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Medway Public Schools Holds Annual Convocation to Open the New School Year

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

 

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019

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

Medway Public Schools Holds Annual Convocation to Open the New School Year

 

MEDWAY — Superintendent Armand Pires is pleased to share that the Medway Public School District held its annual Convocation to open the 2019-2020 school year on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Convocation is a meeting held each year to bring the district together before the start of school. Plans for the year are shared with staff and faculty and staff achievements are shared.

“I’d like to formally welcome everyone back to the 2019-2020 school year,” Superintendent Pires said. “I am certain that this will be a wonderful year. We’ve made such great progress in so many years and put in place the pieces that are really going to ensure success as we move forward.”

District leadership began the meeting by thanking the district’s facilities, technology, administrative, business, special education and community education staff who work over the summer to prepare for the new year, as well as welcoming the 41 new faculty and staff members across the district.

Superintendent Pires also recognized faculty and staff who have reached the following significant milestones:

Professional Teacher Status:

  • Tara Barrows
  • Doug Dufresne
  • Tim Geruso
  • Marcus Hatt
  • Cassandra McGill
  • Amanda Moroney
  • Emily Pegoraro

20 Years of Service

  • Linda Lindsey
  • David Murphy

25 Years of Service

  • Karen Przybyl
  • Jeanne Russell

2019-2020 Mentors

  • Marybeth Curran
  • Bonnie Daudelin
  • Marc Davidson
  • Carolyn Erdelyi
  • Cindy O’Connell
  • Josh Steffen
  • Shannon Tonelli

The Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), represented by Co-Chair Matthew Schwarm, presented the Outstanding Educator Award to honor educators who have gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on students with special education needs.

SEPAC Outstanding Educator Award:

  • Ms. Melissa Warner, McGovern
  • Ms. Amanda Young, Burke-Memorial
  • Ms. Kathy Scott, high school
  • Mr. Bryan Kelly, high school
  • Ms. Sarah Lind (moved to a new district)
  • Ms. Susan Murphy (retired)

Among other staff recognized were those who participated in 2019 Summer Professional Learning or received a program grant from the Medway Foundation for Education.

This year’s Convocation presented an opportunity for the district to continue their valued commitments to the district’s core values. The district has identified core values of active and continuous learning, equity and empowerment, relationships characterized by trust and mutual respect and comprehensive wellness for all.

“The core values you see are embedded in our strategic plan serve as foundational and fundamental beliefs for us in the district,” Superintendent Pires said. “Strong and clear core values in an organization provide guidance in decision making and guidance in behavior. In the end, our core values, our fundamental beliefs will propel us toward achieving those goals of the strategic plan.”

Faculty members Cindy O’Connell, Jay Rojee, Catherine Loring, Todd Swavey and Superintendent Pires shared personal stories about how these core values intersect with the four principles outlined in the book “Culturize: Every Student. Everyday. Whatever it Takes.” by Jimmy Casas, a read that central office leadership team members committed to over the summer. The book’s message is that school cultures should embrace four principles: Champion for ALL Students, Expect Excellence, Carry the Banner and Be a Merchant of Hope.

During this portion of the district Convocation called “I am Medway,” Cindy O’Connell highlighted the Carry the Banner principle, by sharing her husband’s battle with cancer and how his doctor’s encouragement that he could be one of the people who outlives the life expectancy of a diagnosis gave her husband the will to fight and to do the things he loved until his passing.

“We can never underestimate the effect our words have on ourselves and others,” O’Connell said. “We all have an inner voice that tells us what we can and cannot accomplish. We also serve to be that voice for our students. We must consciously strive to be a positive voice of encouragement, even when the chances of success seem slim.”

To represent the Merchant of Hope principle, Jay Rojee discussed the impact teachers had on him when he attended Medway High School. He discussed how the teachers he developed relationships with and who looked out for him had changed his life in ways he didn’t realize until years later. Rojee spoke of how this realization inspired him to become a teacher in the same district that so greatly impacted his life.

To show the Expect Excellence principle, Catherine Loring discussed a student who appeared to be distant and lack motivation. She sat down with the student to discuss his struggles and why he did not feel successful in school. When the class started poetry, he struggled to channel his emotions and wanted to give up writing his poem. Loring says he published some of the most beautiful poetry in the class. At the end of the year, the student gave Loring a note thanking her for taking the time to get to know him and encourage him.

“There was a boy in my class who ended the year shining bright after feeling dull for so many years,” Loring said. “We will all have students in our classrooms like the one I shared with you today. They are the diamonds that require us to spend more time mining and mining is hard work. Don’t give up. Every diamond deserves to be discovered. Every diamond deserves to shine.”

Todd Swavey discussed the Champion for ALL Students principle, telling a story of a high school drama teacher who became frustrated with a play’s cast. The teacher sat down to have a conversation with the students, listening to their thoughts and concerns. After that, the cast worked harder together because they were invested in each other and in the director who had respected them enough to listen. Swavey encouraged the faculty to take the time to pause during a challenging situation, listen and honestly talk to their students as it can lead to growth and empowerment.

Superintendent Pires also represented the Champion for ALL principle discussing his struggles in elementary school and the impact that a high school English teacher had on his desire to learn. The teacher encouraged him to take more challenging classes and begin thinking about his future, and helped him to apply to college. When Superintendent Pires was appointed to his first job as a principal, he reconnected with the teacher, crediting him with changing the course of his life and being his champion.

After the Convocation, faculty and staff gathered in the high school’s lobby for a small reception.

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 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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