North Shore Holiday Toy Drive is Tomorrow!

Tomorrow starting at 6:00am I will join with North Shore 104.9 in our annual North Shore Toy Drive.  We will be broadcasting live from 10 different locations throughout the day in an effort to collect as many toys as possible for area charities to go to local children.

This exciting event brings together community officials, local talent, school systems, and even Santa and Mrs. Claus all in the spirit of giving.  All the broadcasts are open to the public, and we would love to see as many new faces as possible this year.

The final broadcast, which is the Cape Ann Savings Bank on Main St. in Gloucester, will even feature special guests for children!  Come for the food, for the entertainment, or to take pictures with Santa Claus, but most importantly please come to drop off a toy or gift card.  Through all of our hard work, we can truly make a child’s Christmas a special one.

To view all of the live broadcast locations, please click the schedule above.  To read a recent press release that I distributed earlier this month, please click here.

Collecting Toys for North Shore Children

 

For the past several years I have worked in partnership with local radio station North Shore 104.9 FM to conduct a month long toy drive to benefit children of the North Shore, and on Thursday, December 12th we will be broadcasting live from 6:00am-6:00pm throughout the North Shore for one final push to collect toys before the holidays.  This year we hope to collect more toys than we have in the past due to the increase in need.

Toys collected will all be provided to the charities in the communities from which they are donated.  Some of those charities include Toys for Tots, Beverly Bootstraps, Action, Inc., and others.  I’d like to encourage all of my constituents to stop by at one of the locations and join in on the festivities.  The day will include music, interviews of state and local officials, food, and special guests.  All are welcome to attend and to even take pictures with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus!

Posted below is the press release that I released today.  It contains a complete schedule and toy drop-off locations.  I hope to see you on the 12th!

North Shore 104.9 & Senator Bruce Tarr Hit the Road for 18th Annual North Shore Holiday Toy Drive

Toy Drive Expected to Collect Thousands of Toys for Charities on the North Shore

Beverly- With the need for toys at an all-time high for local children, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) and North Shore 104.9 will once again broadcast live all day from several locations on the North Shore to collect as many toys, gift cards, and monetary donations as possible to fulfill that need.

This year’s Holiday Toy Drive will take place on Thursday, December 12th from 6:00am to 6:00pm from ten locations on the North Shore. The live broadcast will feature local entertainment, school choirs and bands, great food, and interviews with local officials.  Even Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will be lending a helping hand to support the cause!  The Paper Store has also partnered once again with Senator Tarr and North Shore 104.9 to present the 18th annual North Shore Holiday Toy Drive broadcast.

“The holiday season gives us all a chance to show just how much we care about our neighbors and the children in our communities,” said Senator Tarr.  “By joining together this year as we have in the past we can make a real difference in the lives of children who need to know that we think it’s important for them to have a happy holiday.  It’s about more than a toy; it’s about knowing they’re not forgotten.”

North Shore 104.9 President Todd Tanger stated, “We are thrilled to be a part of this wonderful event. The North Shore Holiday Toy Drive is such an exciting event that brings holiday joy to deserving children right here in the North Shore. We thank everyone for their overwhelming generosity and kind contributions, especially Bruce Tarr for his continued efforts and energy year after year. We appreciate listeners and clients allowing us to break from normal programming to broadcast this event and hope they help us bring some holiday joy to the lives of children on the North Shore this holiday season.”

The scheduled live broadcast locations, which are open to the public, are as follows (times are subject to change):

6:00am Capitol Diner 431 Union Street, Lynn, MA

Family & Children's Service of Greater Lynn, Inc.

7:30am Devereux House, Marblehead 39 Lafayette Street, Marblehead, MA

Toys being collected for: Marblehead Counseling Center

8:15am The Paper Store, Swampscott 435 Paradise Road Swampscott, MA

Toys being collected for: Toys for Local Children (The Paper Store in Swampscott will only collect toys on December 12th.)

9:00am Flint Public Library, Middleton 1 South Main Street, Middleton, MA

Toys being collected for: Neighbors in Need

10:30am Dawson’s True Value Hardware 50 Enon Street, Beverly, MA

Toys being collected for: Beverly Bootstraps

12:00pm First Ipswich Bank 31 Market Street, Ipswich, MA

Toys being collected for: Action Inc./ Ipswich Caring

1:15pm Woodman’s of Essex 121 Main Street, Essex, MA

Toys being collected for: Action Inc.

2:00pm Manchester Athletic Club 8 Atwater Avenue, Manchester, MA

Toys being collected for: Pathways For Children

3:30pm Shalin Liu Performance Center 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA

Toys being collected for: Action Inc.

5:00pm Cape Ann Savings Bank 109 Main Street, Gloucester, MA

Toys being collected for: Action Inc.

In addition to the above broadcast locations, the below locations are welcoming any and all donations for the Annual North Shore Holiday Toy Drive. Please note that North Shore 104.9 will not be broadcasting from the below locations:

∗Wenham Museum

∗Cape Ann Savings Bank, Manchester

∗Marblehead Community/Aging Center

∗Abbott House, Lynn

∗Rosewood, Peabody

∗Align Credit Union, Danvers

∗First Ipswich Bank: Essex, Rowley, Gloucester

∗Honey Dew Donuts, Danvers

∗Delande Lighting, Salem

∗Beverly Chamber of Commerce

∗Additional toy donation locations listed at www.NorthShore1049.com.

