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Needham celebration bench program adds new installations and honors local volunteers
Summary
The committee reported completion of the Goodfellow bench, a recent Sokol dedication, and several pending bench sponsorships — bringing the program to about 31 benches townwide — and described locations, approvals, and plaque guidance.
The Revitalization Trust Fund reported on June 25 that the Goodfellow bench was installed, several new bench sponsorship applications are pending, and the Sokol bench dedication took place over the weekend.
Committee Chair (name not specified), Chair, Revitalization Trust Fund, said the Goodfellow bench installation is complete and that Chief Tom Leary, the lead sponsor for that bench, plans to visit the site. The chair said the bench is located near the Public Service Administration building by Amity Path.
Committee members reviewed three new bench applications: a memorial bench near the post office (Valente Path area), a bench to honor a recently deceased bicyclist group member to be placed by the Starbucks in the Heights, and a bench for a former coach at DeFazio Field. The chair said the DeFazio Field application proposes three bench sites near the flagpole and asked Park and Recreation to preapprove the additional locations so future installations would only require plaque review. The chair also described a new application near Crooked Field for a family memorial for an 18-year-old who recently died.
The committee said there are now about 31 celebration benches installed across the town, with a concentration on the Town Common, the Heights, Great Plain Avenue curve, the police plaza off Chestnut Street and near Claxton Field. The chair described the program’s intent to include brief, character-describing plaque text so future passersby who did not know the honoree could still get a sense of the person’s character.
The Sokol bench dedication honored Ron Sokol; members of the Sokol family and several town volunteers attended. The chair described his community contributions including leadership on Memorial Park projects and volunteer construction work for an athletic house addition years ago. He said Memorial Park is overseen by its own trustees and that the fund coordinates approvals and donation notifications to the select board as required.
No formal vote was taken at the meeting; committee members were asked to continue outreach for bench sponsors and to coordinate approvals with the relevant oversight bodies.
