community

Good Neighbor Award 2023

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The Holden Democratic Town Committee announces the recipients of its annual Good Neighbor Award, this year its 28th. The award honors citizens of the town who have made significant and/or long term contributions to the community through their volunteer activities. It’s an opportunity for friends and neighbors to say “thank you” to those people who have touched our lives through what they have given.

  • Marilynn L. Foley
  • Roy Fraser III
  • Michael and Nina Mazloff
  • Ryan P. Murphy

Marilynn Foley and Roy Fraser are being recognized for their many years with the Holden Bandstand.

Michael and Nina Mazloff are being honored as a couple for work with the Gale Free Library Board of Trustees, the Board of Health, Meals on Wheels and the Community Garden. Ryan Murphy is being recognized for his work with soccer.

The recipients will be honored at a friendly, informal ceremony and reception held on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at Holden’s Senior Center, 1130 Main Street. The time is 7:00 pm. Tim Ethier will make the presentation, which will be televised live on HCTV Channel 191.

We sincerely hope you can join us.

2020 Holden Good Neighbor Award

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The Holden Democratic Town Committee announces the recipients of its annual Good Neighbor Award, this year its 25th. The award honors citizens of the town who have made significant and/or long term contributions to the community through their volunteer activities. It’s an opportunity for friends and neighbors to say “thank you” to those people who have touched our lives through what they have given.

  • Glenn Anderson and Georgia Demarky Anderson
  • Jenni Howe

The Andersons are being recognized for their founding and leadership of Vintage Vagabonds. Jenni Howe is being honored for her years of service with Holden’s Girl Scouts.

The recipients will be honored at a friendly, informal ceremony and reception held on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at Holden’s Senior Center, 1130 Main Street. The time is 7:00 pm. Tim Ethier will make the presentation, which will be televised live on HCTV Channel 191.

We sincerely hope you can join us.

An Ode to the Portrait of Clara Barton

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The Ode was composed by Malcolm Halliday, MSW Artistic Director.

As a bit of history, Master Singers and WWHP have collaborated in concerts…….
…March 4, 2000 – Women’s Voices, a collaboration of the Worcester Women’s History Project with the Master Singers of Worcester and Preservation Worcester; music program of choral compositions by women and lecture on Tuckerman Hall’s female architect, Josephine Wright Chapman. Held at Tuckerman Hall.
…March 27, 2011 – Visionary Women concert collaboration with Master Singers of Worcester directed by Malcolm Halliday to celebrate the remarkable achievements of New England women preceded by a lecture by Amy Belding Brown entitled “Emerson’s Oracles: Visionary Women in the Transcendental Circle” for the Worcester County Poetry Association. More detail on concert: Settings of text of Massachusetts poets, including Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver and Worcester-born Elizabeth Bishop, were featured in choral compositions by Gwyneth Walker, Ronald Perera and other contemporary composers, as well as a performance of a new work by Martha Sullivan and William Cutter celebrating Abby Kelley Foster and Lucy Stone. Held at Tuckerman Hall.

The Master Singers commemorate their fortieth anniversary with a rich array of music from around the world including two world premieres by local composers: Malcolm Halliday’s “An Ode to the Portrait of Clara Barton”, which hangs in Mechanics Hall, and Steve Barnicle’s setting of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Bells”. The program also includes works by the Norwegian Ola Gjeilo and the Russian Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia. The major work on the program will be Canadian Ruth Watson Henderson’s epic work “Voices of Earth”. Several outstanding guest conductors and performing groups will join MSW, including the Salisbury Singers, the Worcester Children’s Chorus, the WPI Orchestra and the Shrewsbury Ringers, along with pianist Olga Rogach and Lynne McKenney Lydick as Clara Barton. This gala event celebrates the long history of collaborations between the Master Singers and the greater Worcester cultural community. It also marks Malcolm Halliday’s last concert as MSW’s Artistic Director.

Tickets at www.mswma.org
$35; Seniors/Students $30​

Join us for the annual Good Neighbor Award

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The Holden Democratic Town Committee announces the recipients of its annual Good Neighbor Award, this year its 22nd.   The award honors citizens of the town who have made significant and/or long term contributions to the community through their volunteer activities.   It’s an opportunity for friends and neighbors to say “thank you” to those people who have touched our lives through what they have given.

Ken Fensin
Thomas and Christine Mascitelli
Evan Schakenbach

Ken Fensin is being recognized for his many years with Holden baseball and softball; Christine and her late husband, Thomas, for their hosting of the annuagl Christmas Eve dinner; Evan Schakenbach for his work with Wachusett Greenways.

The recipients will be honored at a friendly, informal ceremony and reception held on Thursday, March 30, 2017 at Holden’s Senior Center, 1130 Main Street.  The time is 7:00 pm.  Tim Ethier will make the presentation, which will be televised live on HCTV Channel 191

Here’s your chance to be in the 1%

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Holden’s annual town meeting will be held on Monday,  May 16 at 7  p.m. in the Wachusett Regional High School’s auditorium.

We need a quorum of 1% of Holden registered voters in order to do business.

The budget requests total 48 million dollars,  so come and make your voices heard.   We need your presence!  We need your vote!  Please plan to attend.

Here is a link to the warrant for the meeting.

Supporting refugees in our community

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Worcester Interfaith hosted a meeting on Thursday,  March 17 to for  members from various religious houses
of worship to consider the problems of refugees coming into the Greater Worcester community every month.
Twenty-six individuals attended and shared their experiences.  Refugees require assistance,  but the
emphasis is on integration into the community and giving assistance to make them become independent
and part of our social fabric.  A second meeting is planned for May 5.  Further details will be discussed
at that time with specific information on how individuals and houses of worship can be of assistance.

Diversity training in the Wachusett schools

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Asima Silva was invited to speak to school staff about the current problem of Islamophobia in our society,  how to identify it, and how to address the problem.  She and Ahmad Abojarajeh,  Global Compliance Engineer to Avery Dennison,  met with the principal and staff of Davis Hill School recently and will plan to meet soon with teachers and staff at Mayo School in Holden and the Wachusett District High School in the near future.  Plans are also being developed for a presentation at Glenwood School in Rutland.

Donations requested for refugees

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Refugee families are coming into Worcester communities at the rate of 25 to 35 persons per month.  Half of these are children.  Ascentria Alliance is helping these families to settle,  and although they are given some initial assistance,  more help is needed.  Donations of personal items,  like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps,  lotions,  toilet paper,  tissues,  etc. are requested.  At our meeting on March 5 Margaret Watson will be collecting any items you might like to donate and take them to the Ascentria staff.  Thanks so much.