Toys can be dropped off at any of these locations now through Friday, December 20th.  For further information, please call JoAnn Gillette at North Shore 104.9 at 978-927-1049 extension 19 or Senator Bruce Tarr at 617-722-1600.

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Media Alert: WBZ Radio’s “Nightside” with Dan Rea

Tonight at 9:00pm I will be joining “Nightside” host Dan Rea to discuss the tragic case of Puppy Doe, and the PAWS Act, the comprehensive legislation I have filed to address animal abuse.  If you have any questions or comments please call in during tonight’s segment by dialing (617) 254-1030.

To learn more about Puppy Doe and the PAWS Act, please click here to read a previous post regarding the issue.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Perhaps no custom reveals our character as a Nation so clearly as our celebration of Thanksgiving Day." – President Ronald Reagan

On this Thanksgiving Day, it is my hope that we all take a few minutes to appreciate the many blessings in our lives, and let us not forget the many Americans who are currently serving overseas away from their family and friends to protect this great nation.  May you all have a safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Hanukkah!

“May the lights of Hanukkah usher in a better world for all humankind.” ~Author Unknown

To all of my Jewish friends and constituents, I wish you all a happy Hanukkah celebration.  May you all enjoy eight days of peace, happiness, and joy with your loved ones.

Commemorating Thanksgiving in North Reading

On Sunday, November 24^th I had the honor to once again co-host an annual Thanksgiving dinner for North Reading Seniors with House Minority Leader Brad Jones and his wife Linda. The turnout was fantastic, with hundreds of people from the community coming out to enjoy the feast. Sunday's dinner afforded us the opportunity to join in the spirit of thanksgiving and the appreciation of what we have in our lives. Posted below are a few photos from the dinner.

Remembering a Great Man

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” -John F. Kennedy

On this day 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated during a parade through Dallas, Texas.  Even though his time in office was short, the Massachusetts-born president advanced civil rights in America, committed the country to the Apollo program, and created the humanitarian organization, the Peace Corp.  President Kennedy endeared himself to the world due to his dedication of serving others.  Upon his death, then-United Nations Ambassador Adlai Stevenson said “All of us will bear the grief of his death until the day of ours.”

Although on this day in 1963 will forever live in infamy, President John F. Kennedy’s legacy will forever live on.  Posted below is President Kennedy’s famous “City Upon a Hill” Speech, which was delivered to the Massachusetts General Court as his last formal address before his inauguration as president.

"City Upon a Hill" Speech (January 9, 1961)

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"I have welcomed this opportunity to address this historic body, and, through you, the people of Massachusetts to whom I am so deeply indebted for a lifetime of friendship and trust.

For fourteen years I have placed my confidence in the citizens of Massachusetts—and they have generously responded by placing their confidence in me.

Now, on the Friday after next, I am to assume new and broader responsibilities. But I am not here to bid farewell to Massachusetts.

For forty-three years—whether I was in London, Washington, the South Pacific, or elsewhere—this has been my home; and, God willing, wherever I serve this shall remain my home.

It was here my grandparents were born—it is here I hope my grandchildren will be born.

I speak neither from false provincial pride nor artful political flattery. For no man about to enter high office in this country can ever be unmindful of the contribution this state has made to our national greatness.

Its leaders have shaped our destiny long before the great republic was born. Its principles have guided our footsteps in times of crisis as well as in times of calm. Its democratic institutions—including this historic body—have served as beacon lights for other nations as well as our sister states.

For what Pericles said to the Athenians has long been true of this commonwealth: "We do not imitate—for we are a model to others."

And so it is that I carry with me from this state to that high and lonely office to which I now succeed more than fond memories of firm friendships. The enduring qualities of Massachusetts—the common threads woven by the Pilgrim and the Puritan, the fisherman and the farmer, the Yankee and the immigrant—will not be and could not be forgotten in this nation's executive mansion.

They are an indelible part of my life, my convictions, my view of the past, and my hopes for the future.

Allow me to illustrate: During the last sixty days, I have been at the task of constructing an administration. It has been a long and deliberate process. Some have counseled greater speed. Others have counseled more expedient tests.

But I have been guided by the standard John Winthrop set before his shipmates on the flagship Arbella three hundred and thirty-one years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier.

"We must always consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us."

Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us—and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a city upon a hill—constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities.

For we are setting out upon a voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the Arabella in 1630. We are committing ourselves to tasks of statecraft no less awesome than that of governing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, beset as it was then by terror without and disorder within.

History will not judge our endeavors—and a government cannot be selected—merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these.

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us—recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state—our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:

First, were we truly men of courage—with the courage to stand up to one's enemies—and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates—the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?

Secondly, were we truly men of judgment—with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past—of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others—with enough wisdom to know that we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?

Third, were we truly men of integrity—men who never ran out on either the principles in which they believed or the people who believed in them—men who believed in us—men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?

Finally, were we truly men of dedication—with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest.

Courage—judgment—integrity—dedicationthese are the historic qualities of the Bay Colony and the Bay State—the qualities which this state has consistently sent to this chamber on Beacon Hill here in Boston and to Capitol Hill back in Washington.

And these are the qualities which, with God's help, this son of Massachusetts hopes will characterize our government's conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead.

Humbly I ask His help in that undertaking—but aware that on earth His will is worked by men. I ask for your help and your prayers, as I embark on this new and solemn journey."