two finalists of the 2017 Cooperative Credit Union Association Student Essay Contest, Mia Houle and Alyssa LeBlanc, both of Clinton Middle School. Houle and LeBlanc were two of eight top essay finalists who received an award and $250.

The essay contest was open to all Massachusetts seventh and eighth grade students. The students were asked to submit an essay on “Save, Spend, Share and Learn. What could you teach an adult to form better savings and spending habits.”

John O’Brien, President and CEO of Leominster Credit Union stated, “LCU is proud to sponsor this essay contest. The students did a great job. We congratulate all who participated.”

First, we are again saying thank you to all the amazing people who supported our crowdfunding campaign. We would not be here without you! We are now busy getting all our ducks in a row to ensure the production runs smoothly. We are constructing sets, formulating shot lists, purchasing costumes. renting equipment, attaching final crew, and getting all legal paperwork and contracts in place.

Synopsis:

Set in 1974 rural New England, this live-action family drama is about Cecily, a 7-year-old girl who, following the death of her baby sister, lives in a world with no music, no color, no laughter, no love. That is, until a magical imaginary friend shows up and joins Cecily on the quest to save her family from the grief that is destroying them.

Crew Updates
We are welcoming some new additions to our crew.

Katherine Castro

Director of Photography

After studying architecture and photography while living in the Dominican Republic, Katherine Castro returned to Boston in 2008 to continue her studies in photography. She began working in film and TV, gaining a love for visual storytelling and invaluable experience on productions of all size and scale. Her love for architecture, design, and photography lend to a unique style and viewpoint.

Evan Schneider

Audio Mixer/Boom Operator

Evan is the founder of Hop Top Films. Known for his versatility on and off set, he has worked professionally in the film and videography industry for the past eight years following his graduation from Boston University with a Certification in Digital Filmmaking. Currently producing large quantities of business promos for Yelp & Zillow and gathering independent filmmaking awards at Film Festivals across the nation, he has big plans for Hop Top Films. Putting his all into his craft, Evan has built up his company arsenal of professional gear and loyal, talented casts and crew.

Sam Robinson

Gaffer

Sam is a Massachusetts-based filmmaker and graduate of Emerson College. In addition to working in Boston, Sam has worked on projects around the world, including Beijing, China, and Lima, Peru. He is fiercely dedicated to all things lighting/grip.

Cast Updates

Molly McCarthy (Amanda Jane) and Colbi Gannett (Cecily Blinkstop) bonded at a cookout.

This duo will certainly melt hearts!

Commitment to New England:

We are committed to hiring 80% of our cast and crew from the New England region. Paid film jobs in the New England region are hard to come by. We are working hard to provide employment to local filmmakers.

Commitment to Women:

We are committed to building a cast and crew with at least 50% women. Women represent 50% of the students graduating from film school and, therefore, our set will reflect and honor that statistic.

About Jennifer Potts:

Jennifer Potts is an independent Massachusetts-based filmmaker who proves that life does not need to slow down when you reach the middle. After receiving her BA in Theatre Arts, she spent years directing and producing theatre. At the age of 41, she returned to school to study Film and Video Production at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In the past five years, Jennifer has written and directed three short films. Her last short film, Charlie & Poppy, screened at 16 film festivals around the world and won three best of category awards. Jennifer wrote The Extraordinary World of Cecily Blinkstop during her first semester in graduate school and is shooting this short as a proof of concept for the feature film. The feature film script won the Grand Prize of the New England Spotlight section of the 2016 Rhode Island International Film Festival’s Screenplay Competition.

Re-Enactments Breathe Fresh Meaning Into the U.S. Declaration of Independence at Events Throughout Independence Week in Massachusetts

What: A forty-minute public performance piece in which a narrator and five costumed re-enactors bring to life the Declaration of Independence

When: June 27 through July 4, 2017  

Where: American Antiquarian Society, Worcester (6/27 at 7 p.m.), Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, Sudbury (6/29 at 6 p.m.), First Parish Church, Fitchburg (7/1 at 7 p.m.), Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge (7/1-4 at 10 a.m. and noon), Old North Church and Historic Site, Boston (7/2 at 1, 3 and 5 p.m.), The Depot, Lexington (7/4 at 7 p.m.)

For further information visit: www.freedomsway.org

During the week surrounding the July 4th holiday, a series of public performances will invite reflection on the significance of the Declaration of Independence for today’s world. A narrator and five costumed re-enactors will bring to life the nation’s founding document, followed by audience discussion. Sponsored by Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area and the American Antiquarian Society, the series will take place at historical and cultural venues throughout eastern and central Massachusetts.

“Too often the Declaration of Independence is reduced to the single line, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…,” notes historian Mary Fuhrer. “Yet the document is rich with meaning on many levels and expressed what many Americans by 1776 had come to believe: that Britain’s king and Parliament had violated our fundamental rights, that we were justified in abolishing such a flawed government, and that we were entitled – and determined – to create a new and better nation. It also asserted truths that transcend time: that governments secure their power from the people, with the purpose of securing their liberty and guaranteeing their equality. The history of our nation has been, and continues to be, the story of our struggle to redeem those promises for all.”

The Fitchburg Public Library and the Fitchburg Historic Society are pleased to partner with Freedom’s Way and the American Antiquarian Society to bring this exciting program to Fitchburg.  Five costumed re-enactors, Joe Brown, Brendan Hart, John Barrett, Ron Sigmon, and Dan Lacroix, will render the words of the Declaration line by line, assisted by Susan Navarre, Director of the Fitchburg Historical Society, as narrator, who sets these words in their rich historical context. Some lines will be familiar to all; others – especially the many grievances that justified altering an ancient government – will receive background and commentary. As the re-enactors dramatize these 18^th century words and ideas, the narrator will draw out their meaning and challenge the audience to consider their relevance and power for today. A Q&A session led by historian Jayne Gordon will follow the presentation. You will have the opportunity to speak with the participants at the reception after the program.

