Archives: A Message from the Executive Director
January 2005
January 2004
March 2004
June 2004
August 2004
November 2004
October 2003
January 2005: From the desk of the Executive Director, Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We had a wonderful Holiday Party at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Lawrence. It was a great time for all who joined us. We wish to thank all who participated and helped make the event so successful. Many families brought grandparents and aunts and uncles and other family members. The music was great and so was our Santa Claus. We are very grateful to our friends in the Lawrence Knights of Columbus for donating their hall.
We are continuing our efforts to reach more people in our community and make them aware of the Center and our programs. Please help us spread the word.
We held our 31st Annual Meeting with our staff and Board of Directors on December 6, 2004. Several staff received awards for their outstanding service to the Center: We are very proud of our wonderful staff and appreciate all that they do for the Center!
On Sunday, March 6, 2005 @ 4:00 PM, we will be celebrating Family Hockey Night at Andover Community Night with the Lowell Lock Monsters. A portion of the proceeds of each ticket we sell will benefit the Center. Please help us sell tickets and join us for a fun family time. Call the Center for details.
Our Spring Celebration and Silent Auction will be held at the Andover Country Club On Friday, April 29, 2005. Please save the date and join us for a wonderful celebration, party, and fundraiser.
We hope that everyone had a special holiday season, and we wish you Happy New Year.
From the desk of the Executive Director, November 2004: Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We had a great annual "Trot for Special Tots" this year. It was a great time for all who joined us on a beautiful crisp fall morning with plenty of sun and cool breezes. We had a real "model race pace car", thanks to John Anderson of Millenium Auto Sales in Manchester, that lead our walkers and runners on their way. At this time we have reached $20,000 towards our fundraising goal. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all who participated and helped make the event so successful. Many families and staff worked really hard on fundraising and created some unique ways to raise money for the Center. Marty Cormier, our D.J., donated his time to bring some music for everyone to enjoy, and did a great job getting people on their feet dancing. We are very grateful to many area people and businesses for sponsoring our event and donating such wonderful raffle and prize items.
This year, we will be making an effort to reach more people in our community and make them aware of the Center and our programs. Please help us spread the word.
Our annual Holiday Party will be held Sunday, November 28th, 2004 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Lawrence. Please join us for entertainment and fun. Call the Center for details.
We will be celebrating out 31st Anniversary with our staff and board of directors at a special Annual Meeting in early December.
On Sunday, March 6th, 2005 @ 4:00pm we will be celebrating Family Hockey Night at Andover Community Night with the Lowell Lock Monsters. A portion of the proceeds of each ticket we sell will benefit the Center. Please help us sell tickets and join us for a fun family time.
Our Spring Gala Event and Silent Auction will be held at the Andover Country Club on Friday, April 29th, 2005. Please save the date and join us for a wonderful celebration, party and fundraiser.
We hope that everyone has enjoyed our beautiful autumn season, and we wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season.
Veryl D. Anderson
Executive Director
From the desk of the Executive Director, August 2004: Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We have had a great summer here at the Center. Our groups were full and very busy with all their special projects and super special Friday theme days. My favorite event was our Summer Olympics. We are grateful for all the extra help we had from our student volunteers, Brianna, Molly, Sarah, Rebecca, Kayla, and David. They spent many long hours working on decorations and materials we used on our "Wild West Day," our "Day at the Beach" our weeklong "Summer Olympics", and our Mardi Gras celebration. We also wish to thank our High School and College volunteers Lisa Granger, Erica Ginsberg, Sara Boxell, Alice Gregory, and Rachael Weissblatt.
We implemented our new building security program in July. Please sign in at the office and pick up a visitor's pass if you come to visit the Center.
The Desmarais Family has established a Memorial in memory of our beloved Linda who passed away in May. Linda worked in our main office for over 25 years and was often the friendly and compassionate voice at the other end of the phone. The memorial fund continues to grow and has reached over $5000. We are still accepting donations if you would like to contribute.
I was a guest at The Massachusetts State House on June 28, 2004 at a reunion hosted by the Boston Celtics celebrating their "Heros Among Us" community awards program. It was fun to meet other award recipients and to have our legislators there with us. It was a beautiful day, so I took a walk through the Gardens before I came home.
We are gearing up for our annual Trot for Special Tots event on October 3, 2004. Please come and join us for some exercise, fresh air, good food and fun. it's always a great time with new and old friends, and I am looking forward to seeing you there.
Veryl D. Anderson
Executive Director
From the desk of the Executive Director, June 2004: Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We have had an exciting and busy Spring here at the Center. Our most exciting time was our 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration and Fundraiser. The Gala was held on Friday, April 30, 2004 at the Andover Country Club. It was quite a party with 300 people attending and helping us to achieve our fundraising goal of $40,000.00. I want to thank everyone who helped in the planning, donating their time and talent, and came to the event. Many of our original supporters joined us for the evening. Everyone really seemed to have a good time.
