Persons of the Year 2018 Booklet FINAL

ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
2
LYNN
David J. Solimine Sr.
PEABODY
Martha Holden
0
LYNNFIELD
Lauren Maney George
REVERE
Rachid Moukhabir
1
MARBLEHEAD
Patti DiCarlo Baker
SAUGUS
Elizabeth Marchese
8
NAHANT
Calantha Sears
SWAMPSCOTT
Jo Ann Simons
PERSONS OF THE YEAR

THE 2017 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
THE FIRST CLASS
WAS FIRST CLASS
LYNNFIELD
Lynnfield for Love
NAHANT
Tom Costin
LYNN
Al Wilson
SAUGUS
Zack Cummings
PEABODY
Tom Gould
MEDFORD
John Veneziano
SWAMPSCOTT
Tom Demakes
MARBLEHEAD
Rose-Marie and
Eijk van Otterloo
REVERE
Monse Torres-Hood
MALDEN
Anne D’Urso-Rose

1
Publisher
Edward M. Grant
Chief Executive Officer
Michael H. Shanahan
Community Relations Director
Carolina Trujillo
Chief Operating Officer
James N. Wilson
Chief Financial Officer
William J. Kraft
Editors
Cheryl Charles
Thor Jourgensen
Roberto Scalese
Directors
Edward L. Cahill
John M. Gilberg
Edward M. Grant
Gordon R. Hall
Monica Connell Healey
J. Patrick Norton
Michael H. Shanahan
Advertising
Ernie Carpenter, Director
David McBournie
Ralph Mitchell
Patricia Whalen
Contributing Writers
Bill Brotherton
Gayla Cawley
Bella diGrazia
Thomas Grillo
Steve Krause
Bridget Turcotte
Photographers
Spenser Hasak
Owen O’Rourke
Production and Design
Trevor Andreozzi
Mark Sutherland
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
We’ve done
it again
A year ago, we at Essex Media Group selected, for the first time,
our Persons of the Year. We defined them as people who improved
and enhanced the communities we cover. If I may say so, we chose an
incredible group.
Therein lies the problem. We had to come back this year with individuals
who would honor the legacy of those inaugural selectees.
I think we have.
Last year, we chose a guy whose artistic vision transformed downtown
Lynn into what one longtime business owner described as a “cool” place
to be (chew on that for a minute); a group that promoted diversity and
acceptance at a time when both are on the endangered species list; a
legendary philanthropist; a real-estate mogul; a former mayor, postmaster,
and JFK confidante (yes, that JFK); a group that worked to empower
Latinos; a poster child for the fight against cancer; and an ice cream
guy and another who makes the best hot dogs — both of whom have
distinguished themselves for their business prowess and extraordinary
charitable endeavors.
It was an accomplished, talented, dedicated, well-rounded group. As is
this year’s:
A woman who has all but given her life to her town and another whose
son’s disability has become her life’s work; two women who brought their
A games to youth sports; and two more who have turned culture into an
art form. And of the two men who made our list, one’s focus is global
while the other defines local.
As the EMG footprint expanded from our purchase of The Daily Item
in 2014 to now include two weekly newspapers (Lynnfield and Peabody
Weekly News), the Spanish-language La Voz, and four magazines (01907,
01940, 01945, and North Shore Golf) — our knowledge and appreciation
of those we cover have grown exponentially. Our eight primary circulation
communities at times seem to have little in common — but each has a core
group of individuals who make it special.
Take a look at those selected, and at the dozens of Community All-Stars
— many of whom would have been worthy honorees in 2018 and may well
be chosen in future editions.
Some incredible individuals are in our midst.
Ted Grant

2
The Lynn City Council salutes
Dave Solimine Sr. and all
Essex Media Group
Persons of the Year.
Wayne A. Lozzi, Ward 1
Rick Starbard, Ward 2
Darren P. Cyr, President, Ward 3
Richard C. Colucci, Ward 4
Dianna M. Chakoutis, Ward 5
John M. Walsh Jr., Ward 7
Buzzy Barton, At Large
Brian Field, At Large
Brian P. LaPierre, At Large
Hong L. Net, At Large

3
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
781-592-5420
stjeanscu.com

