The designer of GMG’s official logo, Beth Swan (the only Gloucester resident of the three finalists) is one of three finalists for the designer of the 400th Anniversary Medal Design Competition!

Beth was one of the first contributors to GMG in the early days and won the competition we held to design our logo. She is incredibly talented! Go Beth!

Here’s the press release-

 Gloucester Celebration Corporation, the official organizers of Gloucester, Massachusetts’ 400^th-anniversary celebration, today announced the three finalists in Phase I of the Commemorative Medal Design Competition. The finalists are:

• Alexis Chipperini, of Brighton, MA for “Call of the Storm”
• Beth Swan of Gloucester, MA  for “Out at Sea”
• Shannon Wilkins of Portland, ME, for “Gloucester: America’s Oldest Seaport”

Selected from over three dozen designs received from artists worldwide, each of these three artists will receive the $3,000 award for Phase I, and will move into Phase II of the competition.

“The sheer number of entries alone was challenging,” commented Roger Armstrong, head of the judging panel. “And, I think I speak for the rest of the judges when I say how difficult it was to make our selection from so many thoughtfully-created designs. In the end analysis, we felt each of the three finalists honor something that is ‘uniquely Gloucester’ with exceptional clarity and creativity.”

In addition to Mr. Armstrong, the judging panel included Ms. Joy Dai Buell, Ms. Janice Carragher Charles, Mr. Leon Doucette, and Mr. Ken Hruby. The judging panel conducted a blind review of all entries; i.e., the judges were not advised of names or addresses of any artists. Their review was based solely on the designs themselves and the artists’ descriptions of their designs.

“I would like to thank our panel of judges for how professionally and insightfully they reviewed every design submitted,” said Bruce Tobey, tri-chairperson of the Gloucester 400 steering committee. “I applaud both their hard work and the designs they selected.”

Phase II of the Competition

In Phase II, the final medal will be chosen by a second panel of judges from 3-dimensional renderings of each of the three finalists’ designs. The design selected to represent the city’s 400^th anniversary as its commemorative medal will then be minted in bronze and silver versions for purchase by Gloucester residents, collectors, and numismatists worldwide. In addition, the final artist will receive an award of $10,000.

Availability

Medals will be available for pre-order in February 2020. The first minting of the 400^th anniversary medallions will be available in the Spring of 2020. Proceeds from their sale will provide the chief source of funding for Gloucester’s 2023 celebrations and will provide residents with a memento of the Quadricentennial, help the city capture the priceless stories of the city’s 400-year history, and create new memories for storytellers to come.

Leave your caption in the comments and we will vote on the best caption. Winner gets a Straitsmouth Island Calendar.

City of Gloucester Harbormaster Office to Temporarily Close 

–Will Relocate to the Veterans’ Services Center on Emerson Ave.

–Construction Set to Begin on Improved Harbormaster Office and Visiting Boating Center 

GLOUCESTER, MA (September 30, 2019) – Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken today announced that the Harbormaster’s Office is set to close the week of October 7, 2019 and will re-open at a new, temporary location beginning Tuesday, October 15.  

During that week Harbormaster operations will commence remotely. In the event of an emergency residents and businesses should call 978-423-4165; for non-emergencies please email tciarametaro@gloucester-ma.gov and Harbormaster staff will respond accordingly.  

The Harbormaster’s Office, which is currently located at 19 Harbor Loop, is scheduled to move to the Veterans’ Services Center at 12 Emerson Avenue. The move is necessary to relocate the Harbormaster office and operations in preparation for construction of an improved Harbormaster Office and Visiting Boater Center.

Harbormaster TJ Ciarametaro said, “During construction of the new Harbormaster facility and Visiting Boating Center our operations will commence uninterrupted. Our staff will continue to provide, albeit from a different location, residents and businesses with prompt and attentive service related to their boating and natural resource needs.”

Anyone who has business with the Harbormaster’s Office is advised to visit their office before close of business on Friday, October 4. Residents or businesses who need service on or after Oct. 15, during normal business hours, should visit them at 12 Emerson Avenue.  

Earlier this year, the City of Gloucester was awarded a $1 million grant from the Seaport Economic Council (SEC). The grant was used for final design and the upcoming construction of an improved Harbormaster Office and Visiting Boater Center. The enhanced facilities will allow the Harbormaster to meet the increasing community demand on the office including the response of safety calls, staffing special events that take place on the water, and handling of the growing number of visiting and local boaters.  

Construction for the improved Harbormaster Office and Visiting Boating Center is set to begin on Tuesday, October 15. The new facility is expected to open late May/early June 2020.  

The tennis program at Manchester Athletic Club raised over $1000 this month with the help of north shore tennis players who participated in a fundraiser to benefit the American Red Cross and those affected by Hurricane Dorian.

In their 3-hour, season-opening tennis event held Friday, September 13, 28 players from the North Shore Tennis League, came together for this fun event to support those whose homes and lives were devastated by the destructive hurricane which hit at the end of this summer. Participants included teammates from the MAC as well as surrounding area clubs.

“It was a great event. The women were able to enjoy a day of tennis that included high-intensity tennis drills followed by competitive matchplay—all while raising money for a cause we all care about. It was a win for everybody,” said Todd Carpenter, who hosted the event along with other tennis staff.

This kicks off a season of fundraising tennis events at the Manchester Athletic Club, which will run its next event on October 11 from 9:00-12:00pm to support breast cancer awareness—marked around the world in October. Fundraising tennis events will be open to both MAC members and guests. If you would like to participate in upcoming tennis fundraisers, contact, Todd Carpenter at tcarpenter@macathletics.com.