Posted onDecember 23, 2024|Comments Off on Legacy of Passion: The Peter Kenny Story
From Katie Duval at Medfield TV –
Legacy of Passion: The Peter Kenny Story
Peter Kenny’s story is one full of love, ambition, and passion for the Medfield Community. As Medfield TV’s Sports Director from 2007-2010, Peter’s dedication to his community never wavered, even while battling cancer.
His legacy lives on through the Peter Kenny Memorial Scholarship, given annually to Medfield High School Seniors who explore their passions through volunteering at Medfield TV.
Watch Legacy of Passion: The Peter Kenny Story on YouTube to hear his story through the voices of his family, friends, and past scholarship winners.
You can support the legacy of Peter Kenny by contributing to the Peter Kenny Memorial Scholarship fund. Visit www.medfield.tv/donate and dedicate your donation in memory of Peter Kenny and help inspire future generations to pursue their passions.
During my Select Board office hours yesterday at The Center, Bob Kennefic, aka Bubblegum Bob, pulled out his copy of David Biedrzycki’s Me and My Dragon, to show me the picture of him the author had put in the book. I already felt I liked David Biedrzycki, but now I know I like him even more.
Nice likeness Bob and David! And a well deserved tribute to a local legend, Bob.
Bob said it was OK if I put this story on my blog.
Sergeant Francis M. Thisse (Image Courtesy of the Medfield Police Department)
Medfield Police Department
“Getting to Know members of the MPD” will attempt to put unity in Comm“unity” by highlighting the members of the MPD by featuring short bios.
The MPD hope these bios will give Medfield residents the opportunity to get to know them better, and strengthen the relationship between the police department and our citizens.
Sergeant Francis M. Thisse
Sergeant Francis M. Thisse was born in Newton Massachusetts and raised in Millis Massachusetts where he attended High School. Francis lived in a very family oriented home as the second born of four boys. Francis’s large family came from the Adirondacks in New York and all are avid motor sports enthusiast as well as international conservationists. Throughout High School and to this day, he enjoys living an extremely active lifestyle, playing sports of all types and spending time with his friends and family.
Francis began to work labor jobs at 14 years old to save money for college where he attended Plymouth State University to ultimately achieve a Bachelors of Science degree in Exercise Sciences. After working in the health and fitness industry for some time, Francis followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where he served as an Infantry Riflemen and indoctrinated successfully into a Scout Sniper platoon. Upon return from a pacific tour and deactivation into the reserves, Francis gravitated toward a structured and uniformed profession much like the military. As a result, Medfield Police welcomed him into the patrol division after attending his first academy in 2020.
Francis was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in March of 2024 and is happily serving our community in a leadership role. Sgt. Thisse takes advantage of any training opportunity presented to him so he can best provide to the community he serves for.
“Getting to Know members of the MPD” will attempt to put unity in Comm“unity” by highlighting the members of the MPD by featuring short bios.
The MPD hope these bios will give Medfield residents the opportunity to get to know them better, and strengthen the relationship between the police department and our citizens.
Officer Garrett Ledbetter
Officer Ledbetter was born and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina where he attended Cape Fear Academy. He joined Cub Scouts in 1998 and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2010.
Officer Ledbetter is the youngest of three boys. He followed in his older brother’s footsteps and played soccer and lacrosse throughout grade school. Following high school, he attended High Point University, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice.
In 2014 he joined the New Hanover County Sheriff ‘s Office where he worked in the jail. As a member of the Civil Disturbance Unit, he was in charge of logistics and issuing gear in a time of need. Officer Ledbetter was accepted into the Special Response Team, SRT, which handled cell extractions, violent inmates, and multiple dangerous situations that might arise. In 2016, Garrett transferred to the Norfolk County Sheriff Office. He joined the SRT team shortly after.
Officer Ledbetter was hired by the Medfield Police Department in 2020, and attended the 11th Randolph Recruit Police Academy (ROC).
He enjoys connecting with his community, and engaging with the amazing citizens to which he serves. He loves spending time with his family and their dog Maizie! You can spot Officer Ledbetter around town with his golden retriever Maizie.