4

5
D
By Bill Brotherton
ITEM STAFF
avid J. Solimine Sr. was born at
home, 24 Spruce St., on Nanny
Goat Hill above Frey Playground.
“I was born in that house
on August 30, 1935, grew up in that
house, raised my family in that house.
We moved only once, 300 feet down the
street,” he said.
Solimine, who has owned and operated
funeral homes in Lynn since 1965,
has lived in the city for all of his 83
years. And he, wife Mary Jane (Melanson),
and their four children and 14
grandchildren have done much to better
the community they love.
Today, Essex Media Group and the
Item recognize David as Lynn’s Person
of the Year.
He’s an active lifelong parishioner at
Sacred Heart Church, where the Solimine
family sponsors an annual Mass
and dinner for shut-ins.
He has been an officer of the Valladolid
Council Knights of Columbus
in Lynn for more than 45 years. He’s
a member of the Order of Malta, the
Catholic organization that takes care
of the sick and the poor. He’s a supporter
of Santa’s Helping Hands, which
provides winter clothing to local families
and makes sure every parent is
able to provide something special for
their children at Christmas.
The Variety Children’s Charities
group is also dear to his heart. The organization,
which works in conjunction
with the Jimmy Fund, has been able to
donate vans to both the Boys & Girls
Club of Lynn and the JOI Child Care
ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
LYNN
David J. Solimine Sr.
Center.
The Solimines and the Amirault
family, owners of Lynn’s Dart World,
sponsor an annual Christmas party
for more than 300 Lynn special needs
students. Solimine Funeral Home
supports numerous veterans organizations
and the family contributes to
and assists such organizations as the
Massachusetts General Hospital Pediatric
Cancer Unit, St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital, Shriners Burns Hospital, All
Care VNA, Boys and Girls Club of
Lynn, Bridgewell, Catholic Charities,
Cerebral Palsy of Eastern Massachusetts,
Elder Service Plan of the North
Shore, Family and Children’s Services,
Girls Inc., HAWC, Greater Lynn Senior
Services, Greater Lynn YMCA, Project
Cope, Centerboard, and other local social
service agencies.
About 20 years ago, Dr. Nick Kostan
convinced Solimine and four other
Classical graduates (Tom Costin,
Salvy Migliaccio, Sen. Walter Boverini
and William McGuinness) to start an
Alumni Association. The organization
has awarded more than $500,000 in
scholarships to Classical grads.
And he, friends, family and hundreds
of volunteers have manned Santa’s
Island on Broadway near Wyoma
Square for years, collecting more than
$200,000 for the Salvation Army’s
Item Santa.
“I’ve always been a Lynn cheerleader,”
said Solimine, a 1953 Classical
High grad. “You absolutely cannot
knock the city in my presence.”
Solimine’s career also started on
Spruce Street, in the greenhouse and
wholesale florist business of his parents,
Damiano and Agnes. During this
period, he attended Northeastern University
at night, earning a business
degree.
Ten years out of high school, Solimine
decided to enroll at the New England
Institute of Anatomy — funeral school
— where he served as class president.
He earned his license in 1964 and, in
1965, opened his first funeral home,
taking over the Broadway and Boston
Street properties of Walter Ahern, who
had died.
“We were broke for eight years. It
took us that long to get out of the red,”
Solimine said.
His friend, Nick Meninno, renovated
the funeral home at 444 Broadway and
the Boston Street site was shuttered.
He donated that land to Sacred Heart
Parish, for use as a parking lot.
David Jr. joined Dad in the family
business in 1978. Four years later the
current funeral home at 426 Broadway
was built.
The Solimines purchased TW Rhodes
Funeral Home on Ocean Street in
1984. Landergan Funeral Home was
acquired in 1996. In 2009, Joel C. Solimine
joined his father and grandfather
in the business. Joel is one of 14 grandchildren,
all of whom, says Grandpa,
have participated in the family’s tradition
of community service. “I can
tell you all their names and who they
belong to,” said Solimine, with a laugh.
“God’s been good. You give back,” Solimine
said. “When our days are ended,
if one can feel that one’s efforts helped
someone less fortunate have less of a
tough road to hoe, it’s worth it.”

6
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CONGRATULATIONS
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
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7
ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
LYNNFIELD
Lauren Maney George
A
ITEM STAFF REPORT
fter a failed attempt to participate
in the management of the
Lynnfield Youth Football and
Cheer program (LYFC), one resident
took action.
Lauren Maney George spearheaded
a campaign to form a new youth football
league dubbed the Lynnfield Pioneer
Youth Football and Cheer League
(LPYFC).
George and three other parents were
elected to the LYFC board last summer.
A few days later, the original LYFC
board nullified the elections, citing failure
to give proper notice. A new annual
meeting was convened, but most parents
were barred from attending.
“The previous organization historically
failed to hold annual meetings
for its members and then in August of
2017, it had two botched attempts to
hold a meeting and elect new directors,”
said George.
After the initial meeting, George said
she contacted the former treasurer
asking for records, but her calls went
unanswered.
“All we wanted to do was participate,
but our efforts were stonewalled at every
turn,” she said. “After the second
meeting, when we were not allowed in,
we knew that was never going to happen,
so the only answer was to form
our own organization.”
Maney and several other parents hit
the ground running. They held weekly
meetings to develop a long-term
strategy. The new organization was incorporated
in 2017, and accepted into
the Cape Ann Youth Football League.
This year, LPYFC opened for business,
and the registrations came pouring in
to the point where the number of children
in both programs was at or near
the previous year’s numbers.
From drafting budgets and corporate
by-laws to incorporating as a non-profit
organization to obtaining federal
tax-exempt status, George did it all.
Employed as a forensic accountant,
George will tell you that it was all in
a day’s work.
“Isn’t that what you are supposed to
do when you know something is wrong
and you know you can help make it
right?” George said. “My siblings and
I grew up in a family in which giving
back to the community was expected.
In this case … once I figured out that
no matter what we did, we couldn’t win
and have a say, so we decided to act.”
George, a 1992 Lynnfield High graduate,
has called Lynnfield home for
nearly her entire life, where the Maney
name is well-known. Lauren’s father is
Joe Maney Sr., a 2017 Person of the
Year nominee. Maney coached youth
sports, served as selectman, town
manager, L.I.F.E. president and town
moderator.
In honor of his service, the Board of
Selectmen named its Town Hall meeting
room after him.
Let’s just say the apple doesn’t fall
far from the tree.
George is one of the most accomplished
athletes to ever play at Lynnfield
High. A three-sport Cape Ann
League Player of the Year, soccer, basketball,
softball, George graduated as
basketball’s all-time leading scorer
with 1,371 career points. She was also
the first female 1992 Moynihan Student-Athlete
of the Year.
George excelled in basketball at
Holy Cross, where her name shows up
throughout the record books. A threetime
All-Patriot League honoree, she
was the first female basketball player
to be named 1966 Crusader of the
Year. A 2002 Holy Cross Hall of Fame
inductee, George graduated third alltime
in scoring with 1,721 points.
For George, her activism was motivated
by one thing: children.
“It was never about anything except
the kids,” she said. “We as parents
wanted to be included, we wanted
transparency, we wanted to make it
right and safe for the kids. We wanted
to make football a community experience
where people could come together
and help out for the right reasons.”
George said she realized the only
way to do that was to start a new program.
“I’m just proud of the way we came
together and created something that
places a priority on community,” she
added.
A practicing attorney and CPA,
George works for the Boston Strike
Force unit of the Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force. She
works high profile criminal cases to
maximize the federal government’s return
on seized assets.
George and her husband, Steve, are
the parents of four: daughter Kaila,
12, and sons Drew, 10, Justin, 8, and
Colin, 5.
She volunteers at Saint Maria Goretti
Church in the Children’s Liturgy of
the Word program, serves as a youth
basketball coach for her daughter’s
in-town and travel team basketball
teams, is treasurer of the LYPFC organization
and is a member of the Lynnfield
Strategic Planning Committee.

