My View of Life on the Dock
Action Inc fun fundraiser! More pix coming
Megan Merlin prepping the crowd.
Erin George, Johanna McEvoy, Joe McEvoy, Caryn Clifford, Sophia Douglas, and Allison Lex are the members of the Action trivia team. John and Patty McCarthy and Jen Beloff were cheering them on.
Good Harbor Beach was slammed hard again by yesterday’s April storm. The high tide was hitting the edge of the dune, with more water surging through the openings in the dunes, dumping sand several feet deep ten feet down the boardwalks.
Half the Piping Plover signs were were buried in the sand, as well as the ropes.
The DPW was on the scene digging out the snack bar boardwalk, beach entrance #2.
Fresh dog and owner tracks on the dune side of the fence. Why?? Our beaches are in trouble folks. Please keep off the dunes.
With so many dogs and people trampling the Piping Plovers nesting area over the weekend, followed by the fierce storm and historic high tides, I wonder if the PiPl will even return to the nesting area. A total of five had been here since April 3rd (what appear to be two nesting pairs and one bachelor) but I could only find one lone male this morning.
BEAUPORT FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC., AN INDEPENDENT, THIRD PARTY WEALTH MANAGEMENT & RISK MANAGEMENT FIRM NAMES THREE COLLEAGUES AS PARTNERS RECOGNIZING THEIR SINGULAR LEADERSHIP & ACCOMPLISHMENTS, ENSURING THE FIRM’S CURRENT & FUTURE CAPABILITIES AND STANDARDS FOR CLIENT SERVICES ARE MAINTAINED& ENHANCED.
Gloucester, MA, April 16, 2018 … Beauport Financial Services, LLC. (BFS), an independent, locally owned, client-centered advisory, wealth & risk management firm based in Gloucester, with a proprietary, partnering approach to client services, serving individuals, businesses & families throughout Eastern Massachusetts, is pleased to announce Serena M. Low, Jongdai (Jon) Park and Kevin M. Bilenchi, partners of the firm. In doing so, managing partners David S. McKechnie, CLU® & Derek J. Reed, CFP®, CLU® ensure the firm and its clients will continue to benefit from the caring, personal relationships, strategic thinking, passion for professional development, expertise & leadership the new partners’ provide, each a specialist & emblematic of BFS’s maxim, “where care meets craft (™)”.
Serena M. Low, Partner, Director of Client Care & Operations, is highly respected & valued by clients & colleagues for her many acts in support of the needs of others within Cape Ann, spanning her 20 years at BFS. Low manages a broad range of direct contact client services while overseeing overall operations ensuring clients receive timely, quality care by guiding staff in traversing specific, challenging financial and insurance matters, & shepherding their continuing education. A key role is Low’s managing the firm’s essential relationship with Valmark Securities, Inc., the firm’s broker dealer. Low resides in Gloucester with husband Patrick & sons Jacob & Jackson.
“Our bond of friendship is deeply cherished as is my admiration for Serena’s special ability to creatively balance & expand her professional development over 20 years at Beauport, never compromising her family affairs, relishing her role as mom and wife. Given all Serena’s attributes, we especially marvel at her leadership in guiding our firm, supporting our clients, and remarkably, how she continues to volunteer time helping to improve lives on Cape Ann. Simply an indispensable person & partner”, extolled, David S. McKechnie, CLU®, Managing Partner, BFS.
Jongdai (Jon) Park, Partner, Director of Financial Planning, Investments & Insurance
During Park’s 14 years at Beauport his financial, management and technical acumen along with his ability to identify meaningful business trends, have expanded his strategic leadership role. Central to Park’s contributions in directing investment services is his skill in seamlessly incorporating state-of-the-art investment technology with sophisticated financial planning for retirement, income, and charitable planning. Park is active in supporting the well-being of North Shore families serving on the North Shore YMCA Board of Directors. With his wife Brooke, their young family, son Elias and daughter Renee, Beverly, MA is home.
“Jon’s innate capacity for financial planning combined with his knowing application of cutting-edge technology products essential to the financial services and insurance industries, ensures Beauport clients and our team are expertly guided by his craft in designing and directing our financial services information platform, serving investment and insurance planning and goals. Jon enriches us all with his wit, his contributions to community and passion for his family, faith & beloved Red Sox”, explained Derek J. Reed, CFP®, CLU®, Managing Partner, BFS.
Kevin M. Bilenchi, Partner, Director of Investment Operations
In his 10 years with the Beauport Team, Bilenchi’s marketing and business administration experience, combined with his professional development in finance and insurance, have broadened his role in coordinating client investments. Teaming with the firm’s managing partners, Bilenchi implements marketing initiatives to realize BFS’s business plans and goals. Together with wife Erin, sons Nicholas and Hunter, Rockport, MA is home.
