SALEM — Newbury resident Jane Merrow was announced Wednesday as the winner of the 10th annual Peter J. Gomes Service Award for her work fighting food insecurity at the First Parish Newbury Food Pantry.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, invited six community members in Massachusetts’ 6th District, including Salem, Peabody, Newbury, Billerica, Amesbury, and Wilmington, to honor their public service and community contributions with the annual award.
The Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes, for whom the award is named, was a Christian minister who served for nearly 40 years in The Memorial Church of Harvard University. Moulton described Gomes as his mentor and friend, whose wit, wisdom, and commitment to service inspired him to sign up to serve in the Marines and later run for Congress.
The award is meant to honor individuals who demonstrate a similar level of commitment to service and community.
“In a time when partisanship is at an all time high, when social media pits us against each other, and political violence threatens to tear our country apart, we need the example set by our honorees now more than ever,” Moulton said.
“It’s because of people like [these honorees] that we are seeing communities come together to support one another, hand in hand, to build better tomorrow.”
Among the six honorees recognized at the ceremony at St. Joseph’s Hall in Salem on Wednesday were Peabody resident Tom Gould who was recognized for his public service and volunteer efforts for disability advocacy, Salem resident Louis Meyi who was honored for his decades-long commitment to social advocacy, and Newbury resident Merrow, the official winner of this year’s Peter J. Gomes Service Award.
Tom Gould, a seven-term Peabody city councilor-at-large, has served on the Northeast Arc board of directors since 2018, where he has supported programs aimed at assisting people with disabilities become full community participants with employment services like the Breaking Grounds Café.
Gould also founded and runs Challenger Sports, a free, all-volunteer program that gives children and young adults with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities the opportunity to play modified basketball and baseball.
Every day I strive to make life easier for those less fortunate than myself, particularly those who face physical and intellectual disabilities,” he said. “This has been my passion; promoting inclusiveness and acceptance of all people. I’m particularly honored to be a member of the board of directors of Northeast Arc, we are a mission-driven agency dedicated to transforming lives and discovering the unique abilities of each individual.
“We recognize that every person possesses a set of skills and contributions to make.”
Louis Meyi is a longtime member of the Marblehead Racial Justice Team, where he has championed affordable housing, public transportation, and local history projects. This year, he served as the emcee of the first annual Dr. King Day Breakfast in Marblehead. Meyi is active with the NAACP North Shore Branch and serves as MRJT’s liaison on METCO and equity issues. Additionally, Meyi serves as a Commissioner of Essex Heritage, is a member of St. Stephen’s UMC’s Ministry Team, and is a contributor to historic projects with the Marblehead Museum.
“It’s really meaningful to me to be associated with something about Rev. Professor Peter Gomes, I’m actually in that age group where I attended one event with him while he was alive,” Meyi said. He encouraged the audience to watch Gomes’ keynote address on Harvard University’s YouTube page, titled “The Future of Faith at Harvard.”
“A topic I’d like to spend a moment on this evening is housing,” Meyi said. “I want to acknowledge that Rep. Moulton did a webinar in March about a bill that is using the force of government for the best- called the G.I. Bill Restoration Act. Marblehead, please heed these initiatives that Congressman Moulton is forwarding.”
Merrow was selected as the winner of this year’s award for her work as the co-founder of the First Parish Newbury Food Pantry.
“Jane has expanded access to food for over 750 people by mobilizing 250 volunteers, rescuing surplus food, delivering to households all without transportation or internet,” Moulton said. “More than one in three Massachusetts households experience food insecurity. Jane’s work has been nothing short of essential.”
“I had never heard of Rev. Gomes, but I looked him up and couldn’t believe all I learned,” Merrow said. “One of the things he said was that he fought for peace, not for war, that he loved his neighbors as himself, and if there was work to be done- it was going to be done with his hands, and that’s what I feel like First Parish Food Pantry is all about.
“Part of our mission is not only providing people with food, but also helping neighbors to help each other. When we started the pantry in 2015, we had three volunteers and one guest, and we’ve gone nowhere but up since then.”
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202