8
Marblehead Bank Congratulates
Patti Baker and all of the
2018 Essex Media Group
Persons of the Year!
marblebank.com
Beverly~Marblehead~Salem
Member FDIC~Member DIF~Equal Housing Lender
Congratulations, Patti!
Such a well-deserved honor.
So very proud of you.
Julie

9
Y
By Steve Krause
ITEM STAFF
ou could say Patti DiCarlo Baker was
made for Marblehead.
She’s a board member on the
Chamber of Commerce. She belongs to
the Boston Yacht Club. Not only is she
the executive director of the Marblehead
Arts Association, located in one
of the town’s most historic buildings,
she lives in Old Town in a converted
carriage house.
“I feel very connected with this town,”
says Baker. “I love it here. I loved it the
first time I got here. I love the people,
and I love the fact that everyone who
lives here loves the town too.
“And I love the fact that businesses
help one another,” she said.
For her strong connection to the
town, her involvement, and her contributions
to Marblehead’s culture, Patti
DiCarlo Baker is Person of the Year for
Marblehead.
It may surprise you, then, that Baker
is only a first-generation Header. She
grew up in North Syracuse, N.Y., and
only came to the Boston area because
of her brother — and because there
weren’t a lot of marketing jobs available
in upstate New York.
“My brother showed it (Boston) to
me, and I really liked everything about
it,” she said. “It’s a great city for walking.”
ITEM PHOTO | OWEN O’ROURKE
MARBLEHEAD
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Once she got to Boston and found a
job with DRK Marketing, she grew to
love the area even more.
She eventually found her way first
to Swampscott in 1993 and finally to
Marblehead after marrying her husband,
Bruce, in 1996.
She knew she liked drawing from an
early age, and her family encouraged
her interest in it. Still, she initially
planned to become a veterinarian (she
is the proud owner of a boxer, Hector)
before seeing the light and graduating
from Syracuse with a degree in illustration
and design.
She became the executive director of
the MAA in 2016, after having been a
member for 20 years.
“I saw they were looking for one, and
I applied,” she said.
Aside from being on the committee
that runs the Jackson Cup yacht race
out of the BYC, and serving on other
various boards and committees in the
town, Baker is perhaps best known for
weaving Nantucket Baskets, a skill
she acquired after visiting the island
many times with her husband to participate
in the Figawi Race that starts
there and finishes in Hyannis (which
got its name after a group of sailors
racing in 1972 got lost in the fog).
“I’d always see this elderly man, who
was a shopkeeper, making these baskets,
and I was very intrigued by it,”
said Baker. “I liked how he was making
them.”
So she learned how to do them, and
how to imprint them with her own
style and tastes. She especially loves
designing them as mailboxes, similar
to the logo she designed for the town’s
holiday pops concert.
“And,” she said, “they are not merely
decorative. They’re meant to be used.”
Her baskets won her two blue ribbons
at this year’s Topsfield Fair, and
were displayed at the Abbot Public Library
in November.
Baker also can be creative when it
comes to fundraising — a necessity in
a non-profit such as the MAA, which
is housed in a 290-year-old building
with an extensive wine cellar (complete
with a secret room that was used
as part of the Underground Railroad),
whose upkeep costs $11,000 a month.
In October, the MAA hosts a masquerade
ball and in May — on Kentucky
Derby Day — it runs its own
Derby Dress-Up Day (in conjunction
with the BYC) with raffles and prizes
substituting for actual wagering on
horses).
“I love the building,” she said. “And
I love the passion everyone brings to
what they do.
“This is my second home,” she said.
“Even the dog thinks it’s his second
home.”

10
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
Nahant Country Club
Tennis and
Platform Tennis
Is proud to honor
Calantha Sears
NCC Charter Member since 1962
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
Nahant Village Church
congratulates
Calantha Sears,
our long time member
and historian.

