Friends of the Agawam Senior Center celebrate 25 years
Date: 6/1/2010
June 2, 2010.By Courtney Llewellyn
Reminder Assistant Editor
AGAWAM -- A lot of things may have changed since 1985, but the Friends of the Agawam Senior Center's dedication has not.
The Friends celebrated their 25th anniversary on May 26 with dinner, entertainment and an awards ceremony at the Agawam Senior Center. Two members of the Friends who have been with the group for 25 years or more were in attendance Vera Conway (25 years) and Rev. Don Morris (28 years), who gave the invocation for the event.
Richard Theroux, Town Clerk, came to the event on behalf of Mayor Richard Cohen, who was not able to attend. He told the at-capacity crowd that he wanted to wish them well and that as a member of the Senior Center Building Committee, he could not imagine while the new center was under construction how wonderful it would be today.
"This was a labor of love as we worked on this center for over a year," Theroux said. "It's wonderful to see our vision coming true today."
To recognize those that helped see that vision through, Friends President Emile Cote handed out three awards during a brief ceremony following dinner. The first was awarded to Lillian Doyle, whose daughter Annette accepted on her behalf. The second was given to Nellie Mathias as members of the audience shouted "We appreciate her!" The third was given to Don Sorel, who Cote said the center "could not do without."
A plaque was also unveiled with the names of the past presidents of the Friends group.
When asked what the 25th anniversary meant to him, Cote replied, "It meant a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. We've all made a lot of good friends."
He added that his main goal as current president of the Friends of the Agawam Senior Center is to keep things flowing and to have a good time. Cote has been president of the group for five years.
And where does Cote see the Friends 25 years from now? "I hope the Friends are doing the same thing they are now. I hope everybody is happy," he said.
