Staff reports
May 11, 2008 05:50 am They've fought to take back their neighborhoods from criminals. They've fought to keep kids safe from abuse and helped women who have been abused get the help they need. And they are all local Unsung Heroines of 2008, so named by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Eight local women are among the 268 chosen across the state for "selflessly making a difference in the lives of others" and will be honored at the Statehouse in Boston on Wednesday. "Our Unsung Heroines are women who don't make the news, but make the difference in their communities, business or volunteer endeavors," said Linda Brantly, executive director of the commission. "They are the women who quietly, without fanfare or recognition and usually behind the scenes, use their time, talent, spirit and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others." Here is a look at the area's "Unsung Heroines": Debbie Savoia: Committed to keeping kids safe Debbie Savoia of North Andover has a job as a hairdresser for funeral homes, but she spends a majority of her time volunteering to provide advocacy and resources to raise awareness about sexual assault and missing children as vice president of the organization Community Voices and its Web site communityvoices.net. Because of this work, Laurie Myers, president of the organization, nominated Savoia to be one of the state's unsung heroines. "I realized what an amazing person she was and how committed she is to the cause, not only to keep her own children safe but to keep other children safe," Myers said. Savoia got involved in the work after a convicted sex offender moved into her neighborhood in North Andover 13 years ago where she lives with her husband and two children, now teenagers. She helped push for the passage of a state law to require neighbors of a sex offender to be notified. Savoia, 45, said as her work grew, more families of missing and murdered children have contacted her. "The victims that contact us, they don't have the strength to fight. They want to speak out but feel alone," she said. "Victims have rights and if they don't speak out, those rights are taken away. I can't sit back and let that happen."
Linda Soucy: Taking back a Methuen neighborhood Linda Soucy's efforts to clean up her crime-filled neighborhood started more than 15 years ago when she would videotape prostitutes and their johns to scare them away. It worked, and with her ongoing commitment to taking back Methuen's Arlington Neighborhood, the area is free of the prostitutes and drug houses and is home to a brand-new community center that serves more than 100 children a day. "When you talk about someone who truly made a difference in their neighborhood and community, Linda rises to the top," said state Sen. Steven Baddour, who nominated Soucy. "She single-handedly transformed that neighborhood. People helped her, but she was the driving force." Soucy runs Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Inc. and is director of the after-school homework program that is held at the Tenney Street community center every day. She raises money for poor families in the neighborhood, leads job training programs for teens and is the strongest advocate for the residents of the area. "I'm not a person that really likes to be in the spotlight, and I have to a lot of time to get the organization where it needs to go," Soucy said. "I don't do it for (awards). It's more for what we can do for the kids — that's what I'm all about. I do what I do because I love it."
Dorothy DeLorenzo: Easing the paper weight on teachers On paper, Dorothy DeLorenzo's job is simply clerical — assistant to Andover's assistant school superintendent But Andover teachers and administrators say DeLorenzo, known as "Dee," is a support system, that person behind the scenes who makes sure everyone has what they need when they need it. "I'm not a person that looks for rewards and glory. I don't even know what I do," DeLorenzo said. "To me, this is my job. I guess I help more than I realize. ... I am flattered and I appreciate it." The Andover native and mother of two — Christopher and Anthony — has worked as an administrative assistant since 1998. Before that, she was secretary at Shawsheen Elementary School. She also spends her Monday and Tuesday nights transcribing the minutes at selectmen and School Committee meetings. To DeLorenzo, the job is the next best thing to being in a classroom — something she said she could never dream of doing. She sees how hard teachers work, and doesn't want to see them stressed out over paperwork. Superintendent Claudia Bach made the nomination. This award has special meaning to DeLorenzo, since her mother, Dorothy Piercy, passed away a day after she received the nomination in the mail. She said Piercy taught her the importance of helping others. "I said, 'Mom, they want to give me an award for doing what they pay me for,'" DeLorenzo said with a laugh. "And my mom said, "All my kids are hard workers, Dee.' ... I'm happy she got to see it. She was pleased."
Denise Johnson: A 'bright' spot in the city Denise Johnson's efforts to make Haverhill a more beautiful place continue through the work of volunteers. Johnson, 50, of Haverhill, the former director of Haverhill's Brightside, moved on in her career by taking a job as a constituent services representative for Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, but her heart remains with Brightside. This civic improvement organization conducted many beatification projects such as Haverhill's Adopt-a-Park program — which is now supervised by Human Services Director Vincent Ouellette. "I see many volunteers continuing to care for the parks they adopted," Johnson said. The biggest part of her job with Brightside was to recruit volunteers to do the work needed to beautify Haverhill. "They made the program successful," she said. "Without Brightside many of these people may never have been involved in caring for the city. You hear about this every day now, but when we started it wasn't that common." Johnson was nominated by Elaine Barker, owner of Paper Potpourri in Haverhill, and state Sen. Steven Baddour. Barker said Johnson made her community a better place to live and work. "She did a lot of things on the surface and a lot of things she did behind the scenes," Barker said. "Denise never asked for recognition, and she never asked for anything in return. She does things in a quiet, unassuming and positive way."