11
Nahant Preservation Trust (NPT)
The Nahant Preservation Trust congratulates all the award winners, and especially
Calantha Sears on her being honored as The 2018 Nahant Person Of The Year.
Calantha, from all of us here at the NPT and on behalf of your many admirers in Nahant, we
thank you for all you have done — and continue to do — to preserve Nahant’s unique legacy.
Well done Calantha, and keep on keeping on!
Nahant Life Saving Station
Nahant Community Center
Open Space/East Point
The Nahant Preservation Trust is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit charitable corporation
whose mission is to preserve our open spaces, historically significant properties, and our
conservation lands for public and community benefit. www.nahantpreservationtrust.org

12
The Nahant Historical Society
Congratulates Calantha Sears
and all of the
2018 Essex Media Group
Persons of the Year
David J. Solimine, Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Martha Holden
Lauren Maney George
Jo Ann Simons
Patti Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
Visit us at 41 Valley Road, Nahant, MA 01908
or online at nahanthistory.org
781-581-2727

13
T
By Bridget Turcotte
ITEM STAFF
ITEM PHOTO | OWEN O’ROURKE
here’s a bug people catch when
they fall in love with Nahant, according
to Calantha Sears.
“Nahantitis — if you get it, you have
it forever,” she said.
The bug was easy for Sears to catch.
She has spent all of her 97 years living
in and loving the commonwealth’s tiniest
town.
“What I like to see is the new people
come across the beach and love Nahant
as much as I do and stay and enhance
it,” said Sears in an interview at
her home on Tuesday.
Sears was born on Oct. 17, 1921 in
the Hyland Road home her parents
built in 1916. She is a third generation
Nahanter. Her grandfather, Albert
Wilson, was a foreman who built many
of the summer retreats and smaller
houses in town.
She moved to her grandparents
home at 42 Ocean Street with her
parents in her early 20s. Her parents
moved back to the Hyland Road home
and, after the war, she and her husband,
Winthrop Sears, purchased the
Ocean Street house.
She and her husband, a U.S. Navy
veteran whom she met at Fisherman’s
Beach, raised their four daughters,
Melinda Hatfield Kershaw, Lucy Jane
Pomeroy, Elizabeth Comeau, and Cynthia
Oxton, in the family home.
Her four children gave her seven
grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
Number 12 on its way. Of all her
accomplishments, her family, she said,
has been her greatest.
The Daily Item named Sears its Nahant
Woman of the Year in 1967. She
was named a local history hero by Bay
State Historical League in 1954. She
has been on three town report covers.
The gazebo at Bailey’s Hill was named
Sears Pavillion in her honor when
it was re-dedicated by The Nahant
Women’s Club, of which Sears was the
president, at the town’s 150th year celebration.
She also served as the Grand
Marshal of the town’s parade and rode
in a horse-drawn carriage.
Sears was also on the committee for
the town’s 100th year celebrations.
When her children were growing up,
she found time to volunteer with Girl
Scouts and Rainbow Girls, a masonic
group. She spent time with the Nahant
Garden Club and the Women’s Rotary
Club of Lynn.
Sears worked as a children’s librarian
at the Nahant Public Library for 17
years. At the time, there was no library
at the elementary school, so she would
pick 25 books for each classroom and
deliver them to the children herself.
This is where her love for spending
time with children grew, she said.
To this day, she volunteers to read to
students on Dr. Seuss day at the Johnson
Elementary School and to give presentations
and lessons on the town’s
history.
Sears was the president of the Nahant
Historical Society when it was
started in 1975 at the Whitney Homestead.
The library had become a depository
for historical pieces, and her role
in as a librarian gave her great access
to the items.
She later became curator, which she
greatly enjoyed.
“I love finding things and learning
NAHANT
Calantha Sears
how they come together,” she said. “You
can find a new historic fact. People are
so generous with what they give.”
Most recently, in 2016, a Buddha
from the Lowlands Estate was donated
to the society and restored. The floors
were reinforced to accommodate the
statue’s 1,100-pound weight.
In the late 19th or early 20th century,
the Buddha, whose original artist is
unknown, served as a symbolic guardian
and protector of the children at the
estate of George Abbot James located
in what’s now East Point.
It became a symbol on a metal that
is awarded to one elementary school
student a year for success in mental
arithmetic, said Sears.
“Some of the summer people had Nahantitis
as bad as anyone,” she said.
On most days, you can run into
Sears at the Historical Society on Valley
Road. She will proudly provide a
tour of museum’s collection, complete
with personal commentary about how
the important players are related and
what they accomplished. If you’re
lucky, you might hear about her memories
of Nahant as a military town
and its transition from a summer vacation
spot to a home to 3,500 people.
She describes learning about Nahant’s
history as a child learning about fairy
tales in her own town. That’s how she
intends to pass them on.
After all she’s done in her 97 years,
Sears said she’s more impressed by the
work being done by new generations
of people who come into town and contract
Nahantitis. She humbly suggested
the honor instead be bestowed upon
them.

