.”

P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter added, “We have the pleasure of working alongside an incredible range of law enforcement, government, recovery and community partners, and this celebration is always a great opportunity to thank them all for their support and commitment to fighting the opioid epidemic in new ways. It’s taking a lot of people, working together, to address the opioid crisis. This is an opportunity to celebrate our collective impact.”

“Four years ago, P.A.A.R.I. was founded out of a need to make a dramatic change in the way our law enforcement agencies and communities were responding to the opioid epidemic,” said P.A.A.R.I. Board Member and retired Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan. “We’ve taken great strides since then, and will continue making new partnerships and undertaking new initiatives for as long as it takes. Thank you to all of our partners, who make this important work possible.”

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by clicking here. Tickets cost $30 for one person, and tickets for two people can be purchased for $50.

P.A.A.R.I. will honor several individuals and groups for their contributions to the effort to combat the opioid crisis, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director James Carroll, who will be in attendance at the event.

In addition, Stephenie Jesi Memorial Scholarship awards will be presented to five women in recovery who have been helped by P.A.A.R.I. partners.

Those confirmed to attend are marked by an asterisk below.

Law Enforcement Leadership

Boston Police Department (Massachusetts): Deputy Michael Stratton*, Lt. David Murphy*, Sgt. Peter Messina*, Officers Josh DeLisle*, Joshua De La Rosa*, and Daniel Harlow*

Chelsea Police Department (Massachusetts): Chief Brian Brian Kyes*, Capt. Dave Batchelor*, and Community Engagement Specialist Dan Cortez*

Gloucester Police Department (Massachusetts): Lt. Jeremiah Nicastro* and Sgt. Sean Conners*

Newton Police Department (New Jersey): Chief Michael Richards*

Anne Arundel County Police (Maryland): Lt. Steve Thomas and Crisis Response Director Jen Corbin

Government and Community Leadership

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh

Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Theken*

State Representative Marjorie Decker* (Massachusetts)

State Senator Bruce Tarr* (Massachusetts)

Gloucester Public Health Director, Karin Carroll*

Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health*

Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR): Executive Director Maryanne Franguls* and Public Policy & Communications Director Jared Owen

Vicky Butler, Operations Supervisor, Plymouth County Outreach*

U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll, Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)*

Stephenie Jesi Memorial Scholarship

Tiffany Hill*

Nicole Shettlesworth*

Bonita Carrasquillo

Kellyana Lopez*

Lyndsie Sova*

About P.A.A.R.I.

The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery. Founded alongside the groundbreaking Gloucester Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, P.A.A.R.I. has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, coaching, grants, and other capacity-building resources to more than 450 police departments in 33 states. P.A.A.R.I. and our law enforcement partners are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country, thereby reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities. Our programs and partners have saved thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic. Learn more at www.paariusa.org.

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John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC Receives Eight Awards from the PR Club of New England

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John Guilfoil Public Relations Logo

John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC
8 Prospect St.
Georgetown, MA 01833

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 7, 2019

Contact: Jessica Sacco
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

An Evening to Remember for John Guilfoil Public Relations

Seven Bell Ringer Awards and Young Professional of the Year Honors all Claimed by JGPR on Wednesday

CAMBRIDGE — The 51st PR Club of New England Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony was held Wednesday evening at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, and it was quite a night for the John Guilfoil Public Relations agency.

Left-to-right: Benjamin Paulin, Jordan Mayblum, Andover Police Sgt. Charles Edgerly and John Guilfoil holding seven of the eight awards given to JGPR on Wednesday at the 51st Annual PR Club of New England Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (Courtesy Photo/PR Club of New England)
Left-to-right: Benjamin Paulin, Jordan Mayblum, Andover Police Sgt. Charles Edgerly and John Guilfoil holding seven of the eight awards given to JGPR on Wednesday at the 51st Annual PR Club of New England Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (Courtesy Photo/PR Club of New England)

John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC (JGPR) was honored by the assembled public relations industry with a company-record eight awards during the annual ceremony, which recognizes the highest achievements in communications, media relations and marketing each year in New England.

