Good Morning Gloucester

Come spend this Saturday morning (Dec 13) at Maritime Gloucester making nautical inspired presents. Ages 5 to 12 years. Cost is $5 per child members, $8 per child non-members. Parents/Guardians are required to attend and registration is required. Workshop will take place in the Sarah Fraser Robbins Classroom accessed from the walkway to the pier. Register here.

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Hi Joey,
My name is Danielle Soucy Mills and I am a former Gloucester resident of 23+ years (before I went away to college in Rhode Island and graduate school in California.) I now live in San Diego, but Gloucester is still a place so very near and dear to my heart, especially since my parents still live in Annisquam in the house where I grew up. (My mother is a HUGE Good Morning Gloucester follower, too!) I moved to California to study creative writing and am now publishing my first novel, Illusion of an Ending, which is set in Gloucester (and part in SD and CT too). I am looking for help to get the word out about the book, especially since I am doing a “Pay It Forward Book Launch” where a percentage of the proceeds on Saturday, December 13th, Day 2 of the launch will go toward creating a scholarship in honor of Michael Gryzbinski, a young man from Gloucester who passed away in 2010 at 13 years old. His mother kindly donated her picture for the cover of my book.

I have attached a copy of the book cover, and my website, which details the launch as well as what the book is about. Please let me know if you would be able to help me in getting the word out. Also, here is the link to the Book Launch event which I created on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1579026482330880/

www.daniellesoucymills.com

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Danielle

Danielle Soucy Mills

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Dec 9 at 2:35 PM

Hi Joey –
If possible to get this on GMG this week (or next) that would be great. The Shop has been vastly improved with the renovation – chock full of new items for the holidays, most of local interest including books, prints, cards, posters, maps, toys, home goods, and so on!   There’s also the Working Waterfront exhibit on view through Feb. 1 and the Diane KW ceramic shard installation (permanent) in the vestibule and entry level restroom (catalogs available in the gift shop for both) – as well as the Museum’s 2015 Fitz Henry Lane Calendar.
Thanks,
Meredith
Meredith Anderson
Media & Communications Coordinator
Cape Ann Museum

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If you have memories, objects or photographs from the Tarr and Wonson Paint Manufactory, Ocean Alliance and Maritime Gloucester would love to hear from you. We are creating an exhibit on the Manufactory’s history, and its pioneering role in the development of commercially viable anti-fouling paint which played a pivotal role in america’s industrial revolution and the rapid growth of its commercial fishing industry. Your stories could be just what we need to make it come alive. Objects or memorabilia that might be borrowed for the exhibit or examined for their information are also of great interest, and we will happily copy any photographs and return originals to you. Please contact Melanie Murray-Brown at Maritime Gloucester at 978-281-0470 or mmurray-brown@maritimegloucester.org

Thomas Balf
Executive Director
Maritime Gloucester

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Gloucester nonprofits receive $11,000

Thanksgiving week, Cummings Properties distributed $327,000 to local nonprofits, including $11,000 to four Gloucester organizations. Cape Ann Animal Aid, Day by Day Adult Care, SeniorCare, and The Open Door each received multiple donations in honor of the commercial real estate firm’s full-time staff members, who were each invited to select a charity to receive $1,000 through the Employee Directed Giving program.

The program, now in its third year, supports local communities through organizations based and providing services in or near employees’ hometowns. Eight Cummings organization staff members reside in Gloucester, including John Dionne, associate division manager at Cummings Center in Beverly, who has been with the Company for more than 17 years.

“My wife works for Day by Day Adult Care and it has a short budget. The donations allow them to have programs and equipment they couldn’t otherwise afford,” said Dionne, whose past donation went to purchase a Nintendo Wii system for physical therapy. “I can speak for myself and others; we greatly appreciate that the Company makes these donations in our names.”

When looking for a local charity to donate to during the last Employee Directed Giving cycle, carpenter and Gloucester resident Saverio Sciortino asked his colleague Mike Taormina to recommend one; he suggested The Open Door.

“This time I decided to visit in person to see where the donation was going,” said Sciortino. “I went to deliver the check and get a tour on the day before Thanksgiving, so it was busier than usual. When I saw what these people do, how much they help so many in need, I wanted to cry.”

Sciortino was so moved, he volunteered his handyman skills to executive director Julie LaFontaine.

“Employee Directed Giving is a unique opportunity for the company to make an impact in the communities where our employees live in a way that is particularly meaningful to them,” said president and CEO Dennis Clarke. “The fact that families are sitting down having discussions about where to give and why has resulted in numerous colleagues feeling especially good about the program.” 

Employee Directed Giving is open to all full-time staff within the Cummings organization annually, including the firm’s affiliated New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn.

A complete list of recipient organizations is available at www.cummingsproperties.com/employee_directed_giving.htm.

Cummings Properties carpenter Saverio Sciortino, once a Gloucester fisherman, delivers a $1,000 Employee Directed Giving check to The Open Door. Pictured left to right: Kevin Brisson, food pantry supervisor, executive director Julie LaFontaine, and Sciortino.

Cummings Properties carpenter Mike Taormina and electrician apprentice Mike Kiene made a special trip to Gloucester’s The Open Door to deliver their Employee Directed Giving checks to executive director Julie LaFontaine.

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