Councilmen welcome Johnston volunteers on Warwick visit

Pete Fontaine
Posted 12/23/14

When Warwick Ward 5 City Councilman Ed Ladouceur learned the Johnston Senior Center was bringing 56 volunteers to Sam’s Inn for its annual recognition dinner, he formed an unofficial two-man …

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Councilmen welcome Johnston volunteers on Warwick visit

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When Warwick Ward 5 City Councilman Ed Ladouceur learned the Johnston Senior Center was bringing 56 volunteers to Sam’s Inn for its annual recognition dinner, he formed an unofficial two-man greeting committee.

Ladouceur, who once served on the boards of directors for the Elizabeth Buffum Chace House and other such non-profits and knows the importance of volunteerism, bumped into his council counterpart Joseph Solomon and said, “We’ve got to greet those people; I’m so impressed what the Johnston people are doing for their volunteers.”

Thus, the two councilmen showed up at Sam’s Inn last Thursday upon the arrival of the JSC’s motor coach that carried the volunteers to Warwick and did more than give a special welcome to each volunteer.

“My wife [Deb] and I come here quite a bit,” Ladouceur told JSC Executive Director Tony Zompa and Assistant Director Millie Santilli. “We live nearby; the service and food are great here. We thank you for coming to Warwick.”

Zompa, Santilli and people like JSC coordinator Denise Bell were surprised and “extremely appreciative” that Ladouceur and Solomon took time out of their schedules to welcome the group. They asked each councilman to say a few words.

“I’ve been involved with lots of non-profit groups,” Ladouceur noted. “People in charge can only accomplish so much. No organization can survive or prosper without volunteers. These are people who do it from the kindness of their hearts.”

Solomon, meanwhile, echoed Ladouceur’s sentiments and also thanks the JSC for choosing a Warwick restaurant for its volunteer appreciation dinner. He also got caught up in some emotion of sorts, as some Johnstonians who once lived in Providence were very familiar with his family’s name and pharmacy that prompted the Ward 5 Councilman to say, “It’s like old home week going back to our old neighborhood.”

“Congratulations to each and every one of you valuable volunteers,” Solomon said. “Please, enjoy your dinner, the holidays, and keep up the extraordinary work you do every day to help the [Johnston] senior center moving forward.”

Solomon and Ladouceur later learned that the JSC, whose home is where the former El Morocco Supper Club once was, and that its Volunteer Appreciation Dinner were always held there.

“We wanted to do something different this year,” Zompa and Santilli told the two councilmen. “You gentlemen have made this year’s dinner that much more special.”

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