Spearheaded by the company’s work within the Town of Andover communications and leadership teams during the 2018 Merrimack Valley Gas Emergency and its pro-bono service to fire departments who lost firefighters in the line of duty, JGPR was lauded for its work in crisis management, responding to breaking news, media relations, community affairs and Agency Citizenship/Pro Bono work.

“It is absolutely incredible to see the dedicated, hard-working team at JGPR receive the recognition they deserve in front of their peers in the public relations industry,” said company founder and principal John Guilfoil. “Receiving a Bell Ringer is the pinnacle of success for a New England public relations campaign in a given year, but to receive this many honors is just unprecedented for our small company.”

In addition to its Bell Ringer awards, JGPR Southern New England Account Manager Benjamin Paulin was honored as New England’s young PR Professional of the Year with the PR Club’s “Striker” award. Paulin was recognized for his transition from journalism to PR and for coming into his new career in a leadership role, opening the JGPR Braintree office in late 2017.

All told, JGPR received the following awards Wednesday:

  • Silver Bell Ringer for Local/Regional News Placement: Rockland Boy Hailed for Saving Sister’s Life. (Benjamin Paulin)
  • Silver Bell Ringer for Crisis Communications: Shared with the Town of Andover for the Merrimack Valley Gas Disaster (John Guilfoil, Jordan Mayblum, Andover Police, Andover Fire and the Town of Andover)
  • Silver Bell Ringer for Response to Breaking News: Shared with the Town of Andover for the Merrimack Valley Gas Disaster (John Guilfoil, Jordan Mayblum, Andover Police, Andover Fire and the Town of Andover)
  • Bronze Bell Ringer for Community/Consumer Affairs: Shared with the Town of Andover for Andover Supports its Community during the Merrimack Valley Gas Disaster (John Guilfoil, Jordan Mayblum, Andover Police, Andover Fire and the Town of Andover)
  • Bronze Bell Ringer National Television News Placement: Text-to-911 Program helps Randolph Police Save Man’s Life (Benjamin Paulin)
  • Bronze Bell Ringer for PR Agency Citizenship/Pro Bono Work for Supporting Firefighters and Communities in Mourning for the company’s no-fee service to the Marion, North Attleborough and Berwick, Maine Fire Departments in the past year.
  • Merit Award for National Television News Placement: Massachusetts Woman Speaks out Following Attempted Abduction while Jogging (Benjamin Paulin)

Additionally, Paulin was nominated for a Bell Ringer for Local TV News for “An Inside Look at SEMLEC” and JGPR Senior Account Executive Jessica Sacco was nominated for a Bell Ringer for Local TV News for WBZ-TV’s It Happens Here: Melrose, Pioneering A New Trend In Education.

For Mayblum, who spent hundreds of hours in Andover and in Maine over the past year, the awards validate JGPR’s focus on local government and public safety.

“It’s pretty amazing to see our names, and the names of the community leaders and first responders we work with so closely, mentioned alongside major PR and marketing campaigns by national brands like Dunkin’, Liberty Mutual and Akamai,” Mayblum said. “I am very proud of the work we have done over the past year. Effective communication by small cities and towns makes a huge difference in the lives of many, and I feel privileged to come to work every day and play a role in that.”

John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC (JGPR) was honored by the assembled public relations industry with a company-record eight awards during the annual ceremony, which recognizes the highest achievements in communications, media relations and marketing each year in New England.
John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC (JGPR) was honored by the assembled public relations industry with a company-record eight awards during the annual ceremony, which recognizes the highest achievements in communications, media relations and marketing each year in New England.

This is the fourth consecutive year that JGPR has been honored by the PR Club but the first time the company has received more than one Bell Ringer. In 2016, JGPR received a Gold Bell Ringer and was a finalist for the PR Campaign of the Year/Platinum Super Bell for its work on the Gloucester ANGEL Initiative. In 2017, JGPR received two merit awards for web design and local TV news, and last year the company received a Silver Bell Ringer for Paulin’s work profiling the good deeds of a Randolph Police Officer for local TV news coverage.

The annual awards celebration showcased the work of public relations and communications professionals from dozens of agencies, companies, and nonprofits from across New England.

Hosted by Emmy-nominated Tina Martin, television and radio anchor and reporter at WGBH News, the Bell Ringer Awards drew from hundreds of entries in more than 45 categories, from single placements to year-long campaigns.

