Lynn’s Celebrate Literacy Day Committee hosted a kickoff event that highlighted its outstanding accomplishments in promoting literacy in the city over the past ten years.
Sheila O’Neil, president of the Lynn Teachers Union, and Magalie Torres-Rowe, teacher in the Lynn school district, were the recipients of the Excellence in Literacy Leadership Awards at the event that was held virtually on March 18.
Saritin Rizzuto, vice president at event lead sponsor Metro Credit Union and committee chair and event founder, delivered the opening remarks. Diana Moreno has also commendably represented Metro on the committee since the inception of the event.
“Good evening to all and welcome,” said Rizzuto. “It is great to see the familiar faces of the supporters that we’ve had for celebrating literacy year after year. The Celebrate Literacy Day Planning Committee comes together every single year to pull this event together. We are very grateful for members of our community that have joined us from the beginning until now.”
Rizzuto said one of those valuable supporters since the inception of the event has been Lynn
Mayor Thomas McGee, who delivered the mayoral address to kick off the program.
The mayor and former state senator commended the organization, stating, “For everyone that’s here to celebrate and recognize the ten years of this great committee and the work you do to really highlight literacy in our community and how important that is – I’m really happy to be here with all of you tonight.”
McGee said he was honored to be a part of the event since his service in the Massachusetts State Senate. McGee also congratulated O’Neil and Torres-Rowe for receiving the prestigious awards.
Robert Cashman, president and CEO of Metro Credit Union that has a branch office in Lynn, appeared in a pre-recorded message in which he thanked teachers, first responders, community leaders for their amazing work during the pandemic.
“This is our tenth consecutive year to be involved with Celebrate Literacy Day and we are really pleased to be able to do that,” said Cashman. “There is a common saying in the credit union world, ‘people helping people,’ and this particular program is something that really says that.”
Committee member Natasha Megie Maddrey introduced Torres-Rowe for her award.
“As a teacher, she founded the first Spanish National Junior Honor Society whose members support ELL students through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters school service program,” said Megie Maddrey. “She also wrote a college guide for immigrant parents to help new Americans understand the academic process. Magalie takes great pride in supporting, educating, and empowering her students and their families as they strive to learn English, adapt to American culture and embrace the challenges of life in the United States.”
Torres-Rowe humbly accepted the award. “I’m so glad that I’m here with you sharing this award with Sheila.”
Torres-Rowe, executive director and founder of Latina Center MARIA, presented the Literacy Day’s $500 scholarship in her honor to the Latina Center MARIA Center.
“We’re offering ESL classes, parenting classes, and professional workshops,” said Torres-Rowe.
Lynn educator and union organizer Gina O’Toole was the award presenter for O’Neil.
“Sheila O’Neil is the current president of the Lynn Teachers Union Local 2037, AFT Massachusetts,” said O’Toole. “She has been an educator in Lynn for over 28 years as an elementary teacher. As president of the Lynn Teachers Union supporting literacy, she has supported reading visits with LPS Supt. Patrick Tutwiler, who has been fantastic, also both Deputy Supt. Deb Ruggiero and Kim Powers, and Sheila has collaborated with Jason McCuish, LVTI Skills USA team, with their annual project that is incredibly inspiring.”
O’Toole said O’Neil is ably following in the footsteps of Past President Brant Duncan “and Sheila has done a great job.”
O’Neil said she was “truly honored” to accept the award and to celebrate literacy on behalf of all the educators of the Lynn Teachers Union.
“My grandmother was a teacher and I remember her saying, ‘if you can read, you can dream, you can do anything,’’’ said O’Neil. “So reading has been and always will be one of my favorite activities. My daughters can attest to the fact that I always have my nose in a book. As an educator, my love for reading has always been evident to my students during my small group discussions of literature and during the “Battle of the Books” after-school program competitions.
“As union president, I am lucky enough to visit schools across the district with Supt. Tutwiler and Deputy Supts. Ruggiero and Powers. I’ve also accompanied Mayor McGee on these visits,” said O’Neil. “The excitement that we’ve witnessed from our students in receiving a brand new book is enlightening. The spark in our students’ eyes is why we became educators. As president, I am so proud to have supported the Lynn Vocational Tech Skills USA with their award-winning literacy project for 2018-19 and I proudly announce my scholarship will be awarded to the LVTI Skills USA for their continued work in our community.
“I proudly represent the hardest-working and most dedicated educators I know. We all strive to bring literature to life for our students and encourage them to follow their dreams. Our teachers deserve to be respected and honored for their work that they do and the care that they give to the students in our district, especially this school year,” said O’Neil. “This award is proudly accepted for the educators of Lynn public schools.”
Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, trustee and alumna of Salem State University, delivered an inspiring keynote address while also congratulating the Literacy Day Planning Committee for its outstanding efforts in promoting literacy in the city of Lynn and going “above and beyond” to create resources in the city.
In addition to Mayor McGee, other elected officials in attendance were Sen. Brendan Crighton, State Reps. Dan Cahill and Peter Capano, Councillors Brian LaPierre, Brian Field, and Rick Starbard, and School Committee members Lorraine Gately, Brian Castellanos, Jared Nicholson, and Michael Satterwhite. Supt. of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler was also in attendance at the celebration.