Newton’s 51st Annual Theodore D. Mann Mayor’s Community Breakfast was held on the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst on May 28 to celebrate Newton’s leaders, community, and youth. Over 300 attendees ate breakfast and listened to speeches and music under a one big tent on that sunny Wednesday morning.
The breakfast is hosted annually by the Harmony Foundation, an organization with a mission of promoting racial, ethnic, and religious harmony. It was founded in 1988 during the administration of Mayor Theodore D. Mann, for whom the event is named.
Community faith leaders set the tone for the gathering, sharing metaphors of Newton as a diverse garden: “Each flower in the garden is unique and perfect in its own way,” said Saadia Baloch, Outreach Coordinator of the Islamic Center of Boston, Wayland. “There are so many ways to recognize the remarkable diversity of the community in which we are privileged to live and work,” said Senior Rabbi of Temple Shalom of Newton, Laura Abrasley. Alongside them, promoting this message was Reverend Cheryl Kerr, Senior Minister at United Parish of Auburndale.
Board Members of the Harmony Foundation built upon the garden metaphor in their own speeches. Tony Logalbo said the leaders at the breakfast are those who direct change in Newton. “This room is filled with organizations and individuals working in the garden of Newton to leave it better than it already is,” he said.
This year marked Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s last Community Breakfast as mayor, and many speakers took the opportunity to thank Mayor Fuller for her service. She used the occasion to express gratitude to the attendees for their work in the Newton community, “You’re the people who are binding us together when the tensions in this world are trying so darn hard to pull us apart,” she said. Mayor Fuller added to the garden metaphor, “Our city needs people who are willing to step forward and plant the seeds of understanding and empathy across differences.”
In his speech, Congressman Jake Auchincloss said he takes inspiration from Mayor Fuller, “I have learned from Ruthanne, and admired her. In politics people can talk an issue into oblivion, but Ruthanne drives to the heart of the matter and politely, though firmly, resolves it,” he said.
While this annual event is apolitical, Congressman Auchincloss used the garden metaphor to express his concerns with the Trump administration, speaking in terms not of politics but of basic philosophical differences about truth. “I just spent two weeks debating in the House in all-night sessions over bills that cut healthcare, explode the national debt, funnel a billion-dollar tax break to buy silencers for pistols […] We all value a garden with 1,000 flowers blooming and diversity of experiences, but we all got to agree on photosynthesis as a fact of how they bloom, and we as citizens will not be able to support and defend the Constitution without supporting and defending the institutions that build shared awareness of agreed upon facts,” he said.
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe sports columnist, was the Principal Guest Speaker and received appreciative laughter from the audience throughout his speech for his relatable points about why he loves Newton. Shaughnessy listed the many notable athletes who have resided in Newton, such as David Ortiz and Jason Varitek. In Shaughnessy’s “love letter to Newton,” he joked about having only two mailmen in his 37 years living in Newton – along with inside information about The Lake: He asked, “How many of you have been asked, ‘Where’s the water?’”
Shaughnessy expressed appreciation for Newton as a community that is charming and supportive, “Hillary Clinton said it takes a village. I say it takes 13 villages,” he said.
Mayor Fuller presented this year’s Mayor Mann Community Service Award to Larry Seamans, President of FamilyAid, and presented proclamations honoring several members of the Newton Police Department: Lieutenant Amanda Henrickson, Officer Lauren O’Keefe, and Officer Justin Lau and his community service dog, Leo.
Superintendent Anna Nolan announced the award of Rotary Club of Newton Anthony J. Bibbo Scholarships to three high school seniors: Mingliang Liu from Newton North High School and Mayuri Fiete and Sofia Dos Anjos from Newton South High School, citing their academic excellence and community service.
R: Mingliang Liu with his parents.
Music was provided by Newton South High School’s Jazz Ensemble conducted by Lisa Linde, both of whom have recently received national recognition for excellence. Day Middle School sixth grader Carmen Loayza sang the song “Rise Up,” written by Andra Day. The Newton All-City Troubadours choir, co-directed by Jamie Alberts and Eric Ritter, performed the songs “I Wish I knew How it Would Feel to be Free” by Billy Taylor and “La Musique” by Alexis Neenan.
“We need people to shine the light on human rights and human dignity, education and reason, global relationships and neighborhood belonging, and due process and the rule of law,” said Mayor Fuller, who received praise from other leaders throughout the breakfast, “We need people who can water the roots of equality so that everyone, everyone has a chance to blossom.”