Jack Williams was our guest speaker and was honored for his work with Wednesday's Child, an organization he founded several years ago. He has helped many children find loving adopted homes, and has started a foundation to continue to fund his work in the future. Taisha Wolfendale, one his Wednesday's Children and one of our former students, was on hand to present him with a donation from the Center for his Foundation.
We also honored our wonderful friend Senator Sue Tucker for all of her help and support over the years and for all she has done to support families and children in the Merrimack Valley. Senator Tucker is also a former member of our Board of Directors.
Out Gala Committee did a wonderful job with planning and making the time very special for all of us. The Committee was chaired by Susan Johnston and included Diana Berthiaume, Timothy Fallon, Jane Howe, Robin Kahan, Charles Leinbach, Tricia Lentz, Judy Normandin, Charlotte Rogers, Ellen Waddill, and Barbara Whidden. Staff, parents and board members prepared and donated beautiful gift baskets which we raffled and sold in our silent auction. Once again I want to thank everyone who supported the Center and helped us celebrate our 30th.
I recently had the honor of spending the evening with the Boston Celtics as an honoree in the "Heros Among Us Program". On April 14, 2004, accompanied by my family and several of the Center's staff, I was honored for co-founding and working at the Center as we celebrate our 30th Anniversary. I received a beautiful engraved glass diamond trophy as a part of the evening's events. We all had a great time and the Celtics won the game!
We have a new development manager, Tricia Lentz. She will be helping us fundraise for the Center and helping to plan our special events.
I hope to see many of you at our Summer Family Event, and I wish everyone a healthy and safe Summer Season.
Veryl D. Anderson
Executive Director
From the desk of the Executive Director, March 2004: Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We have had an exciting and busy winter here at the Center planning our "Here We Grow Again" 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration and Fundraiser which is scheduled for April 30, 2004 at the Andover Country Club. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those wonderful families, staff and board members who have been volunteering to help plan this very special time.
We have welcomed two new board members to our Board of Directors, Mat Kiley and Patricia Finocciaro. Both are local residents who have previously volunteered and participated in Center activities and programs.
On behalf of everyone here at the Center, I wish to thank all who gave and participated in our Annual Appeal. Your gifts and donations will help us continue to provide quality programming for our children and families.
We have received a generous donation from the Andover Knights of Columbus Council #1078. The funds will be used to purchase adaptive equipment and to complete needed playground repairs. We thank all the members for their generous and continued support.
Please help us welsome our long awaited Spring! Join us in our festivities!
Veryl D. Anderson
Executive Director
From the desk of the Executive Director, January 2004: Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We have had a wonderful and busy holiday season here at the Center. Instron in Canton supported our annual toy drive in December as did UBS Financial Services and Analog Devices in Wilmington. Company employees donated three hundred beautifully wrapped toys for children enrolled in our programs and some of their siblings. We are very grateful to them for their generous support.
In November we held our 30th Annual Meeting at the greater Lawrence Technical High School Restaurant. The culinary arts students prepared and served a delicous meal followed by home made apple crisp. We announced our new board members and presented awards to our departing board members: Kathleen Keith, Mark Bibeau and Barbara Whidden. We are very grateful to them for their help and years of volunteer service to the Center.
The staff was also honored at the Annual Meeting. Of special note are our staff members with over 20 years of service: Jane Howe (26 years), Priscilla Bartle (25 years), Martha Giammusso (25 years), Roxann Nickerson (25 years), Susan Buehler (24 years), Sandra Levine (24 years), Linda Piette (24 years), Linda Desmarais (23 years), Kathoeen Heseltine (22 years), and Joan Duffer (20 years). We are proud of all of them and honored by their commitment to the Center.
On behalf of the Staff and Board at the Center I hope you had a happy and healthy holiday season, and wish you all a safe and beautiful winter season.
Veryl D. Anderson
Executive Director
P.S. Janna Kurcharski-Howard recently completed studies to earn her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Please congratulate Dr. Janna when you see her!
From the desk of the Executive Director, October 2003: Veryl D. Anderson, RN
We have had a very successful kick off for our 30th anniversary. Our annual "Trot for Special Tots" was fun for all who came. It was a beautiful crisp fall morning with plenty of sun and cool breezes. We are anticipating reaching our fundraising goal of $28000 to $30000. We are very grateful to all who participated and helped to make it possible to reach that goal. Many families and staff poured their hearts into fundraising and created some unique ways to raise money for The Center. I wish to thank everyone for their help to make the event a special way to begin our celebration. We are very grateful to many area people and businesses for donating such wonderful raffle and prize items.
We will be making an effort to reach more people in our community and make them more aware of the Center and our programs. Please help us spread the word.
Our 30th Anniversary Gala will be held at the Andover Country Club on the evening of April 30, 2004. Please plan to join us for the festivities and a delicious dinner.
On October 28, 2003 we celebrated Linda Desmarais' upcoming retirement. Linda has been a cheerful and calming voice on the other end of the telephone for over 23 years. We will all miss her and her kindness and compassion.
We will be celebrating our 30th Anniversary with our staff and board of directors at a special Annual Meeting in November.
Please enjoy our beautiful autumn season.