Posted onMay 17, 2024|Comments Off on Sgt. Dan Burgess, MPD
Chief Guerette yesterday announced that the Medfield Police Department will be using the Medfield Patch to feature its personnel for residents, and that she wanted to start with the department’s senior sergeant, Sergeant Dan Burgess –
Sergeant Dan Burgess
Sergeant Dan Burgess has been a Police Officer for 31 years. He began his career with the Rockland, Massachusetts Police Department in 1993 where he worked as a Permanent Intermittent Police Officer. He transferred to the Medfield Police Department in July of 1995. While working in Medfield, Dan has held the positions of Patrolman, Detective, Patrol Sergeant and for the past 11 years he has been the “Administrative Sergeant” of the department. You may recognize Sergeant Burgess from interactions with him as the firearms licensing Officer or from a community event, as he assists the Chief in coordinating many of the town events such as road races, holiday events, parades etc.
Sergeant Burgess has enjoyed working with the fine residents of Medfield. He strives to provide a safe and secure community for the residents of Medfield. Sgt. Burgess values a high standard of quality of life stating, “Medfield is a beautiful, quintessential New England town and I’m proud to work here every day”. Sgt. Burgess looks forward to continuing his role as the senior officer, mentor and leader within the department.
On an “off” day, Dan can be found on a hot sunny beach, walking a golf course or landscaping his yard.
Representative Denise Garlick, the Board of Health, and Dale Street School Principal Stephen Grenham all honored the long time Dale School Nurse, Kathy Thompson, at the Select Board meeting this week, after her recent retirement. Rep. Garlick shared a proclamation from the Legislature, Carol Read delivered the comments below from the Board of Health, as did Dale Principal Steve Grenham. –
Board of Health’s Remarks on Kathy Thompson
November 28, 2023 Medfield Select Board
As members of the Medfield Board of Health we extend our sincere thanks to Denise Garlick for giving us this opportunity to honor and thank our friend and fellow board member Kathy Thompson.
Kathy joined our BOH during the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, while working tirelessly to support school youth and families through unpresented times she said yes and joined us!
At that time, Town public health nursing services were contracted through the Visiting Nurse Association so basically Kathy stepped in to guide us all through COVID prior to Brenda joining the town full time.
Time and time again we have heard residents share how grateful they were for Kathy’s calm, compassionate conversations – dispelling fears and offering evidence-based guidance during illness. She attended each of our weekly Zoom meetings- offeringall of us guidance and hope!
Over the 40 years or so Kathy has lived in Medfield so many of us have had the opportunity and blessing to be touched by her kindness and genuine concern for our well-being – or the well-being of our family members.
Some know Kathy as a neighbor, some know her as a fellow school parent – raising our children together, standing on the sidelines in all kinds of weather- some know her as a School Nurse and, as our Public Schools School Nurse leader for over 20 years…
Others know Kathy through her extensive volunteer work with many community organizations such as the Hannah Adams Women’s Club, as Chairperson of the Medfield Home Committee and an active member and leader of the prevention and wellness coalitions under Medfield Cares About Prevention.
Although as town residents we know her through a variety of different roles- and through her work with diverse town groups – what is clear and consistent to residents she has connected with no matter which role – are the qualities that set her apart as a person: empathy, genuineness and humility- and her consistent, quiet, unwavering commitment to go above and beyond to help and to heal…
Kathy, you have gone beyond the limits of school ages and grades and beyond the walls of our school buildings – into the community- extending yourself to philanthropic, charitable efforts, as an advocate for youth and adults to enhance mental health and to prevent substance use, to participating in the traditions of strong Medfield women to build community and champion our high school students and of course, serving faithfully on our Board of Health!
You are a hero – a true gift to our town!
Kathy, you live the definition of kindness and selfless service to others – all age residents in our community have benefited from your generosity of spirit and patience and of course your experience as a nurse practitioner. We thank you so very much!
Melissa Coughlin- Holly Rand – Carol Read- Steve Resch, Jeff Kane
Principal Stephen Grenham, Dale Street School’s Remarks on Kathy Thompson
Good evening! My name is Steve Grenham and I am the proud principal of the Dale Street School.
I had the privilege of working alongside Kathy Thompson from 2015 until her retirement this past June.
Throughout our time together, Kathy consistently showed unwavering commitment to the well-being of every student and staff member at our school and in our district.
This was never more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the face of unprecedented challenges, Kathy’s extraordinary compassion and determination shined brightly.
Kathy not only visited people’s homes to ensure their health and safety, but she also made herself available at Dale Street during early mornings and late evenings for anyone who needed help.
In a remarkable effort, Kathy organized 16 COVID Vaccine Clinics for students and families. I want to give a special shout out to Kathy’s husband, Newton, who worked tirelessly at all of these clinics.
