Even the rain couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the more than 3,500 people who showed up at the St. John’s Prep campus early Sunday morning to take part in the 26th annual Walk for Hospice of the North Shore Greater Boston.
“Despite the weather, family members, staff, volunteers, students and friends of HNSGB were in high spirits and the turnout seemed as strong as ever,” said Diane Stringer, executive president of HNSGB. Since donations are still arriving, there’s no way of coming up with an exact amount raised but Stringer estimates that the walk will once again raise more than $200,000.
As a walker once said to Susan Rogers, special events and development manager, “After what we’ve been through, a little rain is nothing.”
Though the Prep has hosted the walk for the past 11 years, with lots of construction going on to make way for a new middle school and a new high school building, Cronin football field, which used to house the tents and activities, wasn’t available this year. But the temporary accommodations in front of the Ryken Center for the Arts worked well. Even DJ Chris Culkeen, who set up his equipment in a covered outside entrance, seemed content with his makeshift studio. In some ways, quarters were closer and many people lingered longer.
One first-time walker approaching Ryken from the Spring Street parking lot was amazed at the crowd. “Wow, this is quite a thing; I had no idea it was such a big deal,” she said.
The same excitement was in the air as usual. Folks still seemed to get their teams together and lots of young people from different schools and colleges showed up once again to participate in this annual event, motivated by the cause and not just to get credit for community service.
The kids, like other walkers, managed to chow down before and after the walk thanks to the incredible breakfast food provided by John Keohane, former walker co-chair, Hospice board member and volunteer.
There were boxes and boxes of bananas, small green apples, Delicious apples, bags of potato chips, and boxes and boxes of freshly baked bagels pre-cut into equal halves by volunteers. Of course there was cream cheese to go with the bagels. There was also bottled water and delicious generous slices of two different kinds of banana bread. Huge coffee urns filled with welcoming hot coffee were provided by McDonalds of High and Andover streets. Makeshift tents provided as much protection to the walkers as it did to the food. It almost looked like a farmers’ market but with as many people as produce.
The walk began with Danvers High senior Alex Skarmeas belting out an incredible a cappella version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Alex, daughter of Attorney Art Skarmeas, and his wife, Lyn, a marketing manager at HNSGB, has starred in many Academy Theatre shows at the high school. A very talented performer with a wonderful voice, she literally blew the audience away – and, in fact, maybe the rain, too, because it stopped shortly into the walk. Rounding out the celebrity list were state Sen. Joan Lovely and TV and radio talk show host Kim Carrigan.
Prep Headmaster Ed Hardiman couldn’t have been prouder of the staff, crew, parents and teachers from the Prep family. Prep kids lined the route, thanking participants for walking. Groups of students – young men and women from other schools as well as St. John’s – walked together, their sport revealed by either their uniform or team jacket. And the bubbly Danvers High School cheerleaders lined up to high-five the returning walkers, saying “Good job!” to each one.
Each year Ronna Thur Winer of Danvers, a past co-chairman of the walk, personally contacts coaches to recruit students for the walk. She signs more than 100 letters and adds notes thanking them for their past response and asking for continued help. It has become her passion ever since Hospice of the North Shore helped her son’s friend, Sean McLaughlin, a 13-year-old Danvers boy, who died of lymphoma. Winer saw the organization’s interaction with Sean’s classmates and how staff and volunteers stepped in to assist the kids get through their grief.
“They helped the kids and the parents through his death,” she said. “I’ve always felt kids should give back to the community and be involved.”
Thur Winer has put in a lot of energy and work recruiting teams of high school and college students from multiple institutions and she has inspired many to continue to come on their own. She’s particularly proud of all the Danvers schools participation from the elementary grades through the high school. And both Hamilton-Wenham and Masconomet, where Thur Winer has done substitute teaching, have always stepped up to the plate for this enthusiastic educator. She’s also been amazed at the participation from North Shore Voke. And she can’t say enough about all the coaches including John Sullivan of Danvers and Jim Pugh of Masco.
Thur Winer has had support from Endicott College, Babson, Salem State University and the list goes on.
As the morning rain gave way to sunshine and higher temperatures folks were grateful for the water stops along the way. Especially popular was the Tarricone family lemonade stand on Thomas Road manned by Jeannie and Lou Tarricone and their high school students Zach and Annie who enlisted help from some of their friends. After Jeannie’s dad’s death, their annual support took on more meaning and a picture of Robert Gudaitis is always on display at the lemonade pit stop.
Whether they walked for loved ones or friends, grateful individuals and groups wanted to show their support for this special organization as well as celebrate the lives they continue to honor.
“Even after organizing the Walk for seven years, I am still amazed at the outpouring from the community,” Susan Rogers said. “It is truly inspiring.”