“Kevin’s drive to consistently focus on and expand his skills in investment services, enhancing investor safeguards, his crucial role of integrating these practices in support of our business model while promoting our services to the core publics we partner with, continues to strengthen the benefits of these initiatives and relationships. Now as partner, we look forward to Kevin’s more direct role with our clients”, stated David S. McKechnie, CLU®, Managing Partner, BFS.
Beauport Financials Founding Principle – “where care meets craft”
Each year at the firm’s holiday open house in December, the focus is the awarding of grants for the urgent work of acclaimed charities, and the occasion to celebrate the effort of BFS clients who nominated charitable candidates through the firm’s Richard D. Wilson Community Response Gift Fund. To make this possible Beauport annually sets aside 10% of its profits to fund the grants. Since its 2005 inception, The Wilson Fund has awarded hundreds of thousands of charitable dollars to dozens of North Shore charities in support of their valued services.
Founded in 1985 by managing partner David S. McKechnie, CLU®, subsequently joined by managing partner Derek J. Reed, CFP®, CLU®, Beauport Financial Services, LLC provides comprehensive personal and business services employing an advisory approach to solving the needs, and accomplishing the goals of individuals, businesses, and families. The depth of experience and expertise of the Beauport team is further enhanced by its affiliation with Valmark Advisors, providing independent third party financial advisory solutions. Based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Beauport Financial’s client base encompass Boston’s North Shore, Greater Boston and New York.
This is a whitish silvery, translucent little fish, its most characteristic marking being an ill-defined silvery band scarcely wider than the pupil of the eye, running from the gill opening back to the caudal fin. There are also many dark dots on body and fins. Seldom more than 3½ inches long.
Occurrence in the Gulf of Maine –We mention the anchovy because it has been taken in Casco Bay and at Provincetown. It has no real place in the Gulf of Maine fauna, seldom straying past Cape Cod, though it is abundant about Woods Hole and thence westward and southward. Stragglers may be expected most often in the Gulf in midsummer for it appears from May to October in southern New England waters. Sandy beaches and the mouths of rivers are its chief resorts.
From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) online courtesy of MBL/WHOI http://www.gma.org/fogm/Anchoa_mitchilli.htm
Al Bezanson
Since it so windy, cold and rainy thought I would post some summer post from last summer.
The creative response to military service is vast.
Several Gloucester and Cape Ann artists and writers were veterans officially engaged as combat documentarians and/or military artists, like Larry O’Toole (1908-1951), marine artist, official USCG artist and WWII Veteran.
Addison Center’s 1866 portrait of Ulysses S. Grant is to the left upon entry in City Hall. (On the right is a 1946 memorial commission by Marguerite Pearson to 5 WWII marines: Sherman B Ruth, Ralph Greely, Wilfred Ringer, John M. Sweet, and Robert M. Maguire.)
Others created art in response to their service experience like fine artist, Robert Stephenson (1935-2013).
Good Morning Gloucester readers have been following an indeliable original illustrated series, Stories from Vietnam, with illustrations and writing by David Hussey. The Gloucester Writers Center established a Veterans Writing Workshop in the fall of 2013 and published a compilation book, The Inner Voice and the Outer World, launched in December 2017. Cape Ann Veterans Services brought copies of the children’s picture book, Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood, and super volunteer readers, into local Kindergarten, first and second grades to read aloud in the classes. Copies of the book were gifted to the classroom libraries. (Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood ©2012 is by Valerie Pfundstein with illustrations by Aaron Anderson and foreword by John Vigiano Sr., a Marine Veteran and retired FDNY Captain, who honors his sons’ memories –both lost on 9/11– by volunteering his time and resources to Gold Star families and wounded heroes.) Gloucester native and Gold Star mother, Anita Coullard Dziedzic, helped support this outreach through Cape Ann Veterans Services, to honor her son Sgt. David J Coullard.
NEXT MONTH, Rocky Neck Cultural Center will present a visual arts group exhibition featuring artists who are currently active or served in the military curated by fine artist and veteran Ken Hruby:
IN WAR AND AFTER: The Art of Combat Veterans, Curated by Ken Hruby
May 17 – June 24, 2018
Courtesy photos credit info and press release below from Rocky Neck.
PRESS RELEASE – “The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) proudly presents “IN WAR AND AFTER: The Art of Combat Veterans”, a multi-media, juried exhibition of over sixty works by more than thirty combat artists from the military services and by veterans making art from their experiences in zones of combat…Congressman Seth Moulton of the 6th congressional district of Massachusetts, himself a Marine Corps veteran of four tours in Iraq, states of this exhibition, “The ‘incommunicable experience of war,’ as Oliver Wendel Holmes once described it, indeed often defies explanation by words alone. That veterans can share some of their experience through art can help us all better understand what they went through. And as a veteran myself, who returned to war with a camera after I left the Marines, I know how cathartic art can be for those of us who were there. The work of combat artists is important for civilians as well, to deepen their understanding of the lives of our service men and women, and their families. “In War and After” is an a very important exhibition for both communities.”
