Newton’s own Harmony Foundation hosted the 52nd annual Theodore D. Mann Newton Mayor’s Community Breakfast on May 27 at the Charles River Campus of UMass Amherst. The breakfast was organized around the theme of Reimagining Community, Together, aimed to inspire participants to reflect on their current and potential individual contributions to the Newton community and beyond.
Attendees were welcomed by a string quartet from the Suzuki School of Newton while they sought tables under the large tent. As the breakfast progressed, additional music was provided by the Newton All-City Troubadours, who performed the songs Sail on Boys and Ue wo Muite Arukou.
First to speak at the event was UMass Amherst’s Anasha Kaskar, a Newton resident and Newton North alumna, who welcomed the crowd, introduced the venue and described the Charles River Campus’ Career Launch Program, which connects UMass Amherst students with employers in Greater Boston. She thanked the Newton community for hosting over a thousand students from UMass Amherst.
Next Newton North senior Claude Katende provided an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement, followed by words of invocation from the Newton Interfaith Leaders Association, represented by Amy Behrens from the Baha’i Community of Newton and Rabbi Laura Abrasley from Temple Shalom.
Invoking the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, Behrens told those assembled that it is more important now than ever for Newtonians to strengthen community bonds and to make one another feel “seen, heard, and cared for.”
Harmony Foundation board member Tony Logalbo spoke next, echoing Behrens’ sentiments about community building. Logalbo remarked that Newton’s diversity, representing a wide range of religions, backgrounds, and ethnicities, makes it akin to an orchestra, with each member working together to produce a harmonious sound.
Logalbo went on to thank the event’s sponsors, including the lead sponsor, The Village Bank, and he highlighted the ongoing Food Drive in honor of Newton’s former mayor, the late Setti D. Warren. The drive is made possible by the Rotary Foundation, in partnership with the City of Newton.
Mayor Marc Laredo spoke after Logalbo, with the central message that “sometimes the little is the big,” noting that local government is most effective when it ensures that people’s needs are met, even if many of those needs might seem insignificant at first.
“Local government and our democracy work best when people feel connected to one another… That’s why I believe so strongly that community is the glue that truly binds us together. It’s all these small moments that propel us to rally together when the inevitable big challenges occur,” Laredo said.
After a brief interlude with music from the Newton All-City Troubadours, the day’s featured keynote speaker, longtime Boston Pops Conductor and Newton resident Keith Lockhart, came to the podium.
Lockhart, who has conducted over 5,000 concerts by his own estimate, relayed a story of spontaneously attending a Bruce Springsteen performance with his wife, an experience he said brought him newfound inspiration in the power of music to bring people together, as he saw the 20,000 spectators all singing along with The Boss.
Speaking of community in Newton, Lockhart noted that the very same kind of togetherness could be fostered at a micro level, at local art fairs and concerts, and even at less obvious places like grocery stores, where community members regularly interact with one another.
Following Lockhart’s address, Mayor Laredo presented the Mayor Mann Community Service Awards. This year’s recipients were Amy Schechtman, the Saul and Gitta Kurlat CEO of 2Life Communities, and the City of Newton Information Technology Department, tasked with redesigning the City’s website this year.
The Anthony J. Bibbo scholarships, awarded by the Rotary Club of Newton, were presented next, by Rotary Club President Gayemarie Brown and Newton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Anna Nolin. The scholarship recipients were Bilan Ali and Hannah Spector of Newton North High School and Julia Conroy of Newton South High School.
Rabbi Laura Abrasley concluded the breakfast with a reflection grounded in Deuteronomy, in which she related the text’s urging to seek justice to the historic inscriptions on the Liberty Bell, as well as Newton’s contributions to the national legacy of justice through community action.
