Published in the August 4, 2016 edition
A KINDNESS RETURNED. Elder Services Director Mary Prenney was surprised to receive an official citation from the State Senate last Friday in recognition of the care and compassion she brings to her job. Offering their congratulations were Town Administrator Mike Gilleberto (left) and Dick Curran of state Sen. Bruce Tarr’s office, which sponsored the citation. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Like a hummingbird, Elder Services Director Mary Prenney is always in perpetual motion.
One minute she is donning a white, plastic disposable apron and gloves, serving up plate after plate of hamburgers, hotdogs and lemonade with sides of watermelon, cole slaw, potato salad and chips to a full house of guests at the annual indoor BBQ she organizes for the town’s senior citizens.
The next minute, she is across the room at the Senior Center, finding seats for newly arrived guests while simultaneously asking how they are, along with every member of their extended family — each of whom she recalls by name. And she surrounds herself with a staff and volunteers who work the room just like she does.
The hum of conversation and lively laughter is a constant in the cheerfully decorated room accented by red, white and blue balloons. The seniors are welcoming a special guest today, entertainer and nostalgia trivia buff Mel Simons, who has joined them for lunch once again prior to his show, just as he has for the past dozen or so years that Prenney has run the BBQ for her seniors.
Another special guest drops by too. Dick Curran, representing the office of state Senator Bruce Tarr, the Senate Minority Leader, is greeted by Mary and immediately found a seat and served a plate of food. Prenney thinks he’s just passing through town, but he’s really here to see her. He is soon joined by Town Administrator Mike Gilleberto, but there’s nothing unusual about Mary’s boss stopping by the event either.
As the plates are being cleared away, Mary makes her way to the front of the room to introduce Simons, but she is interrupted by Curran. He tells the audience that he visits the 17 towns in the district often and has gotten to know Mary very well during the past four years.
“At the end of the day, I know how lucky you folks are because they say the sign of a good leader is one who knows how to delegate. As you look around at the staff she has and the volunteers and what they’ve done here today, it shows that she is good leader,” Curran said.
He added, “I know she’s helped a lot people; some of them are here today. But there was one thing that touched my heart very, very dearly, and that was the story of Annie. When I read that story, I said to Senator Tarr, ‘Here is a person that gives her all — 110 percent, whole heart, no reservations. If something needs to be done, Mary does it.’”
“Annie” (not her name) is a 96-year-old woman who lived on her own in town for 35 years. But the story published in the Transcript last April recounting Prenney’s budget presentation to the Selectmen that captured Curran’s attention painted a much more complex picture of the array of social services that are often necessary to enable elders like Annie to live independently in their homes.
It’s achieved through the assistance of the Elder Services, but just as necessary is the willingness of so many people and departments in town who provide a litany of social support, and who often represent the last safety net for vulnerable elders.
Whether it was the police officers who would bring Annie a sandwich at 2:30 in the morning, the firefighter who made sure Annie’s furnace was fixed on the coldest weekend of the year, the staff at Mario’s and Papa Gino’s who let Annie ring up a tab because she prided herself on always paying her bills – eventually anyway – as well as the volunteers at CCS who made sure Annie wasn’t forgotten on Thanksgiving and Christmas, or Mary herself, who rode in the ambulance with Annie for that last trip to the hospital, then stayed with her in the ER until her daughter could arrive — none of it could be done without the cooperation that comes from believing everyone deserves to be treated with dignity throughout all stages of their lives.
“Mary, it gives me great pleasure to present you with this. It’s a citation from the Massachusetts State Senate,” Curran said at last Thursday’s BBQ. “It says: Be it known that the Massachusetts State Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Mary Prenney in recognition of your demonstrated dedication and commitment to the community of North Reading as a whole.”
The citation was signed by the President of the Senate, Stan Rosenberg, the Clerk of the Senate, William Welch, and Senator Bruce Tarr.
T.A. Gilleberto agreed that Prenney strives to serve the entire community. “She’s very active in the Community Impact Team (CIT), which serves our community as a whole, not just the seniors who Mary works with every day. Clearly, Mary’s preference — and her favorites — are the seniors, as we know, but she serves the community as a whole and does a tremendous job.”
Numerous times, Gilleberto said, whenever “there has been a family that’s been in need and Mary isn’t able to directly help, she gets us in touch with somebody who can help.”
“There have to be at least four or five (situations) in just the past two years that have come up where it is clearly well above and beyond (her duties). And it’s people’s lives that we’re talking about. They may have no where else to go, they may be out of resources to rely on. I’ve seen her in action and Mary does a terrific job, so this is well-deserved,” Gilleberto said.