Few people are aware that when US military forces go to war, some of them carry, in addition to their weapons, their sketch pads, graphite pencils, watercolor brushes and cameras. These are combat artists, tasked to not only serve the combat mission but to record that mission in ways only an artist can.
Continue reading “IN WAR AND AFTER: The Art of Combat Veterans curated by Ken Hruby at Rocky Neck”
Gloucester, MA, and NH artist, Liz Fletcher shares save the date:
“On Saturday, April 28, 2018 the world will join in celebration of sculpture during the 4th annual International Sculpture Day. Artists, organizations and institutions worldwide will celebrate the day with open studios, unveiling public sculptures, sculpture scavenger hunts, pop up exhibitions, demonstrations, iron pours, plus much more.” Bedrock Gardens, “an oasis of art, horticulture, and inspiration”, International Sculpture Day Group Show, Lee, NH
Sunny morning inspection following April 17, 2018 spring storm. DPW crews were racing to assess before the next incoming high tide. Gloucester-Rockport, Mass. Long Beach seawall and stairs were hit hard yesterday including a collapse. “I’ve never seen an aerial bend in the middle before.”
“Uneven surface- Pass at your own risk”
more photos (click to see full size)
Continue reading “Sinkholes on seawall: storm damages Long Beach”
Cape Ann Youth Hockey Girls Travel Teams are hosting an open house for players wishing to learn more about the opportunity to play!
Willie Nelson lyrics that seem appropriate here:
There’s a bird in the sky
Flying high, flying high
To a place from a place
Changing skies, changing skies
Cases In Point-Would You Rather Listen To Jack Edwards and Johnny Most Or Whinebags Felger and Mazz?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlNEisO1bW8
One of the most passionate people about Gloucester I knew.
Janice Lufkin Shea Braces For Weekend Storm With Raingear Available At The Cormorant Shop, originally uploaded by captjoe06.
Cormorant Shop Carries Very Affordable Sou’Westers and Rain Gear
Janice Lufkin Shea GHS Class of 63, originally uploaded by captjoe06.
Did you know that you can pay for a monthly parking permit and never have to worry about feeding the meters?
I didn’t til my buddy Janice Lufkin Shea told me about them.
In fact I couldn’t find anything about them on the City Of Gloucester website.
City Of Gloucester Parking Permit, originally uploaded by captjoe06.
Part of The Block Party Clean Up Crew- Nick Parisi, Janice Lufkin Shea, Dave (Erika’s Husband) Linn Parisi, and Frank Ciolino- Not pictured- Ed Collard, Vickie Van Ness, Erika Hansen, Donna Ardizzoni and Rick Moore.
Letter to the editor from Pauline Bresnahan
Published Gloucester Daily Times 2017
Opening a business is scary. Being a woman and opening a business can be frightening. This is exactly how I felt 18 years ago when I opened my small retail shop in West Gloucester. Luckily my friend who owned a business, also a woman, became my mentor, my support system and my sounding board when I needed to seek advice or an opinion. She helped me figure it out, either by listening or sometimes by asking a question that helped lead me to figuring it out myself.
Janice Lufkin-Shea owned the Cormorant Shop, a small specialty clothing store first in Rockport and then moving it to Main St. in her much loved hometown of Gloucester. Janice ran her business for more than 20 years successfully.
Her passion for her community and her never ending source of inspiring ideas helped create many of the treasured events or programs that make our city unique.
Have you purchased a Cape Ann Gift Certificate?? As the Chair of the Cape Ann Chamber Retail division Janice’s Cape Ann Gift Certificate idea came to be.
Have you enjoyed and or attended the Lobster Trap Tree lightning on Main St.?? Janice had a dream of a lobster trap tree and with a lot of help from her friends she saw her vision become a reality. Thanks to Janice our entire community now has this Main St. treasure to enjoy with their entire family bringing life again to Main St.Have you ever enjoyed an evening on Main St. at one of the Block Partys??
Janice talked and talked to everyone about her desire to have a block party on Main St. Because her friends loved her passion they got together and heard about her vision and organized the first Downtown Block Partys.
She inspired us with her creative ideas, she encouraged us with her praise and she only asked that we do it with love for our community in our heart.
Janice, you are a wonderful business woman, an amazing mentor but most of all a dear, dear friend. I hope that I can be that type of friend and mentor for a young woman starting out like you were to me. Our shared love for our beautiful city is what we have in common and my hope is someday I too can create a lasting tribute that shows my love for my community as you have.
Thank you for all you have done, Gloucester is so much better because you cared.
Pauline Bresnahan
Owner Pauline’s Gifts Chairwoman City of Gloucester Tourism Commission
Good Morning Gloucester 