By Mike LaBella
mlabella@eagletribune.com
---- — The American Legion, Wilbur M. Comeau Post 4 will sponsor this year’s Four Chaplains Remembrance Ceremony. The ceremony will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. at Temple Emanu-EL, 514 Main St. The public is invited. A light meal will follow at Post 4, 1314 Main St. Early in the morning of Feb. 3, 1943, the United States Army Transport (USAT) Dorchester, carrying the four chaplains and approximately 900 military personnel, was struck by German torpedoes off the coast of Newfoundland. As the boat was sinking beneath the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, the heroic chaplains, Rabbi Alexander Goode, Methodist minister the Rev. George L. Fox, Reformed Church in America minister the Rev. Clark V. Poling and Roman Catholic priest the Rev. John P. Washington could be seen handing out the last of the life jackets, including their own. Those that survived saw the Four Chaplains, arms linked, braced against the railings of the ship, as it slipped to its watery grave. Said one of the survivors, “It was the finest thing I have ever seen this side of heaven.”
Women’s City Club to meet Feb. 5
The Women’s City Club of Haverhill will meet Feb. 5 at the Advent Christian Church, 160 Carlton St. Coffee hour begins at 1:30 p.m., followed by the business meeting at 2 p.m. The program will feature the documentary film, “Conflagration of 1882 in Haverhill” by local attorney Jay Cleary, who has produced a number of Haverhill Community TV programs over the last 10 years. Cleary will present the documentary film about the Great Conflagration of 1882, which destroyed the shoe district from Washington Square to Railroad Square. This program was selected as the best documentary film by the Alliance for Community Media in 2010.
Free talk on social media is Feb. 5
St. Joseph School of All Saints Parish will present a new Families First Lecture titled “Social Media Netiquette 101,” Feb. 5, from 7 to 8 p.m. The school is at 56 Oak Terrace. Guest speakers will discuss what your social identity says about you and why a positive image can have long-lasting effects for you and your children.
This hour-long session will also show you how experts review social media sites to screen applicants. Guest speakers are Tracy Grillo, senior manager, learning at Putnam Investments, Robyn Mather, founder and chief social brand builder for A Social State of Mind, and Christopher Merrill, director of admission at Central Catholic High School. This lecture is free and open to the public. Children, from grade five and up, are welcome and are encouraged to attend. More information is available by calling 978-521-4256 or visiting online at www.sjshav.com.
Opportunity Works set to begin auction
Bid on an African Safari, sporting events, restaurant gift certificates and more when Opportunity Works holds its 29th annual Lend-a-Hand Auction. The event is Feb. 23 from noon to 9 p.m. and will be televised live on local Comcast public access channels in the Greater Haverhill and Greater Newburyport communities, as well as streamed on the web through www.portmedia.org. A special preview and pre-bidding of all auction items will be open to the public Feb. 21, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the R.A. Nock Middle School in Newburyport. This year, for the first time, you can pre-bid on some of the auction items at www.biddingforgood.com/opportunityworks, prior to Preview Night and the televised auction. Online bidding is from Feb. 4 to Feb. 18. High bids from the online auction will be transferred to Preview Night and those high bids will be transferred to the live televised auction. You must watch the live auction to make sure you are the highest bidder on your favorite items. Starting Jan. 30, some of the items will be available to view on Bidding for Good before the bidding opens.
For more information or to sign up for a Frequent Bidder Number for the live auction, contact Deborah Andrews at 978-462-6144, ext. 234 or deborah.andrews@opportunityworks.org. Opportunity Works supports 210 individuals from 19 communities in the Merrimack Valley through employment support, community-based day services, day habilitation and clinical and therapeutic services.
Grant writing workshops offered
A series of three grant writing workshops will be held at NECC’s Riverwalk campus at 360 Merrimack St., Building 9, Entry K in Lawrence in March and April. The first class, Introduction to Grants Research, is March 27, from 2 to 4 p.m. This workshop will cover grants research and how to approach foundations. The second class, Introduction to Grant Writing for Beginners, is April 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. Participants will learn how to create a winning grant proposal. Different types of grant proposals will be examined including the typical components of a proposal and the steps in the process. The third and final class, Introduction to Grant Writing II for Beginners, is April 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. This is for individuals who have completed the second workshop or those who already have some experience in grant writing, but would like to take it to the next level. Seats in these courses fill up quickly so those interested are encouraged to register early. The cost for each workshop is $30. NECC’s Grant Resource Center and its workshops are supported in part by funding from The United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley and Associated Grant Makers, and in collaboration with Jericho Road Lawrence. More information is available from Dawna Perez at 978-738-7605 or dperez@necc.mass.edu.
Chamber WOW Conference is April 5
The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce will hold its 17th annual Winning Opportunities for Women (WOW) Conference April 5. This day-long event will be held at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury. Registration is being taken now. Cost for the conference is $69 by March 1. After March 1 the cost is $89 for chamber members and $99 for non-members. Includes breakfast, lunch, speakers, interactive sessions, gifts and more. Sponsorship packages are available, and vendor inquiries are welcome. To register or for more information contact Jen Cantwell at 978-373-5663 or jen@haverhillchamber.com. Visit online at www.haverhillchamber.com.
