FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 14, 2014

CONTACT: Peter Van Delft
(617) 704-6682

SHERIFF TOMPKINS ATTENDS UMASS BOSTON’S ANNUAL COMMUNITY BREAKFAST

Sheriff Tompkins with (L to R): State Rep elect Dan Hunt, State Rep Dan Cullinane, Award Recipient Sophia Haynes–Cardwell, UMass Chancellor J. Keith Motley, Award Recipient Lou Pasquale, State Rep Bruce Ayers and State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins recently attended the 28th Annual Community Breakfast, hosted by the University of Massachusetts (UMass) at Boston.

Attended by a host of community leaders, elected officials and residents, this year’s breakfast was held in tribute of Robert H. Quinn, a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, former chair of the UMass–Boston Board of Trustees, and staunch community leader, who recently passed away.

The breakfast also continued the annual Quinn Awards ceremony, which is named for the aforementioned community icon, and was initiated in 1987 as a means to recognize members of the community who have demonstrated a commitment to community service and development.

Giving the main address, UMass Chancellor J. Keith Motley gave tribute to the late Mr. Quinn and his family before presenting the awards that bore his name.

Awards that were presented included the Robert H. Quinn Award for Outstanding Community Leadership which was presented to Sophia Haynes–Cardwell, a community arts activist and the founder and executive director of Stajez Cultural Arts Center; and the Longstanding Community Commitment and Service Award, which was presented to Lou Pasquale, who was an employee at Phillips Family Properties for 57 years and has done a great deal of community work for veterans, children, senior citizens, the handicapped, and the homeless.

Following the ceremony, Sheriff Tompkins expressed his appreciation for the morning’s event.

"It’s heartening to see so many of our community members and elected officials here to celebrate a leader who embodied what it means to be civically engaged," said Sheriff Tompkins. "It’s important that we have these moments to honor those who embrace being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers because their actions can have an inspirational effect on others, which in turn can significantly transform our communities for the better."

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