A Good Year in Winthrop: We Have Much to Be Thankful For

As we look back on the events of  2012 both in the world and in our little seaside town, we realize how much we have to be thankful for and how we take for granted so much of what went well in Winthrop over the past 12 months.

We have a safe community, with dedicated professionals in our public safety departments, led by Police Chief Terence Delehanty and Fire Chief Paul Flanagan.

We have a fine school system with a dedicated School Committee, led by Chairman Gary Skomro and Vice Chairman Brian Perrin, and energetic and talented administrators and teaching staff, led by Superintendent of Schools John Macero.

We have a School Building Assistance Committee, led by Mary Lou Osborne and David Dockendorf, which is working hard to explore the best options for our schoolchildren, which we hope will result in a beautiful, state-of-the-art, 21st century education facility that will be the pride of our community.

We have a highly efficient and professional town government, led by our terrific Town Manager James McKenna, Assistant to the Town Manager Joseph Domelowicz Jr., Administrative Secretary Tanji Daigneault, and Clerk Amy Honan Rodriguez.

We have a cohesive and hard-working Town Council, led by President Peter Gill and Vice President Paul Varone.

We have a Town Clerk’s Office, led by Town Clerk Carla Vitale and Assistant Clerk Joanne DeMato, and Senior Clerk Charlotte Fobert, which guided the town through an exciting and busy election process in the past year.

We have an outstanding Parks and Recreation Department, led by Director Sean Driscoll, who schedules so many excellent activities and programs for our children all year.

We also have an outstanding delegation on Beacon Hill in Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo and State Sen. Anthony Petruccelli and a great Congressman, Edward J. Markey, dean of the New England congressional delegation.

We have amazing Winthrop-only organizations such as the Viking Pride Foundation, the 11 Foundation: In Memory of Mike Mason, and Mike Eruzione’s Winthrop Charities, all of whom perform so many noble and generous deeds to help all segments of our community.

We also have the many volunteers who serve on town committees and boards, as well as civic groups and veterans organizations, including a superb Chamber of Commerce under the direction of Eric Gaynor.

So while it is that time of year to “Ring out the old and ring in the new,” we hope that all of those who helped make Winthrop a great place to live in 2012 will continue to do so in the year ahead.

We wish all of our readers a happy and healthy New Year for 2013.