Declaring Independence: Then & Now is part of a multi-year joint initiative of Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area and the American Antiquarian Society to engage citizens in the ideas and transformative potential of the Declaration of Independence. This initiative includes researching the ways in which independence was conceived and debated within colonial communities in the years leading up to 1776; tracing how the Declaration’s role evolved in American communities; and considering the challenges and potential of this living document for Americans today.

From June 27 through July 4, the presentations will take place at historical venues including the American Antiquarian Society (Worcester), Longfellow’s Wayside Inn (Sudbury), First Parish Church (Fitchburg), Old Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge), Old North Church and Historic Site (Boston), The Depot (Lexington).

Most of the events are free and suitable for ages 8 and up.  For further details, please go to www.freedomsway.org  or contact (978) 772-3654.

About Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area:

The 994-square-mile Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area (FWNHA) includes forty-five towns and cities in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire and is home to over 750,000 people. FWNHA connects people, places and communities through educational and interpretive initiatives that protect and promote shared resources and encourage residents and visitors to explore its landscape, history and culture.

About the American Antiquarian Society

Recipient of the 2013 National Humanities Medal, the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is a learned society and a national research library housing the largest and most accessible collection of printed materials from the colonial period through 1876 in what is now the United States, Canada, and the West Indies. The Society sponsors a broad range of programs for constituencies ranging from school children and their teachers through undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, creative and performing artists and writers, and the general public.  The Society’s web address is www.americanantiquarian.org.

The North Central Career Centers, Commonwealth Corporation and the North Central Chamber of Commerce invite you to a free workshop to learn about the Workforce Training Fund.  This program provides grants to employers in Massachusetts to invest in employee training.

A recent Harvard Business Review study showed that employee training/mentoring increases loyalty and longevity.  Staff development doesn’t have to be elaborate or costly – this workshop will illustrate how to utilize available funding to train staff and management.

I hope you’ll join us for this free workshop at the Leominster Doubletree Hotel to learn more about this valuable program.  The Workforce Training Fund’s mission is to invest in the Commonwealth’s workforce and maintain economic viability of businesses.

Register here for the July 19th Leominster Workshop or call 978-534-1481, X209 for more details.  The DoubleTree will have box lunches available for a fee – call me for details.

Sign Up Open for Habitat for Humanity Golf Outing To Help “Build Dreams” for Area Families

4^th Annual Golf Tournament to Raise Funds for Local Building

Anyone who loves to tee up and walk the fairways, or might like the chance to try their swing, can do so and also help “Build Dreams” for area families at Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts’ 4^th Annual Building Dreams Golf Tournament on Tuesday, September 19^th –rain or shine-at the Shaker Hill Country Club in Harvard, MA.

Habitat NCM is reaching out to the community for participants in the event, including foursomes ($600), singles ($175) and event sponsors to help support the tournament.  Registration includes greens fee and cart, golf shirt, golf balls, golf towel, golf tees, pen and gift bag, morning refreshments, snacks, and luncheon, and the shotgun start is at 9:00 a.m. and registration open at 7:30 a.m.

Sponsorships opportunities for the event are available and local businesses and organizations are encouraged to apply early as space is limited.   Sponsor benefits include recognition and company branding (logo, tagline, etc.) at the event and in all printed and digital media releases as well as on Habitat’s website and Facebook page.  Sponsor branding is also imprinted on select event giveaways (shirt, gift bag, golf balls, etc.)  Sponsorship rates vary, depending on sponsorship level chosen.

Sponsorship forms are available at www.ncmhabitat.org.

Contests on the course include Hole-in-One, Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin, and Closest to the Flamingo and prizes are given to the winning foursomes.  Think you have what it takes to win these contests and help a good cause? Sign up now!

Sign Up Today!

To register for the event, please visit the Habitat for Humanity North Central MA website at www.ncmhabitat.org  Deadline to register is August 30^th.   All teams registered by August 1^st will receive a free Bag ‘O Rope to improve their score.

All proceeds from the Golf event will benefit the work of Habitat for Humanity North Central MA, bringing affordable housing to those in need throughout the organization’s 25 towns and cities in the region. 

Habitat NCM is supported only by local funding, donations and money raised at these events to help those in need in our cities and town.  Habitat NCM is hoping to see local banks and businesses join the cause by donating additional funding needed for a successful event. 

Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts

Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts offers a hand up, not a hand out, to hard-working, low-income central Massachusetts families seeking affordable homeownership.  Through volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat NCM builds and repairs simple, decent houses alongside our homeowner partner families.  In addition to a down payment and monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. 90 percent of surveyed Habitat homeowners in 44 U.S. cities said they could not have owned a home without the help from Habitat.

Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts is a non-profit housing ministry that builds simple, decent houses with people in need.  It is the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, serving 25 towns and cities in North Central Massachusetts, including Acton, Ashburnham, Ashby, Ayer, Berlin, Bolton, Boxborough, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Groton, Harvard, Hudson, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Leominster, Maynard, Pepperell, Princeton, Shirley, Sterling, Stow, Townsend, and Westminster.  Habitat NCM also operates the Leominster ReStore which raises funds through the sale of discounted or recycled materials and furniture.

Let’s build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter, together.