14
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE
PERSONS OF THE YEAR WINNERS!
A special congratulations to Martha Holden,
longtime member of the Torigian Family YMCA.
Together, we are strengthening our communities
and giving everyone the opportunity to thrive
Torigian Family YMCA | 259 Lynnfield St. Peabody, MA | 978.977.9622
Mayor Edward A.
Bettencourt Jr.
Peabody
WOULD LIKE TO
CONGRATULATE ALL THE
2018 PERSONS OF THE YEAR!
David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Martha Holden
Lauren Maney George
Jo Ann Simons
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
Calantha Sears
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
All of us at Holden Oil would like to
congratulate the Essex Media Group
Persons of the Year.
Relatively speaking, we're partial to one.
Congratulations Martha!
HEATING OIL DIESEL PROPANE
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR

15
I
By Thomas Grillo
ITEM STAFF
f you enjoy any one of more than
100 workshops at the Peabody Institute
Library each month, be sure
to thank Martha Holden.
From the Banned Book Club for
teens, to Open Mic Night, to Tai Chi
for Healthy Aging, there’s no shortage
of things to do at the 36,505-squarefoot
facility on Main Street and its two
branches.
But Holden, 57, who has been named
Peabody’s Person of the Year, refuses to
take credit for making the library more
than a place that lends books.
“I was fortunate to have a creative
staff,” she said. “The library’s
mission is to educate, but
we took that in a very broad sense,
not just formal sit-down drills and lectures,
but more experiential.”
Unlike libraries of the past where
quiet was expected, Holden who served
as director for 17 years until she left
last year, said they let the shhhhh concept
fade.
“We have quiet spaces,” she said.
“But I don’t think of a library as a
quiet, reflective place. It’s a place of
ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
engagement where people meet, socialize,
have coffee and participate in
programs. It’s busy and active. To get
a quiet place, you really have to tuck
yourself into a corner.”
City Councilor-at-Large Thomas
Gould, who nominated her for the
award, said perhaps more important
than her contribution of turning the library
into a model for what a 21st century
community center should be, she
is a behind-the-scenes person helping
to raise money for worthwhile causes.
“Martha has been a part of every
nonprofit organization that succeeds
in Peabody,” he said. “Her philanthropy
and charitable giving is unmatched,
and she’s not even from Peabody. But
the Holden family, and Martha in particular,
do good things for the city.”
For example, Gould said, she helped
raise more than $600,000 to build the
Black Box Theater. The hall has anchored
the city’s downtown cultural
district. The addition of performing
arts to the center, he said, complements
the existing visual arts activities.
“She is driven by her spirit of giving,”
he said.
During her tenure as library director,
the Simmons College graduate
PEABODY
Martha Holden
who holds a master’s degree in library
and information science, is credited
with managing a $10 million building
and restoration project, leading a staff
of 50, caring for and restoring the library’s
art collection, and developing a
network of partnerships with nonprofits
to help deliver services such as a
summer lunch program for needy kids.
Melissa Robinson, the library’s director
who worked with Holden for more
than a decade, said while transforming
the library was a team effort, it was
Holden’s leadership and vision that
made it possible.
“She did have a great staff, but a
great director makes everything possible,”
she said. “She was instrumental
in fundraising and had everything to
do with increasing programs. The city
pays for the building and the books,
but programs are self-funded.”
Maybe most importantly, she said,
there was never a time when staff
pitched ideas and Holden dismissed
them as crazy.
“We discussed launching the Creativity
Lab with free access to tools
for 3D printing, sound recording, laser
cutting, and graphic design,” she said.
“Her response? ‘Great, let’s do it.’”

16
Congratulations
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE
2018 PERSONS OF THE YEAR!
David J. Solimine Sr
Elizabeth Marchese
Martha Holden
Lauren Maney George
Jo Ann Simons
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
Calantha Sears
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
2018 Persons of the Year
Family &
Children’s
Service of Greater
Lynn supports
underserved and
socially vulnerable
populations to build
stable, productive,
and healthy lives.
Seth Moulton
Massachusetts State Representative
6th district
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
...Like a tree
firmly planted...
Psalm 1:3
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR

17
R
By Bella diGrazia
ITEM STAFF
achid Moukhabir says his
strength is his Moroccan origin,
which is why he has spent the
last two years paving the way for Moroccan
Americans in Revere.
Moukhabir, Revere’s Person of the
Year, is the president of Moroccan
American Connections in Revere (MA-
CIR), a grassroots organization established
to inspire and empower Moroccan
Americans in the city to integrate
into the community.
His efforts have helped Moroccan
Americans feel more a part of the Revere
community in a number of ways,
such as implementing an annual Moroccan
Culture Day festival and opening
the eyes of the city’s police department,
which in turn brought them to
hire their first officer of Moroccan descent.
“We feel very welcome here in Revere
now,” said Moukhabir. “I can tell you
that I’ve been treated better here than
I was in my own country.”
Moukhabir immigrated to the United
States in 2003 from Casablanca,
and has rooted himself in Revere, the
ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
only place he’s ever called home since
coming to the states.
Soon after his North Shore arrival,
he began his educational career at
Bunker Hill Community College, taking
classes to learn English.
He moved on to Wentworth Institute
of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor
of Science in electronics and then
a Master in Business Administration
in management of engineering from
Northcentral University in San Diego,
Calif. Now, on top of running MACIR,
he works as a technical service correspondent
for Transmedics, a medical
device company that makes organ care
systems which preserve transplant
organs outside of the human body, he
said.
The idea for MACIR came to fruition
in 2016, after Moukhabir started to see
a shift in how his new country viewed
certain aspects of his homeland, he
said.
“At a certain time, I wasn’t happy
about the negative profiles about the
Muslim and the Arab community, not
only in Revere but in all of America,
and that started in 2013,” he said.
Moukhabir said when he sat down
with many of the Moroccan residents
REVERE
Rachid Moukhabir
in Revere, they all stated they felt segregated
from the rest of the community.
They wanted to find ways to integrate
into American society while not
forgetting their culture, he said.
Revere’s Moroccan residents told
Moukhabir they wanted more inclusive
programs for their children, ways
to teach other residents their rich culture,
and they wanted to implement
relationships with all the different department
heads in the city.
City officials were eager to jump on
board with MACIR’s mission of bringing
the community together, he said.
Two years after the organization’s
inception, Moukhabir is proud of the
progress that has been made, he said.
Next up on their list of goals is getting
their voices in City Hall and the fire
department.
He said he is looking forward to raising
his two-year-old son in a city that
allows him to be American while continuing
to embrace his Moroccan heritage.
“We did a lot of work, but there is still
a lot of work that needs to be done,” he
said. “We are welcome. Now it’s time to
be productive in the things that are going
on in Revere.”

