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Willie Ross School to host its first gala on Oct. 23

Date: 9/25/2014

LONGMEADOW – The Willie Ross School for the Deaf will host its first gala on Oct. 23 at Twin Hills Country Club, 700 Wolf Swamp Road.

The event itinerary includes a social hour and raffle at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a testimonial to this year’s distinguished event honorees.

This year’s honorees are Dr. Anthony S. Caprio, president of Western New England University, and the late Judge Sidney M. Cooley.

The gala will act as an opportunity for the Willie Ross School to honor such esteemed board members as well as raise funds.

“We are looking to raise funds in an effort to respond to an evolving field,” Willie Ross School for the Deaf President and CEO Bert Carter explained to Reminder Publications. “We hope to offer increased support to hearing loss students in public schools as well as advance our available technology.”

Caprio, a scholar and published author, has served as a Willie Ross board member since 1999. He currently serves as the chairperson of the school’s Trustee Partnership Campus Committee.

Cooley, former special justice for Franklin District Court and presiding justice for Western Hampden District Court as well as partner in the law firm Cooley, Shrair, P.C., had been a Willie Ross Board Member since 1983. Cooley chaired his own Annual Fund Drive to benefit the school.

The educational program at the Willie Ross School for the Deaf stresses academic excellence through students’ intellectual, social, and emotional growth from early childhood to high school. Founded in 1967, the school serves students on its main campus in Longmeadow and through a partnership with East Longmeadow Public Schools.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the Gala, visit www.willierossschool.org. Tickets for the event are $75.  If you wish to sponsor or donate, contact Event Coordinator Donna Territo at dterrito@willierossschool.org or 567-8808.