John Lynds, news reporter for the East Boston Times Free Press for 11 years, will be one of the honorees at the Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) Community Volunteer Celebration Thursday at the Omni Parker House Hotel.
Lynds will be recognized as a “Community Hero” in recognition of his dedication to the East Boston community and his outstanding coverage of local organizations.
“I’m extremely humbled to be honored as a Community Hero at this year’s celebration,” said Lynds. “While I have strived to bring community awareness and focus to the work that the East Boston Area Planning Action Council (APAC) does, without the dedication of people like Amy Lima and John White, this honor would not exist for me.
“Their amazing work has made writing about APAC these past 11 years an easy task. They are truly the community heroes that are able to move mountains and help so many East Bostonians day after day with very little resources. So it would be careless to not share this honor with the APAC staff and board.”
Lynds also thanked his wife, Rebecca, and children, Sofia and Brody, for their support.
“I would also like to thank my wife and children for standing with me in advocating for East Boston as a community and the programs here like APAC that make it a great place to live work and raise a family,” said Lynds.
Lynds wrote a recent article about the positive opportunities given to local youth through APAC’s Summer Works program. Lynds has been credited for being passionate about putting the mission of APAC into words through well-written stories that highlight the issues of low-income neighborhood residents.
Lynds and his wife, Rebecca, and their two children, Sofia and Brody, are proud residents of East Boston. And as a resident, Lynds believes in the value of community partnerships and fully supports East Boston’s efforts.
John Drew, CEO and president of ABCD, congratulated Lynds and the other honorees. “We are very excited to honor these men and women who have donated their time and energy to support ABCD and its various programs in each of their communities,” said Drew. “On this night we honor these community heroes who exemplify excellence, dedication and commitment through their service to our organization.”
In addition to Lynds, the honorees receiving awards include, Barbara Crichlow, Geraldine Godding, Rachel Green, George “Chip” Greenidge Jr., Joan A. Harris, Debbie Hughes, Carmen Lopez, Lynn Margherio, Lucia Matule, Anne Medina, Ph.D., Cecilia Mendez, Ann Sheers, Sara Suarez, Stephen Tang, May Tom, Clayton Turnbull, Harry Uhlman, Alejandra Velasquez, and Qi Zhang.