Speaker of the House & Boston Marathon Survivor to Speak at Next Good Morning North Central Breakfast

The next edition of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber’s popular Good Morning North Central breakfast series is scheduled for Friday, September 13, 2019 from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA.  The September edition is sponsored by Unitil. 

The Good Morning North Central series is a high-profile, fast-paced and educational breakfast program geared towards executives, senior managers, professionals and business owners.  Each of the programs has a business-oriented focus and features prominent popular speakers to present on topics of interest to local businesses.

The featured speakers for the September edition are Representative Robert DeLeo, Speaker of the House, and Author, Speaker, and Survivor, Roseann Sdoia Materia. 

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop) represents the Town of the Winthrop and a portion of the City of Revere.  He has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1991 and became Speaker of the House on January 28, 2009. On Jan. 2, 2019, the House re-elected him as Speaker, his sixth term as Speaker.

An award-winning legislator, Speaker DeLeo seeks to empower individuals, families and communities by focusing on legislation that keeps cities and towns safer and healthier, creates jobs, and increases educational opportunities. Under his leadership, the House passed nation-leading legislation relating to early education and care, fighting the opioid crisis, economic development, gun safety, veteran’s benefits, criminal justice reform, clean energy, and protecting civil rights for all.

Speaker DeLeo is a graduate of Boston Latin School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northeastern University and a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School. He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Suffolk University in 2009 and an honorary degree from Salem State University in 2012. A grandfather of two, Speaker DeLeo resides in Winthrop.

For Roseann Sdioa Materia, April 15, 2013 began much the same way every Patriot’s Day had for the past 15 years. Her plans were always the same— to see the Red Sox play at Fenway and then, head over to one of her favorite Boylston Street bars to watch the Marathon with friends. Everything seemed perfect, even the weather was cooperating on that beautiful sunny day. And then, the unthinkable happened. Two bombs exploded and Roseann was just steps from the second blast.

She remembers the flash by her feet and thinking it was too late to run. She remembers feeling that if she were to close her eyes, she may never wake up. And she remembers the selfless kindness of strangers, without whom, she may have lost her life instead of just part of her right leg.

Although not a marathon runner herself, Roseann avidly enjoyed running three to five miles a day. Today, as she works through her recovery, she is challenging herself to run again and hopes to inspire others to work through their own loss with courage and conviction. She hopes to raise awareness for those in desperate need of prosthetics.

Register for the September Good Morning North Central Breakfast by clicking here.