Happy St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Everyone,
This week, and over the past few months, I have been traveling to celebrations all across our district to recognize our community’s deep Irish Heritage and the contribution of Irish Americans to Western Massachusetts in anticipation this weekend’s holiday. As we all get ready to enjoy tomorrow’s parade in Holyoke, I want to thank all of the countless parade volunteers and committee members who have worked tirelessly to make all these events and the Parade possible!
Earlier this week my team presented citations to the Holyoke and Chicopee Colleens Courts during the annual visit to Holyoke Medical Center. On Thursday I enjoyed helping serve a traditional boiled dinner over at the West Springfield Council on Aging for their St. Patrick’s Day Lunch. Yesterday morning I fueled up in preparation for today’s Holyoke Road Race by grabbing a bite at the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. I can’t wait to see many of you along the streets of Holyoke for the Parade tomorrow where I will be marching with the Westfield Parade Committee. With all of these celebrations going on today and tomorrow, I hope everyone is able take part safely.
In addition to getting into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit, my team and I had plenty of other meetings and events across the district this week to attend. On Tuesday morning, I was honored to speak at the unveiling of the newly rededicated Honor Wall over at Armbrook Village which recognizes all of their veteran residents who have proudly served our nation in the Armed Forces. This was such a beautiful ceremony and I thank Armbrook Village for having invited me.
Thursday, my team helped break ground on the new regional WESTCOMM dispatch facility in Chicopee. This new facility, when finished, will be a state-of-the-art communications center serving numerous communities here in Western Massachusetts and will allow our first responders to respond as quickly and as accurately as possible, saving lives in the process.
This week my office hosted office hours at the Chicopee COA on Tuesday and at the West Springfield COA on Wednesday. Next week, we will be at the Easthampton COA on Tuesday from 10:30am to 11:30am and at the Holyoke COA on Wednesday from 10:00am to 11:00am. If you can’t make office hours, I can always be reached by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sláinte,
John Velis