James E. Dolin of Swansea has been re-elected to serve as president of the Citizens for Citizens Inc. (CFC) Board of Directors.

Mr. Dolin was chosen unanimously at the Annual Meeting held at the Venus De Milo Restaurant on  June 25th , 2008.  Others re-elected to office were First Vice President, Butch Almeida; Second Vice President, Ida Cabral; Treasurer, Jacqueline Cummings; and Secretary, Ronald Costa.

The Citizens for Citizens, Inc. Executive Director, Mark A. Sullivan Jr., thanked the board members for their active support of the agency over the years. Sullivan said “CFC expended twenty seven million dollars this past fiscal year on antipoverty services for the Greater Fall River and Taunton areas. The need for social services continues to grow and our staff has been able to complete its mission with fewer staff.” He went on to say that he and the staff of CFC could not do the job they are charged to do, if the Board did not allow us to do our jobs.

The CFC Treasurer, Jacqueline Cummings, presented the Edward J. Sullivan Award Scholarship to Timothy Helley, a member of the graduating Class of 2008 of Durfee High School. Timothy resides with his parents and two siblings in Fall River.  He will be attending Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston starting in September, 2008; where he will major in Computer Engineering Technology.  Timothy ranked 66 out of a graduating class of 471.

Presenting the Adam Clayton Powell Award to Crystal Benevides of Bay Street in Fall River was CFC Board Member, Monique Campeau. Crystal is a single parent who has two minor children residing with her. She will be attending Diman Regional Vocational High School’s post graduate program leading to a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certification.  Her classes will begin in September, 2008.
For his tireless volunteer work in the CFC Food Pantry, Robert Colley was the recipient of the Robert J. Nagle Community Service Award. Presenting the award to Mr. Colley was Barbara Travis, CFC’s Food Pantry Coordinator. Ms. Travis said, “I can’t begin to thank Bob enough for all the work he performs at the Pantry.” “Bob stocks the closet when food arrives from area vendors, prepares the bags for the food and tugs and lugs the food to my office for the people who wait in line for the food.” Mr. Colley thanked the Board of Directors for the award and stated that the folks at CFC were the nicest group of people he had ever had the pleasure to work with.

Also receiving the Robert J. Nagle Community Service Award was Jude Morrow. This award was presented by CFC staffers Liz Berube, Paul Desmarais and Norm Yelle. The trio of staffers agreed that Jude, who volunteered his services daily, is a dedicated young man who was always available to help out with any task he was asked to perform. Jude thanked CFC and said, “My parents were on CFC’s fuel assistance program at one point and it was a great feeling to be able to help people who don’t have a lot.”

The final recipient of the Robert J. Nagle Community Service Award was Jay Cleary from the City of Taunton. Presenting the award was CFC’s Taunton Office Manager Debby Araujo. Ms. Araujo said, “Jay is an employee of Trucchi’s Markets and over the past few years he has volunteered to pick up the collection boxes from all their stores for Operation Christmas. Most of time Jay uses his own vehicle and does it when his work day is done. It’s a tremendous help to us because we do not have the vehicles or staff available to pick up the needed toys.”

The Hubert H. Humphrey Business Award was presented to the St. Anne’s Credit Union. Accepting the award on behalf of St. Anne’s Credit Union was Monique Campeau, Vice President of Lending. Ms Campeau said, “I am accepting the award on behalf of all the volunteers at the credit union, and it will be prominently and proudly displayed at the credit union.”

The Hubert H Humphrey Business Award was also given to two businesses from the Greater Taunton area, the Taunton Federal Credit Union and Verc Rentals. Accepting the award on behalf of the Taunton Federal Credit Union was Torie Sylvia and Dave Millette. Debby Araujo said, “The credit union has been a huge supporter of the Operation Christmas program for the past several years.  Ms. Sylvia and Mr. Millette stated that it is a pleasure to work with the staff at CFC and they are eager to help in the upcoming Operation Christmas program.

John Poente, Assistant Manager, and Sales Agent Dana Williams were on hand to accept the award for Verc Rentals.  Karen Swass, WIC Project Director, said, “The company provides an invaluable service to the WIC program every year.  They provide us with a cargo van that is used to transport everything we need to set up for the annual Celebration of Parenthood held in Taunton.”

Rounding out the evening was the presentation of a plaque to CFC’s Planner Thomas Alecrim by Mark A. Sullivan, Jr. Sullivan said “Tom is someone who has been involved with the agency on and off since its inception.” He went on to say that “Tom will be semi-retired from CFC but will continue to make contributions to the agencies workforce with his involvement  in negotiations with Health Insurance providers and other factors affecting all CFC employees.”Caught completely off guard of the recognition award Tom went on to say “Mark Sullivan had the biggest heart you’ll ever find and it is a great honor to work with the staff and Board of Directors at Citizens for Citizens.”

Tags: Uncategorized // Comments Off