03/07/2023
OK everyone - be prepared for a long heartfelt final post... It has been an honor to celebrate our town - its history and its future. We hope that the events of the last 18+ months have brought people together and reinvigorated Rutland's sense of community and civic pride. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended and made our events possible! Last night the Tricentennial Committee presented the following summary to the Town of Rutland Selectboard....
Thank you for having us tonight. We would like to present a summary of our work on the Tricentennial Committee. Our activities and meetings started early in 2021 with organization and fundraising. Activities included:
-Logo Contest won by Tina Greenfield
-Establishing a website and page
-Fundraising at the Police K-9 5K
-Co****le tournament to benefit the 300th
-Friday Concerts on the Common - We started with 4 August dates and it was so successful they expanded through October 8th
-Participated in the Rutland Food Truck Festival
-Hosted Halloween House decorating contest
-The New England Swing Orchestra (with Rutland Historical Society)
-The Festival of Trees Fireworks (with Rutland MA 4th of July)
In 2022 we started strong right on January 1st with the Polar Plunge and it carried on through the year...
-Rutland Night at Worcester Railers HC
-Rutland Night at Wachusett Mountain
-Founders week with the Historical Society
-We were featured on WCVB Channel 5 Boston's Chronicle TV show as the Geographical Center of the State
-Bagpipe Concert
-Classical Saxophone Concert
- Provided cake at Town Meeting
-2022 Concerts on the Common ran from June 3 - September 30 including 15 bands and numerous food trucks
-We celebrated the day we became a town on June 18th with a Proclamation and canon fire
-The Tricentennial Unity Tree made by Rutland Students at Naquag, Glenwood and Central Tree Middle School is now showcased at the Rutland Free Library
- Multiple attempts were made to find the 1972 Time capsule
-Hosted Josh Schlicher - Mayor of Marietta Ohio
-Rutland day at the Worcester Red Sox
-We hosted state and local dignitaries
-Lemonade Social and Fashion show with Historical Society
-Partnered with 4th of July for a GRAND 300th Fireworks Display
-Parade float
-Family Picnic on the common
-Rutoberfest
-Spirit Walk at the Old Burial Ground with Historical
-Festival of Trees fireworks
- Together with the Library we hosted the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street exhibit with Dignitary Grand Opening
-and Smithsonian Programs and Presentations including: Book discussion the Pioneers; Finnish life presentation; Farmer forum; Presentation on Heathcare through the ages; Three Lawsuits talk by David Libby; A Taste of Rutland.
-There were Field trips for all Rutland students in K-8 and Grade 3 throughout the Wachusett District and we hosted almost 1500 staff and students.
-In total, the Smithsonian brought approximately 5000 visitors!
Long lasting projects that were facilitated by the 300th Committee include the Ice Rink for Rutland Recreation with an additional liner, providing the town the hardware for hanging future banners and the new centerpiece of the town common, our Bandstand.
We partnered with many state and local organizations including
- Rutland Historical Society
- Rutland Free Library
- Rutland MA 4th of July
- Rutland Historical Commission
- Town Departments including DPW, Rutland Fire and Rutland Police Department
- Mass Dept of Conservation & Recreation
- Wachusett Regional School District
- Local Bands, Breweries, Restaurants & Stores (including Wachu Makin'? for all our merchandise!), Churches & Food Trucks
- Rutland Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
- Smithsonian Museums
- Mass Humanities
- Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
- Finnish Heritage Society Sovittaja
- Worcester Regional Food Hub
We are pleased to have had the support of State Senator Anne M. Gobi, Representative Kimberly Ferguson, Sheriff Lew Evangelitis, Mayor Mike Nichols and our Town Administration & Selectboard
Our outreach efforts included our page which has 1458 followers plus over 200 on instagram
-We had 11,353 visitors to the page
-Over 15800 people saw our posts!
We had articles and events posted in
- Barre Gazette
- Uniquely Quabbin Magazine
- The Landmark
- The Worcester Telegram & Gazette
- MassLive
- Worcester Central Kids Calendar
- Discover Central Massachusetts
- and press releases were sent to 10 local historical societies
These events touched tens of thousands of people and the impact on our small town is immeasurable. We hope that the 2200 hours of service given by the volunteers on the committee helps to reinvigorate Rutland's great sense of community and civic pride.
Since 2021, the Rutland Tricentennial Committee has raised $68,776.06 in donations. As of today, the remainder in what is called the gift account is $17,806.42
The citizens of Rutland entrusted us with $88,931.71 for use during the year. The remainder in that account is $33,874.99 and will be returned to the general fund.
In conjunction with the library, we also received a grant of $10,000 from Mass Humanities to cover the full cost of the Smithsonian exhibit. There is $677.41 remaining in that account. They will grant us an additional $10,000 for ongoing programs.
The feedback we have received has been fantastic and there is a desire from the community for ongoing programs. We hope that the selectboard will continue to support community cultural opportunities moving forward.
Now if you've read this far... THANK YOU. We hope that you enjoyed our Tricentennial year as much as we did!!!
And a personal thank you from me to the other members of the committee both official and unofficial, past and currently serving including Sheila Judkins, Barbara Campbell, Dick Moisio, Megan Rokicki, Peg Sullivan, Sondra Thomas, Bonnie Besse, Dawn Lussier, Sheila Dibb, Jeff Stillings, Ben Barakian, Mark Campbell & Susan Novak. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Let me end with a quote from Margaret Mead... "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
~Sincerely,
Sherrie Haber
(I've tried to tag as many local contributors as I could think of - If I missed you I'm sorry. Know that you are appreciated!!!)
