North Reading Senior Thanksgiving Dinner a resounding success

Dear Editor:

We are writing to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who helped make this year’s North Reading Senior Citizen Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, November 24 such a resounding success. We’ve been celebrating this event for more than 40 years in grand style at the Hillview Country Club. We welcomed hundreds of friends and neighbors who enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner.

Guests were treated to a performance by the North Reading High School acapella group, NOTEorious, under the direction of Allison Kane, while DJ Alan LaBella provided additional musical entertainment and dancing throughout the afternoon.

It is truly an honor for us to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season with those who have contributed so much to our community. Thanks to the generous financial support of our sponsors for the underwriting of the event, the event is free and open to all senior citizens of the town. We encouraged those attending to bring canned goods to the event to help us fill the shelves at the North Reading Food Pantry, and were overwhelmed by the response we received for our annual solicitation of food donations. Thanks to the generosity of the North Reading senior citizens who attended the dinner, the food pantry will be able to assist more local families in need during the holiday season.

We would like to thank The Savings Bank, The Reading Cooperative Bank and Amazon for their financial support. Very special thanks to the team of the Hillview Country Club for working with us to make this event a truly memorable one. We appreciate their continued support in providing exceptional food, service and hospitality.

A special thanks to North Reading Director of Elder Affairs Mary Prenney and her staff of dedicated workers who work tirelessly during the year to support our senior citizens.

We salute our North Reading Fire Department for volunteering to assist many seniors by transporting them to and from the event, and the North Reading Police Department for directing traffic and keeping guests safe as they crossed the street. Without their help, many people would not have been able to join in the celebration. We truly appreciate their efforts.

Joining us at the head table were members of the Select Board, including Vice Chairman Stephen O’Leary, Andrew Schultz, Liane Gonzalez, and Richard Wallner along with Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto, School Superintendent Jon Bernard, Mystic Valley Elder Services Executive Director Dan O’Leary, and representatives of The Reading Cooperative Bank and The Savings Bank.

We want to take this opportunity to extend our best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season to all North Reading residents, and we look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s dinner. Please SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 1:30 p.m.

We are honored to carry on this tradition and we hope this event continues for many years to come. We contribute to and participate in many local events during the year but this event, rich in tradition, is a favorite of ours.

Sincerely,

Representative Brad Jones and Linda Jones

Senator Bruce Tarr