Pawtucket Hall of Fame Celebrates Hometown Stories

Everyone has a story. And those stories soon turn into chapters. And just like that good book you can’t put down, you discover that those stories can take you places you’ve never been before, evoke emotions at the simple turn of a page or draw out courage you never knew you had. Stories can also offer you a perspective you had never considered. On Friday night, November 1, 2019 eleven new people were inducted into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame, all with stories woven into Pawtucket’ s history. The inductees’ ‘stories’ all possess those key elements of that favorite book - love, intrigue, passion, determination, adventure, survival and courage – components that intertwine into life as we know it – with all the makings of a great novel that can captivate and shape one’s character. But it’s not just any story – it’s our story.

It was once said that stories can have an enormous power in our lives because “one story sparks another and then another, and then the story of one becomes the story of many, and the story of them becomes the story of us”, as quoted by American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner for writing, Jacqui Banaszynski. Our 2019 Pawtucket Hall of Fame inductees all come to us from different backgrounds bringing with them a variety of interests uniquely their own, and in their own personal ways, have impacted our community. The Pawtucket Hall of Fame Committee wishes to thank the numerous individuals and businesses that helped support our event by sponsoring ads in our program booklet, as well as the City of Pawtucket, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, The Times and the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center for their generosity and continued support which helped make this event possible.

“Life is made up of many comings and goings, and for everything we take with us, there is something we leave behind”, wrote American author, Herman Raucher. The residual effects that this year’s Pawtucket Hall of Fame inductees have given us is evidenced each day in our community and continues to grow. We will find their influence in a number of ways, as evidenced through random acts of kindness, generosity, volunteerism, inspiration, motivation, wisdom, leadership and love as they have all touched our hearts and our community and made us proud.

We again congratulate and recognize this year’s honorees, Dr. Joseph T. Box, D.D.S., Joseph T. Fleming, (the late) Thomas A. Holleran, Larry Holloway, Raymond McGee, Arthur M. Plitt, Susan L. Reed, Neil D. Steinberg, as well as our historical inductees, Darius Goff, Lyman B. Goff and Darius Goff, Jr. We also honor Leslie Moore, recipient of our “Person of the Year Award” for her outstanding contributions and commitment as part of our downtown development and community outreach.

On behalf of the entire Pawtucket Hall of Fame Committee – Paul Audette, Cheryl Babiec, Diane Dufresne, David Deloge, Wendy Jencks, Mary Ellen Minton, Larry Monastesse, Paul Palange, Carlos Spinola, Henry Rosenthal, Herb Weiss and myself, we thank our sponsors and those that attended our awards banquet!

It is never too early - Who would YOU like to nominate for Pawtucket Hall of Fame 2020? Submit your nominations to Patricia S. Zacks, Chair, Pawtucket Hall of Fame, 137 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Patricia S. Zacks, chairperson
Pawtucket Hall of Fame Committee