Vilma Lora: Helping end the cycle of violence For the past 15 years, Vilma Lora of Lawrence has been an advocate for women who are in domestic violence relationships or victims of sexual abuse. "Working with women have been a passion for me," said Lora, director of women's services at the YWCA. "To be recognized from someone outside the Y, it's like, wow." she said. While helping women, Lora, 38, believes men play an intricate role in ending domestic violence. She is a group facilitator for the Batterers Intervention Program at the Family Safety Project at Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and works with men on probation at the Essex County Community Corrections in Lawrence. Born in New York, she grew up in the Dominican Republic. Lora returned to the United States at 17, settling in Manchester, N.H., and moved to Lawrence in 2003. The oldest of six children, she faced many challenges, including her mother's struggle with cancer and her ultimate death at age 47. After her mother's passing, she helped her father care for her two youngest sisters, one of whom has Down syndrome. Lora and her fiance, Luis Martinez, live in Lawrence. She has two children, Pavielle, 16, and Abner, 9, and a stepson, Luis Martinez Jr.,13.
Catherine Thompson: Making — and preserving — history Catherine Thompson, 72, is Georgetown's official photographer. Thompson, whose friends call her "Buffy," has parlayed her passion for photography and videography into capturing the best moments of the town she's lived in for 40 years — all free of charge. In 2000, the Board of Selectmen named her and another Georgetown woman, Starr Anderson, to a special council to chronicle what was happening in the town's schools. They decided there was no better way than to tell the story through art. They taped and provided commentary for programs in the schools, projects by the students and started putting the programs on the local cable channels. That led to covering, and finding, all sorts of interesting things in Georgetown — parades, sports, the town's oldest pipe organ. "The older people — I shouldn't say that, I'm not in that category — they would call in and ask if we had anything else going on television," she said. "They loved it. It was right in their town. I was preserving a history of some sort, that people can always watch." Rep. Harriet Stanley, who nominated Thompson, said, "I've seen Buffy out there taking pictures for 15 years. She's always there and always working and never on the thank-you list." Thompson's take on her award: "An unsung heroine is just somebody who loves what they're doing, and they don't consider it a job or a sacrifice or anything else. They love the people they're doing it for. It's more rewarding for them than it is for the people they're doing it for."
Claire Walsh: Bringing back the Woolen Mills Claire Walsh sensed that her town's Historical Society needed a little help making Groveland's history come alive. And for nearly a decade, the full-time emergency room nurse, whose favorite mottos are "You have to go 'til you drop" and "I did it my way," has been doing just that. She started with tours of the historical homes in town. She resurrected racing at Groveland's Pines Speedway, built in the 1930's, and has headed up an annual race there for the past six years. "We've created a lot of good will with a lot of people," Walsh said. "We've made a lot of people happy in the racing circuit." She hasn't stopped there. A few years ago, Walsh heard that a more than 200-year-old mill building located on Main Street was in trouble. It was old and because it wasn't being used by anyone, the town's Fire Department wanted to burn it for practice. But she and her crew sprang into action, and are now restoring the building, which Walsh thinks may have been one of the country's first community centers. They're planning to use grant money to make a town museum on the first floor and hold community events on the building's second floor. The mill, given to the town by the Veasey family, the original owners of the historical Groveland Woolen Mills, was built in 1874. "There's a lot of history in this town," Walsh said. "I've always loved history."
Enid Thuermer: A woman of many hats Enid Thuermer of Boxford has worn lots of hats over the years. She's been a selectman, town budget planner, library board member, voting volunteer and more. A town resident for more than four decades, Thuermer, 87, is also a former children's librarian for the town of Ipswich. Despite all her good works, much of it as a volunteer, Thuermer was still shocked to learn she was named an Unsung Heroine. "I thought I didn't deserve it," said the modest grandmother. Fellow Boxford resident and longtime friend Karen Sheridan nominated Thuermer. "She is just a great mentor to other people in town. She's the type of person you could go to for any advice, any knowledge of the town," Sheridan said. "We really couldn't ask for a better citizen volunteer than we have in Enid Thuermer," Sheridan added. Thuermer, of 330 Main St., is an active member of the League of Women Voters and has served on the town's Capital Budgeting Committee, Affordable Housing Committee and various planning committees. This report was compiled by Drake Lucas, Jill Harmacinski, Yadira Betances, Crystal Bozek, Courtney Paquette, Stephanie Chelf and Mike Labella.
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