June 30, 2005
By JOAO FERREIRA
Standard-Times staff writer
 ANDREW T. GALLAGHER/Standard-Times special Former Gov. Michael Dukakis delivers the commemcement address to leadership academy graduates. |
They include lawyers, educational and business leaders, politicians and artists, among others. But for one day a month over the past 10 months, they made the effort to meet in Fall River to further their leadership skills.
Together, they developed five team projects targeting regional issues (some of those programs have already been instituted) that impressed even former Gov. Michael Dukakis. So, they were asked to keep up the good work.
"Don't stop now folks," Mr. Dukakis said in his commencement address, delivered during a ceremony at the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center. "Yes, every one of your projects is important, but you need the state as a partner if you're going to move this region forward."
With that, Mr. Dukakis launched a challenge.
"You come up with an agenda for SouthCoast that you can present to the candidates for governor" during the upcoming campaign, he said. "Get them to commit to that agenda. Not kind of 'iffies' or 'maybes.'"
Mr. Dukakis went further. He said that if it was up to him, he would put commuter rail at the top of the agenda. He said he rode the bus to Fall River yesterday and more options are dearly needed.
Graduates also earned accolades from local elected officials, legislators and those who supported the program.
"This is the type of out-of-the-box thinking that's been encouraged in our area," New Bedford Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. said.
"It's so encouraging to see leadership developed that understands our need to be unified," Fall River Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. said, striking the regionalization chord.
"It makes me very proud when I see people in the private sector getting together to lead this area forward," Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, said.
The Leadership SouthCoast nonprofit joined with UMass Dartmouth and the Fall River and New Bedford chambers of commerce to develop the program.
"This program symbolizes the way we want to be imbedded in the community," UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. McCormack said.
"The hard part is in front of us," said Mary Lynn Lenz, a member of the Leadership SouthCoast board of directors. "We now need to move these projects forward. We need to perpetuate Leadership SouthCoast."
Yesterday's graduates are:
Maureen Sylvia Armstrong, Patrick Barry, Lee Blake, Laurie Bullard, Bob Canuel, Anthony Cordeiro, Scott Costa, Laurenio Couto, Joe DeMedeiros, Kenneth Fiola Jr., Mary Harrington, Sue Labus, the Rev. David Lima, Deborali McLaughlin, Joan Medeiros, Jolin Miller, Matthew Morrissey, Michael Murray, Steve Ozug, Christina Rudd, William Saltonstaff, George Saulnier, Cyn Spence, Lisa Sughrue, John Vasconcellos and Robert Ward.
Contact Joao Ferreira at jferreira@s-t.com
This story appeared on Page A3 of The Standard-Times on June 30, 2005.
<=== back a page / back to top