JGPR received the third most awards given to an agency at this year’s Bell Ringers. 360PR+ received 19 awards, and SHIFT Communications received 10.

About the PR Club

Founded in 1948, PR Club strives to promote and encourage involvement in the communications industry and specifically the professions of public relations, promotions, and marketing. Get additional information about monthly New England-based PR Club programs, social and networking events, the “Bell Ringer” blog, and the Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony at prclub.org. Follow them on Twitter @PRClubofNE.

About the Bell Ringer Awards

The Bell Ringer Awards recognize public relations and communications work that demonstrates excellence in creative planning and professional education and exhibits a high degree of success in reaching predetermined objectives. Open to all New England practitioners, the program, now in its 51st year, symbolizes one of the greatest tributes in any field of endeavor – the recognition of superior performance by one’s peers.

About John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC:
Content, strategy, standards. With the philosophy that every police and fire department and government agency deserves effective communications and public relations on the same scale as major corporations, John Guilfoil Public Relations produces clear, concise written materials, communications strategy, website development, and crisis management services for our clients and responds to breaking news incidents for more than 400 police and fire departments, public schools, and municipal governments, and non-profits in 9 states. The company is based in Georgetown, Mass. and was founded by John Guilfoil, a former Boston Globe staff reporter who served as deputy press secretary for the late Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. JGPR.net.

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Medway Middle School Students Honored by School Committee

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Medway Public Schools
Armand Pires, Superintendent
45 Holliston St.
Medway, MA 02053

 

For Immediate Release

Friday, April 12, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Medway Middle School Students Honored by School Committee

MEDWAY — Medway Middle School Principal Craig Juelis and the Medway School Committee are pleased to announce that the committee recognized five students last night for their accomplishments throughout the school year.

At the Medway School Committee meeting on Thursday night, April 11, eighth graders Lile Simmons, Mia Hsieh, Isabelle Basso, and seventh graders Alexandra Montana and Sinead Bergeron were all given an Award of Excellence certificate and were recognized by the committee members for their work.

“We were thrilled to be able to honor these outstanding students for their great work, both in and out of school,” Medway School Committee Chair Diane Borgatti said. “Each one of them is a shining example of the type of education our students receive at Medway Public Schools and it was a pleasure to host the kids at our meeting last night, along with their families and Principal Juelis.”

Simmons was nominated as the school’s Project 351 Ambassador by the 8th grade teachers. This year’s Project 351 community service project was a Cradles to Crayons clothing drive to gather clothing for children in need. Simmons organized the drive at Medway Middle School and, with the help of her friends, successfully publicized the drive throughout the school.

Simmons is also involved in community service projects outside of school, helping to care for seeing eye dogs.

Hsieh organized a fundraiser for Type 1 diabetes research for the second year in row.

This year’s fundraiser was a March Madness 3-on-3 basketball tournament for students. Hsieh and her supporters organized the tournament into two brackets (Grades 5-6 and Grades 7-8), as well as recruited students to help sell concessions and referee each game. A total of 26 teams signed up to compete in this year’s tournament. About $700 was raised with the proceeds going to JDRF, a diabetes research organization.

Hsieh has worked with School Nurse Colleen Langille on educating students about Type 1 diabetes by providing information on bulletin boards around the middle school.

In addition, last year she organized a bake sale at the school.

Montana earned first place at this year’s science fair with her project entitled: The Meaning of Meow: How Cats Communicate.

Bergeron tied for second place in the science fair for her project entitled: If You Build It, Will It Fly?

Basso’s science fair project tied for second place with her project called, Can the Brain Feel Pain?

Students who participated in the Science Fair worked with advisor and 8th Grade science teacher Larry Brown to identify a topic of interest and pursue either a research or experimental project. Over the ensuing 10 weeks, they continued to meet to conduct research and gain advice from Brown in order to compete their projects. The Science Fair was held on Jan. 24 and the students’ projects were judged with Montana, Bergeron and Basso receiving top honors.

“What a nice evening for these hard-working students to be recognized and honored by the school committee,” Principal Juelis said. “These five students represent just a small sample of the amazing work being done by our students at Medway Middle School each and every day.”

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