Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 9, 2023 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus! Last Saturday was the last stand for the Saugus High School Class of 2023 together. Close to 180 students walked up to the stage in Christie Serino Jr. Memorial Stadium adjacent to the new Saugus Middle-High School Complex to pick up their diplomas and share one final hour together. It was a great occasion for those young men and women, along with their families and friends who turned out to cheer them on. Years ago during my journalism career, most reporters I worked with at various papers looked upon it as a chore to go cover a High School graduation. At this point in my career, it is an assignment I look forward to. In the case of Saugus, this was my seventh graduation. I headed down there several hours early and milled around in the crowd, trying to glean interesting things about the class by talking with students and staff on the field. It’s always a joy to sit back and listen to the handful of commencement speeches crafted by the top students and leaders of the graduating class. You have to give Saugus High Principal Brendon Sullivan and other school officials a lot of credit for the way they planned two scenarios – commencement exercises outside and indoors – in the event of rain. The principal noted that school officials held out as long as logistically possible for an outdoor ceremony, while still preparing to rush inside when the sky opened up with rain. And the most important thing was for all of the graduates to be able to walk across the stage to get their diplomas. And school officials took that part of the ceremony – which is traditionally at the end – and reversed the order of the program, putting student addresses last instead of first. So when the skies finally opened up with the pouring rain, the commencement speeches had just begun. That was great planning. Hats off to Principal Sullivan & company. A nice memory for the graduates. A run tomorrow for Mission Ready Marine veteran Brandon Montella, the U.S. Marine veteran who completed a 100-mile run last Veterans Day to honor local veterans and to raise money for his nonprofit cause, announced he has scheduled —Cont est— CONTEST SKETCH OF THE WEEK a 5K fund-raising run/walk through Breakheart Reservation this summer. The event – set for 10 a.m. Saturday, June 10 – is to benefit his 501C3 Mission Ready, which provides fitness programs and events to under-resourced youth and veterans. Here’s a link to the event with all the information and sponsors on the site: https:// runsignup.com/Race/MA/Saugus/MissionReady5K Return of “The Sketch Artist” Frequent Saugus Advocate contributor Joanie Allbee, after a several months break, has resumed doing sketches for a new contest called “Guess Who?” This one replaces the popular “Guess Who Got Sketched” contest that ran for several years. It’s a similar contest with a few variations. Initially, we will be doing it without a sponsor, and the winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to a favorite Saugus restaurant or coffee shop of their choosing Joanie, a local artist, an author and longtime writer of articles for various publications – including The Saugus Advocate – is no longer doing the sketches anonymously after revealing herself in a May column. So, for the most part, the people being sketched will have given their permission in advance. And readers who would like to be sketched or have some suggestions on people worth sketching can contact “The Sketch Artist.” Welcome back, Joanie! Summer Class Registration at the Y The Saugus Family YMCA opens its registration on Monday, June 5, for members and on June 12 for nonmembers. Summer is our favorite season at the Y. We have hundreds of programs and classes designed to help you build strength, skills and confidence and reach your health and fitness goals – gymnastics swim lessons, sports, weight lifting, strength and conditioning, teen classes, enrichment classes, and more. The Summer Session lasts from June 26–August 27. “Saugus Over Coffee” The next “Saugus Over Coffee” Can You Guess Who? If you know, call 978-683-7773 and your name will be entered into a drawing contest to win. The prize is a $10 gift certificate of your favorite Saugus coffee place or restaurant. Thank you. forum has been set for Tuesday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m., when we will be featuring Precinct 6. We will be sending out invitation soon – via email and letters to the homes of each of the five Town Meeting members For those unfamiliar with the “Saugus Over Coffee” forums, they are cosponsored by The Saugus Advocate and the Saugus Public Library. The primary purpose is to give citizens in each of the town’s 10 precincts an opportunity to voice their concerns about top issues in their respective precincts. It also gives them an opportunity to meet their Town Meeting representatives and chat over a cup of coffee or tea. Town Meeting members will benefit by getting to know more about concerns in their precincts. Viewers of the forums videotaped by Saugus TV will also get to learn a little about the history or interesting things about the precinct being featured each month. One of my major hopes for the forums is that it spurs an interest for citizens to become potential candidates for Town Meeting in this fall’s town election. The public should keep in mind that there was a paucity of candidates for Town Meeting seats in the town elections back in 2021. In five of the 10 precincts, only five candidates ran for the five seats. That means half of the 50-member body was elected without competition. Stay tuned for more information as “Saugus Over Coffee” continues. Here is the remaining schedule: Precinct 6 – June 20 Precinct 7 – July 10 Precinct 8 – August 14 Precinct 9 – September 11 Precinct 10 – October 23 Please check with The Saugus Advocate or library for any changes in dates. Residents can check the programming guide on the station’s website (www. saugustv.org) for dates and times. A video of the forum will also be available for viewing on the station’s vimeo page within a day or two after the event – www.vimeo.com/saugustelevision. Knights of Columbus Craft Fair and Flea Market The Saugus Knights of Columbus will hold its Outdoor Craft Fair and Flea Market Saturday, August 19. Our last events were all sold out. Reserve your space now. A 12 x 12 space costs $30. Vendors must bring their own tables and chairs. Call Paul Giannetta for reservations or info – 978-239-1392. Multiple “Shout Outs” Once again, we’ve received several “shout outs” from our readers: Linda Mellor: “I’d like to give a ‘shout out’ for Vasi Refrigeration for putting out water bowls along the rail trail at Essex Street/School Street for the dogs. So very neighborly of them!” Laura Eisener “I’d like to send a shout-out to the entire Wakefield Conservation Commission for unanimously denying the permit to build the new vocational school on the forest site, and all the people from Saugus and elsewhere who have been working so hard to save the forest adjacent to Breakheart Reservation.” Saugus Veterans Council Commander Steve Castinetti, retired U.S. Navy captain USN (Ret), Commander gave a mega “Shout Out” to all involved in the town’s annual Memorial Day Parade and ceremonies at Riverside Cemetery: “WIN Waste Innovations, the major sponsor; Ambassador Scott Brown; Families of our Fallen; the Saugus Veterans Council; Saugus Police Department; Saugus Fire Department; Beantown Advertising in Peabody; John Prudent of Saugus TV, who prepared the special video; Veterans Parade Participants; JROTC’s: Revere High School, MAJ Deb Bowker, USA (Ret) Beverly High School, Maj Ahmad Martin, USMC (Ret), Salem High School, Sgt Maj John Sumner, USMC (Ret), Peabody High School, Lt Col Ray Erickson, USAF (Ret); Guy Moley – Vintage vehicles and motorcycles, J&M Italian American Cuisine, Special thank you to all who came out today to help us remember...” Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo: “Everyone who knows me knows I decorate my front porch with pots of flowers, sea shells, and glittery rocks (that I steal from fellow Town Meeting Member Rick Smith’s yard!) This ‘Shout Out’ is for a person who left four small sea shells on my porch a couple of weeks ago. I have asked everyone (and their mother!) if they left them but they all said no. I don’t know who this person is but I would like to thank them for their thoughtfulness, the shells are such a pretty addition! Thank you so much for thinking of me!” Want to “Shout Out” a fellow Saugonian? This is an opportunity for our paper’s readers to single out – in a brief mention – remarkable acts or achievements by Saugus residents or an act of kindness or a nice gesture. Just send an email (mvoge@comcast.net) with a mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout Out.” No more than a paragraph; anything longer might lend itself THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 17
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