MA 6th Congressional District Service Award Honorees Named

SALEM, MA — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) named the five honorees in consideration for the seventh Peter J. Gomes Service Award.

The award annually recognizes a member of the 6th Congressional District for his or her "integrity, compassion and unwavering commitment to their community." Moulton said these were foundational precepts of Gomes, Moulton's late mentor.

The single recipient of the Gomes Award will be revealed on Sept. 30 at a ceremony at Old Town Hall in Salem at 5 p.m.

This year's finalists are:

Hannah Finn and Claudia Mintz, Andover

At 14 years old, Hannah Finn started baking birthday cakes for eight to 10 children living at the Lazarus House, a local homeless shelter. Since then, her volunteer efforts have expanded to become the One Wish Project, a non-profit organization, which currently recognizes and celebrates over 400 children and teens annually living in homeless shelters and foster care. While Finn is away attending college, her mother, Mintz, runs the daily operations and the volunteer program full time as One Wish's Managing Director.

Lyn Freeman, Salem

Freeman has been working with Lifebridge Northshore to provide support for the homeless for more than 25 years. She started by serving dinner for the Community Meals Program of Lifebridge, and now is the Secretary to the Board for Lifebridge, as well as the Co-Chair for the Development Committee. As Co-Chair, she organizes fundraising events while still also helping with work in the kitchen.

Erica McNamara, Reading
McNamara has been working for 14 years to provide education, support, and advocacy to address the issue of substance misuse and mental health awareness in Reading. She joined the Reading Coalition for Prevention & Support at the Reading Police Department in 2008. She is the Coalition Director, and has recently expanded the coalition to include a Mental Health Clinician, an Outreach Coordinator and a Crisis Intervention Team. As a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor, she also teaches Teen, Youth, Adult, Public Safety and Higher Education courses. Prior to working in Reading, she worked for the Lowell Community Health Center for 13 years.

Gordon Shepard, Saugus

Shepard has dedicated his retirement to restoring the designated veterans' areas of the local Riverside Cemetery in Saugus. He has replaced damaged gravestones for veterans of the Civil War to current times, raised money to fund the restoration, and personally maintained the cemetery grounds. Gordon is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive

Sheila Trieff, Newburyport

Since January 2022, Trieff has been working along with at least 60 other volunteers and with the support of several Newburyport and West Newbury churches to help resettle the 40 Afghan evacuees in Newburyport. As a clinical therapist, she has applied her expertise in trauma and grief work to creat a weekly women's group. This gathering provided Afghan women with a space for friendship, conversation and an overall sense of community.

Gomes was a Christian minister who served for nearly 40 years in the Memorial Church of Harvard University. He was a preacher, teacher, author, and leader. He influenced many with his ready wit and wisdom and with his commitment to service, whether to his immediate community, in support of those in the armed forces, or to universal humanitarian causes.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)