Dear Editor:
We are writing to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who joined us at the Hillview Country Club on Saturday, November 23, for the annual Reading Senior Citizen Thanksgiving Dinner. A community holiday tradition since 2008, this year’s celebration provided an opportunity to gather with hundreds of friends and neighbors to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.
Guests enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings while being entertained throughout the afternoon with music and dancing courtesy of DJ Alan LaBella. Joining us at the head table were Select Board members Christopher Haley, Mark Dockser and his wife Linda, and longtime Reading resident Sally Hoyt, who recently celebrated her 102nd birthday. Thank you to Select Board member Melissa Murphy for taking the time to stop by and visit with the seniors.
A special thank you to Reading Elder/Human Services Administrator Chris Kowaleski and his staff at the Pleasant Street Center who work tirelessly to help organize this event and for all they do throughout the year to support our seniors.
Thanks to the generous financial support of our sponsors who helped underwrite the event, the dinner was free and open to all senior citizens from Reading. We would like to thank The Savings Bank, The Reading Cooperative Bank, Charles Stefanini Consulting and Amazon for their financial support, as well as Harrow’s Pies. We would also like to thank our generous donors who provided beautiful holiday gifts to be raffled.
A special thank you to Fabiana and Adilson Santos and the Ultra Chic team for working with us to make this event another truly memorable one.
As in years past, we encouraged those attending the dinner to bring canned goods and other food donations to help fill the shelves at the Reading Food Pantry. We are truly grateful for the overwhelming response we received from our guests. Thanks to their generosity, the food pantry will be able to assist more local families in need during the holiday season.
We are honored to carry on this annual tradition and look forward to next year’s dinner. We wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Representative Brad Jones and Linda Jones
Representative Richard Haggerty
Senator Jason Lewis