18
Monse Torres-Hood • John Veneziano • Al Wilson
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears • David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese • Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George • Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker • Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
Nahant Woman’s Club
Nahant Woman’s Club ... Founded ~ March 8, 1895 ... Sophila Wilson, 1st President ... “To Promote the Literacy and Social Betterment
of the Ladies of the Village” ... Admittance Fee $1.00 ... Annual Dues $2.00 ... 1895 Population of Nahant ~ 883 ... 334 Dwelling
Houses ... 33 Cows ... 109 Horses ... 466 1/8 Acres of Taxable Land ... 48 Dogs Licensed ~ 41 Male ~ 7 Females ... Green and White
Chosen as Club Colors in 1968 ... Field Chick - Weed Became the Club Flower ~ Nahant is the only place in Essex County where it
is found ... MA Coalition for the Homeless ... Girls Inc of Lynn ... Nahant Public Library ... Hutton Santa Parade ... Women4Women
International ... American Diabetes Association ... North Shore Hospice ... Lynn Home for Women ... Nahant Holiday Fair ... The
Enchantment of Cambodia ... Angkor Dance Troupe ... Girls Inc Picnic ... Rosie the Riveter ... Judith Black ... Hats, Scarves and
Mittens for Local Hospitals ... North Shore Community College ... Veterans Day Chowder Luncheon ... Holiday Hors d’oeuvres ...
Sunday Matinee Movie ... Safe Water in Massachusetts (SWIM) ... Career in Advertising ... Decorating the White House and Newport
Mansions for Christmas ... Annual Meeting ... Spectacular Women ... Annual High School Scholarship ... Friendship Tree Project ... A
Bed for Every Child ... En Plein Air Art Class ... Interior Design Workshop ... Chelsea Veterans Home ... Restaurateur ... YMCA North
Shore Rape Crisis Center ... General Federation of Women’s Clubs ... www.GFWC.org ... The Sears Pavilion ... Beach Clean Ups ...
Poster Contest for Beach Clean Ups ... Acquisition of Jaws of Life for NFD ... “Link Between Health and the Environment” ... Partners
Home Care Speaker ... “Taking You from Chaos to Calm” ... “Lies in a Field of Color” ... Tanzania Trip Talk ... John Ruskin, Victorian
Art and Social Critic ~ Octavia Randolph ... Women’s Brain Health ... Women in Prison ... Canine Companions ... “Seasonal Cooking
at Home” with Chef Mat O’Neil ~ Blue Ox ... Walk for Respect ... Annette’s Climb ... Walk for Healing and Abuse Working for Change
HAWC ... Veterans Legal Advocacy ... www.nahantwomansclub.org ... NWC is still going strong, and welcomes members from
surrounding North Shore towns including Nahant, Swampscott, Marblehead, Lynn, Revere & Winthrop ... .Email NWC@NahantMA.
us ... Facebook Nahant Woman’s Club ... Nahant Woman’s Club ... Founded ~ March 8, 1895 ... Sophila Wilson, 1st President ...
“To Promote the Literacy and Social Betterment of the Ladies of the Village” ... Admittance Fee $1.00 ... Annual Dues $2.00 ... 1895
Population of Nahant ~ 883 ... 334 Dwelling Houses ... 33 Cows ... 109 Horses ... 466 1/8 Acres of Taxable Land ... 48 Dogs Licensed
~ 41 Male ~ 7 Females ... Green and White Chosen as Club Colors in 1968 ... Field Chick - Weed Became the Club Flower ~ Nahant
is the only place in Essex County where it is found ... MA Coalition for the Homeless ... Girls Inc of Lynn ...
www.nahantwomansclub.org … NWC is still going strong, and welcomes members from surrounding
North Shore towns including Nahant, Swampscott, Marblehead, Lynn, Revere & Winthrop …
Email NWC@NahantMA.us ... Facebook Nahant Woman’s Club ...

