A Thank You From Norton Founders' Day Committee

To the Editor:

On behalf of the entire Picnic Committee, a great big ‘thank you’ to the thousands of members of the community that came out to enjoy the 2nd Annual Norton Founder’s Day Picnic & Fireworks on Saturday, June 22!!  This year, we enjoyed perfect second-day-of-summer weather, and even a ‘super moon.’  We were thrilled with attendance but hope that next year the Bruins schedule their playoff game for a different night so we can expect an even bigger turnout!

We would first like to recognize and express tremendous gratitude to the local businesses, sponsors and vendors that accounted for the majority of our funding.  Without their commitment and financial collaboration, the picnic (and certainly the fireworks!) would not be possible.  We hope that members of the greater Norton community ‘shop and buy local’ and patronize the businesses listed below to show appreciation for their contribution, whether they participated directly at the picnic or cooperated behind-the-scenes:

GOLD SPONSORS:  Horizon Beverage and Roche Bros.

SILVER SPONSORS:  Bramwell Realty and North Easton Savings Bank

BRONZE SPONSORs: Mansfield Bank

SPONSORS, DONORS AND VENDORS:  Norton Police Department, Strojny Glass, G. Horne Pumping, Norton Lions Club, Advanced Dental Care, Fillmore-Nason Post 8049 VFW, Friends of the Norton Public Library, Bradley’s Canine Education, the Brownie and Girl Scout Troops of Norton, Colby Farm (petting zoo), Old Colony Music Together, Jake’s Place Clubhouse, Personal Best Karate, Gold’s Gym, Hatrick Sportswear, LA Express, MGA Links, New York Life Insurance Company, Norton Democratic Town Committee, Norton Conservation Commission, Next Step Living, Norton Rail Trail Committee, Norton Hockey Organization, Norton Basketball Association, Remax of New England, New England Novelty, Bill and David Frank Novelties, Sign Design, Walgreen’s, Table Talk Pies, Waste-Tech of Rehoboth, the Tournament Players Club, Deutsche Bank and the EMC Corporation, Ribeiro Enterprises, North Cottage, St. Mary’s Church, Kara Mackie, Pam Lippincott, Jim Artz, Michael Masone, Eleanor Mackinder, Walter Eykel, the Borgida Family, the Giovanoni Family and the MacKay family.

Food vendors:

The Dawg House, Alberto’s, Dale Bishop’s Pig Pickin’, the Sundae Shack and Attleboro Del’s Lemonade.

Entertainment:

Local band ‘American Toast,’ local band ‘Friday’s Child,’ ‘Men of Many Hats’ DJs Steve Bishop and Rich Webster, singer Ashley Lippincott, Alison’s Wonderland Pony Parties, Balloons by Ciel Riveras and Henry (Lappen) the Juggler; the City of Taunton Department of Public Works, James Prosser of Prosser General Contracting and Carl Dorrance of Dorrance Excavating Contractor, Inc for the stage structures, Kevin Weston for sound engineering and Mockingbird Music for sound equipment, and Ocean State Pyrotechnics for providing us with an outstanding fireworks display for the third year in a row!

Behind-the-scenes:

Michael Epstein of Horizon Beverage, Janet O’Connor of Roche Bros, Mark DeLuzio of Mockingbird Music, Wheaton College, Dr. Christopher Martes and Chrissy Miller of the Norton School Department, Dean Zwicker for coordinating the antique cars, the Norton Historical Commission, Robin Clapp of ‘Web Design by Robin’ for maintenance of the Norton Founder’s Day website, Denise Briody for maintenance of the Norton Founder’s Day Facebook page and Kara Griffin of the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce.

We would also like to thank Chief Brian Clark and the Norton Police Department, Chief Paul Schleicher and the Norton Fire Department, Ray Cord and the Norton Emergency Management Agency, the Mansfield Emergency Management Agency, as well as Keith Silva and the Norton Highway Department for making sure the picnic ran smoothly and safely.  

Thank you to Selectman Bob Kimball for providing the popcorn machine and all the fixings, as well as Town Manager Mike Yunits and the rest of the Norton Board of Selectmen for their support.  We would also like to thank Butch Rich for organizing and facilitating the pie-eating contest, Gary Cameron for the use of the VFW meeting space and his golf cart, and all of the volunteers who helped facilitate the event’s activities.

In closing, we would like to say that we all feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to be part of such a wonderful community, and we look forward to seeing you all next year at the 3rd Annual Founder’s Day Picnic & Fireworks!  If you would like to make a donation to make next year’s picnic a success, we accept donations year-round at Town Hall.  You can mail a check payable to “Town of Norton” (with ‘Founder’s Day’ in the memo line) c/o Norton Parks & Recreation, 70 East Main St, Norton, MA 02766.  If you know of a business that would like to be a sponsor, or are interested in volunteering for the committee to plan next year’s picnic, drop a line to our new email address (see below).  You can also stay up-to-date by visiting our website, or by clicking “like” on our Facebook page.  ‘Til next year – save the date for 6/21/14!

Sincerely,

The Norton Founder’s Day Annual Picnic & Fireworks Committee

Email: nortonfoundersday@gmail.com

Website: www.nortonfoundersday.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NortonFoundersDayPicnic