Kathy worked incredibly hard to compose numerous informative health memos for families, staff, and the administrative team to keep us all educated with the most updated information and safety protocols. I can personally attest that Kathy spent an exceptional amount of time, staying late into many evenings, to ensure we were all as prepared as possible.
As if that wasn’t enough, Kathy even opened up her home garage to assess and assist those in need, demonstrating an amazing display of selflessness.
Kathy Thompson’s tireless dedication to the health and welfare of the Medfield school community has left an unforgettable impact, making her an exemplary and forever cherished member of our team.
Posted onDecember 2, 2022|Comments Off on Frank Gervasio and Brittney Franklin mentioned in the MMA’s The Beacon this month
The Beacon is the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s monthly magazine, and this month in its section on People, it recognizing Medfield’s new Assistant Town Administrator, Frank Gervasio and Assistant to the Town Administrator, Brittney Franklin’s new role as public information coordinator.
Medfield resident and long time town government volunteer, Jeremy Marsette is also noted to be the new Sherborn Town Administrator.
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Posted onNovember 29, 2022|Comments Off on Henry Marcel – Medfield’s Holiday Lights Maestro
Henry (Hank) Marcel was the first Medfield Foundation Volunteer of the Year in 2008, primarily because he was single handedly responsible for doing MEMO’s holiday tree lighting downtown for decades.
Below is that 2008 Medfield Foundation Volunteer Awards proclamation:
MEDFIELD FOUNDATION RECOGNIZES HENRY J. MARCEL AS ITS MEDFIELD VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
The Medfield Foundation proudly proclaims Henry J. Marcel as its Medfield Volunteer of the Year. Henry Marcel is a large steady man with an even larger and steadier presence, whose contribution to making the Town of Medfield a better place have been both constant and impressive for many, many years. Henry, or Hank, has often worked behind the scenes without fanfare or recognition to deliver highly visible, easily recognizable, and much appreciated things to Medfield for decades. Hank has impacted the Town of Medfield in three main areas. First and foremost, Hank is the one who has lit our downtown with holiday lights at Christmas for decades. Second, Hank is the one who has done all the work to electrify Medfield Day and to do the other grunt work that makes it happen for 27 years. Third, Hank is a long time volunteer Medfield Fire Department firefighter, who is often seen proudly wearing a Medfield Fire Department tee shirt.
Hank has been Medfield’s Mr. Christmas, having organized and presided over stringing Medfield’s Christmas lights for MEMO for over twenty-five years. Observers in the know in recent years are used to seeing Hank out and about the downtown in the cold every year after Thanksgiving stringing the lights in Baxter Park, in front of Lord’s, at the Town House, and in front of the First Parish Meeting House. However, the keen long time observers will know that Hank started out decades earlier by actually shutting down his then electrical contracting business, Medfield Electric, for weeks every Christmas, and paying all his employees to help him to string the Christmas lights on every tree up and down Main Street, trees that are now exist only in memories. Over time, the Christmas lights became focused on Baxter Park. In recent years, Hank has buried electrical conduit under the park to facilitate setting up his displays, and he has been adding a tree in any year he can, to make a larger display. MEMO buys the Christmas lights.
Henry’s smile grows ever wider each year as he watches the faces of the town’s children light up in joy during the tree lighting count down, as the lights on the trees come one a tree at a time, culminating with the lighting of the Christmas tree. What an annual gift from Henry to the residents of Medfield to provide so much joy and happiness to so many children and their families.
The annual Medfield Day event is literally powered by Hank, as he creates and operates several whole electrical services for the events locations, calling on his extended group of electrician friends, such as Larry Kilkenny, to make it all come together and in time. Hank has been one who has worked from before dawn until after dark to make Medfield Day happen: he has lined the booths, coordinated the set-up and break-down, doing whatever tasks needed to be done, and he ran the event several times. When the Medfield Night Fireworks were added, Henry was delighted to work on them, despite making his Medfield Day hours longer, especially when he saw how much pleasure the fireworks gave to so many people.
Hank started on the Medfield Fire Department in 1974 under the direction of Chief Ryan. In one untoward incident in 1986 Hank was working at a car fire, when the vehicle rolled and pinned him between two cars breaking his leg. In 1992 he became the Fire Alarm Superintendent and he still oversees the operation of the town’s fire alarm system. Hank semi-retired as a firefighter in 1998, no longer responding to calls, but he remains a resource for electrical problems at the Department.
The Medfield Foundation is proud to name Henry Marcel its first Medfield Volunteer of the Year.
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I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
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