19
I
By Steve Krause
ITEM STAFF
n reality, Elizabeth Marchese has
two teenage boys, one in college and
the other a junior at Saugus High
who is vying to be the goalie on the
hockey team.
However, Marchese considers all the
kids in Saugus hers, in some manner.
If you’re running a benefit for a sports
program — any program — make sure
Liz Marchese is on board. Because if
she is, she’ll take it on and make sure
it succeeds.
For her endless enthusiasm for the
athletes of Saugus, and her relentless
advocacy for them, the Item names
Elizabeth Marchese the town’s Person
of the Year.
Oddly enough, Marchese, who is also
on the school committee, is not a lifer.
She grew up in Malden, played girls
basketball and softball for the Golden
Tornados, and was good enough at the
latter that Regis College offered her a
scholarship.
“I turned it down,” she said. “At that
point, I was really burned out, and I
wanted to keep sports as something I
ITEM PHOTO | OWEN O’ROURKE
SAUGUS
Elizabeth Marchese
enjoyed, not something that was work.”
She always enjoyed sports. She was
the first girl to play for Malden Little
League, making the majors at the age
of 10.
She first got to Saugus in 2003, the
same year the Saugus American Little
League team made the World Series.
Her oldest son was 5, wanted to play
T-ball, and the league was looking for
coaches.
“I signed him up and they put me
on a team with Frank Dascoli, and we
ended up coaching together.
“Now,” she said, “we’re like family. We
just moved all the way up the ladder
as coaches. None of the kids ever had a
problem with a female coach.”
In Marchese’s case, that mean assuming
the presidency of the league in
2010 and 2011. She also became president
of the Saugus Pop Warner football
program at the same time. Over
the years, she has developed one basic
philosophy about coaching.
“It’s easy to coach a kid who is talented,”
she says. “But to take kids who
don’t really like baseball, or basketball,
and watch them grow to love the game,
that’s the biggest satisfaction you get
from doing this.”
Marchese believes the boys and girls
she coaches have responded well to her
and her methods. Her Little League
team was always the Rays, and she began
a “Rays Boot Camp” so that kids
could work out in the offseason.
“They loved it,” she said.
Although she is a lawyer, she doesn’t
practice now, choosing instead to help
run her brothers’ physical therapy
business in Woburn. She has also
worked within the Saugus Public
Schools first as a paraprofessional and
then as a counselor in special education
and behavior. Part of her job was
to handle in-house suspensions.
“I knew most of the kids from coaching
them, and they respected me,” she
said. “A lot of them were failing, and
they all ended up passing and moving
on.”
Her volunteerism, she said, is almost
like coaching.
“I want to get the town involved in
sports,” she said. “It’s a good thing.
“I would go to the wall and back for
these kids.”

20
GOOD
INSPIRES
Eastern Bank is committed to recognizing the good
in our communities and celebrating the work of the
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
We proudly support the
2018 PERSONS OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to
PATTI BAKER, LAUREN MANEY GEORGE,
MARTHA HOLDEN, ELIZABETH MARCHESE,
RACHID MOUKHABIR, CALANTHA SEARS,
JO ANN SIMONS, AND OUR OWN DAVID J. SOLIMINE, SR.
Member FDIC

21
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR

22
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears • David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese • Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George • Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker • Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears • David J. Solimine Sr.
Elizabeth Marchese • Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George • Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker • Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR

23
W
By Gayla Cawley
ITEM STAFF
hen Jo Ann Simons welcomed
her son into the world nearly
40 years ago, he completely
changed her life. Her son, Jonathan Derr,
was born with Down syndrome, a diagnosis
that has served as the inspiration for
her life’s work.
“When he was born, the world that I
imagined for him didn’t exist,” Simons
said. “It wasn’t inclusive and welcoming
and I had to decide in the first days of
his life that in order to save his life and
save my life, I was going to have to somehow
make this my life’s work and that it
wouldn’t be enough to just improve Jonathan’s
life, that I needed to bring up the
entire group of people with intellectual
disabilities along with him.
Simons, a Swampscott resident, is the
CEO and president of Northeast Arc, an
organization that helps people with disabilities
become full participants in the
communities north of Boston while also
providing support for their families.
The Danvers-based nonprofit, which has
an operating budget of $280 million and
supports 10,000 people in the Northeast
region, primarily focuses on intellectual
and developmental disabilities and autism.
When Simons was named CEO and
president of Northeast Arc two years ago,
she said it was like coming full circle. She
worked for the nonprofit in the 1980s for
eight years establishing the family support
division and then went on to work in state
government and hold two CEO roles for
two other organizations, Communitas and
Cardinal Cushing Centers, which work
with children and adults with disabilities.
What drew her back, she said, was that
she felt it was a terrific organization and
she didn’t want anyone else to have the job.
Simons said Northeast Arc was started
ITEM PHOTO | OWEN O’ROURKE
more than 64 years ago by similar families
who came before her and recognized there
no opportunities for their children, except
to stay in institutions. That lack of opportunity
prompted them to start a grassroots
organization, which included a nursery
school and offered job training programs as
an alternative to institutions.
“Children with disabilities at that point
were hidden away,” Simons said. “They
didn’t have the right to go to school. They
didn’t have a right to early intervention
so these brave, courageous families
formed what became the Northeast Arc.”
Over the years, Simons said there have
been enormous strides for children and
adults with developmental and intellectual
disabilities. She said there have
been people with disabilities, including
Down syndrome, who go on to be actors
in television and movies.
They have gone on to be employed in
all industries and sectors in the workforce.
She’s seen them graduate from
high school and college, get their driver’s
licenses, get married and get divorced.
Northeast Arc offers several employment
opportunities for its clients, but
also works to get them placed in jobs in
their communities. The nonprofit has
worked with the city of Peabody to open
both a coffee shop, Breaking Grounds
Cafe, and the Black Box Theater, both of
which were identified as needs in the city,
according to Simons.
At the coffee shop, Northeast Arc is training
people with intellectual disabilities for
careers in food service. The Black Box Theater
has a theater program for teens on the
autism spectrum called Spotlight, and is
another place that the nonprofit views as
an employment setting.
Simons highlighted the nonprofit’s Arc
Tank, which is similar to the television’s
“Shark Tank” and aims to change lives
through innovation. In its second year,
SWAMPSCOTT
Jo Ann Simons
Simons said Arc Tank 2.0 gave away
$200,000 in a competition of proposals that
will positively disrupt the way services for
people with disabilities are delivered.
As for her son’s accomplishments, he received
a certificate from Cape Cod Community
College and lives by himself. He supports
himself by working two jobs and lives
a meaningful and productive life. Derr has
a career in Special Olympics and plays golf,
basketball and track and field.
But she said those are all wins that had
to be fought for. Simons said she had to
fight to get her son into daycare and later
into camps. She had to convince youth
athletic teams that he should be part of
their leagues like every other child.
When Derr was 11 years old and playing
Little League, she remembers her
husband, Chet Derr, being approached by
another father who remarked that their
son should be in a challenger league instead.
But Simons said Derr was where
he should have been at the time, alongside
the other athletes.
“People are no longer hidden away,” Simons
said. “I think the inclusion of people
with disabilities has led to the inclusion of
a lot of other groups of folks who have also
suffered from civil rights issues. I think
that people with disabilities have had
success that has opened the doors other
groups have been able to walk through.
“I’m proud that if a family like I was almost
40 years ago found out that they had
a child with Down syndrome, they could
call the Northeast Arc and know that they
found a community that would be there on
that day and every day forward.”
Simons lives in Swampscott with her
husband of 41 years. The couple also
has a daughter, Emily Derr, 35, and two
grandchildren. She is a Wheaton College
graduate and has a master’s degree in
social work from the University of Connecticut.

24
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
2017 PERSONS OF THE YEAR EVENT
The 2017 Essex Media Persons of the Year attend their party at the Lynn Museum.
PHOTOS | OWEN O’ROURKE
Tom and Sharon Gould.
City Councilor-at-Large Brian Field and Mayor Thomas
McGee.

ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
2017 PERSONS OF THE YEAR EVENT
25
Lisa McFadden, Brigitta Damon, and Debra Lee
Surface.
Caleb Dolan from KIPP, John Kane, and Lori
Kennedy.
Lauren Rosencranz, Jennifer Lupien, Diana Ellis,
and Wendy Dixon.
State Rep. Dan Cahill and Ron Cox.

26
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
So much more than the Item.
If you’re looking to reach consumers
residing on the North Shore,
tap into EMG’s publications:
• Daily Item
• The Peabody Weekly
• The Lynnfield Weekly
• La Voz
• Suburban Real Estate News
• 01907 The Magazine
• 01940 The Magazine
• 01945 The Magazine
• North Shore Golf
• Itemlive.com
For more info on EMG’s publications,
please contact Ernie Carpenter at
781-593-7700 ext. 1355 or
ecarpenter@essexmediagroup.com

27
CONGRATULATIONS
Calantha Sears
David J. Solimine Sr
Elizabeth Marchese
Jo Ann Simons
Lauren Maney George
Martha Holden
Patti DiCarlo Baker
Rachid Moukhabir
THE 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
PERSONS OF THE YEAR

28
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
2018 COMMUNITY ALL-STARS
In addition to the Persons of the Year, we also recognize the following
for making a positive contribution in their communities:
LYNN
Dalene Basden
Justice Born
Peter Cipriano
American Latino Committee
Donna Coppola
Alexander Cuevas
Cinda Danh
Dencity
English Language Learners Program
Pamela Freeman
Fred Hogan
Brian LaPierre
Lynn Community Television
Lynn Shelter Association
Frances Martinez
Bryan McAskill
Thomas M. McGee, Mayor
Robert A. Merryman
N.E. Youth Tackle Football, Inc
Michael Procopio
North Shore Catholic Charities
The Haven Project
Michael Quintana
Amy Robinson
Michael Satterwhite
Tony Seaforth
Alexander Sepulveda
Lynn Tech SkillsUSA
Stop the Violence Lynn
Rob Smith
Carolina Trujillo
Beyond Walls
Ebony White
LYNNFIELD
Arthur Borque
Lorraine Sacco
Jane Tremblay
MARBLEHEAD
Judith Black
Judy Gates
Gerald MacKillop Jr.
The Rev. Michael L. Steele
NAHANT
Michael Feinberg
Keep Nahant Wild
Emily Potts
Julie Tarmy
PEABODY
Faith & Concern
Brian Hayes Currie
Timothy Spanos
REVERE
Brian Arrigo, Mayor
Rob Debole
Revere Scanner
Wayne Rose
SAUGUS
Bob Catinazzo
Steven Castraberti
Wendy Reed
Tom Whittredge
SWAMPSCOTT
Kevin Breen
Gino Cresta
Michael Ragozin
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
2017 PERSONS OF THE YEAR
LYNN - Al Wilson
LYNNFIELD - Lynnfield for Love
MALDEN - Anne D’Urso-Rose
MARBLEHEAD - Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo
MEDFORD - John Veneziano
NAHANT - Tom Costin Jr.
PEABODY - Tom Gould
REVERE - Monse Torres-Hood
SAUGUS - Zack Cummings
SWAMPSCOTT - Tom Demakes

CONGRATULATIONS
TO THIS DYNAMIC DUO
MARTHA HOLDEN
Board Member
JO ANN SIMONS
Chief Executive Officer
P E A B O D Y
S WA M P S C O T T

Congratulations!
The Solimine Family and Staff
(781) 595-1492
www.solimine.com
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