More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
Residents and staff at The Elizabeth Seton Residence in Wellesley Hills got into the Winter Olympics spirit, forming teams, competing in games (including a hockey shootout) and wearing medals. One 100-year-old resident took part in all of the games. And of course, there was a torch.
From Wellesley Fire Chief Rick DeLorie:
Wellesley Fire Department Earns State Grants for Fire Education Programs
As Fire Chief, I am pleased to announce that the Wellesley Fire Department has earned two grants that will help augment the department’s ongoing Fire Safety Education. These grants will support our goal to keep our most vulnerable in our community; children to seniors safe as possible with valuable fire and life safety education.
On Behalf of the Fire Department, I received a letter from Governor Baker congratulating our department on being awarded grants from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services of $4,308 for its S.A.F.E. Program and an additional $2,615 for its Senior S.A.F.E. Program. We also appreciate the legislative support for the SAFE and Senior SAFE grant programs from our Representative Alice Peisch, Senator Cynthia Creem, and Senator Richard Ross.
The S.A.F.E. Program is a state initiative designed to provide resources to local fire departments to conduct fire and life safety education programs for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The program aims to educate students to recognize fire risks and teach key safety behaviors that should be used anytime a child comes into contact with a fire or other types of emergencies. A few of the most notable SAFE programs are the Wellesley Fire Youth Rescuer Summer Program, July Jubilation, and the Fire Prevention week in the schools.
Senior S.A.F.E. is a similar program that was created to support fire safety education specifically for older adults, who are most at risk of dying in a fire in Massachusetts. The program builds on the success of the original S.A.F.E. program and helps forge a connection between fire departments and a variety of senior support agencies working in their communities. Two of the most notable Senior SAFE programs are the Senior Citizens Thanksgiving Dinner / Fire Prevention program and the Senior Pancake Breakfast Senior Safety Presentation.
S.A.F.E. and Senior S.A.F.E. are key grant programs that have made a difference in our community. I am very proud of all of our personnel that support these programs and many attend these community events off duty. The primary Fire Prevention Educators are Lt Paul Delaney and Lt Matt Corda who are amazing at working so creatively to engage with residents. Lt Delaney did a great job again this year applying for the safety education grants, and I’m very pleased that our fire and life safety education programs continue to be augmented by grant funding.
The Wellesley Men’s Group, sponsored by the Wellesley Service League, will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 from 2pm – 3pm at the Friendly Aid Building, 219 Washington St. Speaker, Mark Lenci served 30 years in the United States military and then moved to the private sector and a career in information technology. All senior men are invited to attend the lecture and enjoy refreshments and conversation. Please email or call Helen Goins at [email protected] or 781-690-7867 if you have any questions.
Mark’s military career spanned 30 years – 4 years at the US Air Force Academy and 26 years as a Navy officer. He was the first US Air Force Academy graduate to be selected by Admiral Hyman Rickover to cross commission into the Navy nuclear submarine force. He commanded the nuclear fast attack submarine USS Houston (SSN 713). Under his leadership, Houston was recognized as the most improved submarine in the Navy in 1993. Other attack submarine assignments included the USS Los Angeles (SSN 688), Engineer Officer of USS Tullibee (SSN 597), Navigator of USS Trepang (SSN 674), and Executive Officer of the USS Richard B. Russell (SSN 687). Mark made nine six-month deployments to the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic Oceans; and the Mediterranean Sea.
Mark’s senior staff position was Assistant Chief of Staff for Command, Control, Communications and Computers for the US Seventh Fleet with responsibility for the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean area. Mark was a key leader in the US Navy’s efforts to rapidly insert commercial information technology to enable network centric warfare. He led the effort to put the first e-mail and productivity software on US Navy ships and to connect ships at sea via satellite to wide area networks. Mark was responsible for the development and implementation of “Collaboration at Sea”; a global, web-based, collaborative environment for mobile combat forces specifically for ships of US Navy carrier battle groups connected by intermittent, low bandwidth, satellite channels. This system is used by the US Navy and its allies today.
Mark’s work in the Navy with information technology led him to a second career in information technology, first with Lotus/IBM and, most recently, with Microsoft. The majority of his work at Microsoft was the development of hosted Microsoft software services such as email and real-time communications for businesses. These services are often referred to as “the cloud” or “cloud services” and are branded today as Microsoft Office 365. Cloud services have grown to one of Microsoft’s main businesses. Mark brought the first customer on board in 2005 and has subsequently specialized in the US federal, state, and local government segment of the business. Mark retired from Microsoft in 2013.
Mark is originally from Minnesota’s “Iron Range” – the iron ore mining area in northeastern Minnesota. His first job was in the family construction business, which was founded by his great-grandfather and grew to a regional enterprise under the direction of his grandfather. He attended the United States Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction in 1975. He took his commission in the Navy and attended Nuclear Power Training in Mare Island, California and Idaho Falls, Idaho. In 1980, Mark and his wife, Beverly, attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. He then studied business and international relations in the German language for two years at the University of Cologne, Germany, as an Olmstead Scholar. He has also earned a master’s degree in International Relations from Boston University.
In 1991, Mark attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and graduated with distinction. Mark’s military awards include the Legion of Merit with three gold stars, the Meritorious Service Medal with one gold star, and the Navy commendation with two gold stars. Ships that Mark has served on have earned four battle efficiency “E’s”; 3 Navy Unit Commendations; 2 Meritorious Unit Commendations; and multiple Navy Expeditionary Medals.
Mark is married to Beverly Dorfman Lenci of Wayne, Pennsylvania. He and Bev live in Natick, Massachusetts and have three children, Rebecca, Nicholas, and Amelia. Mark and Bev have a passion for sailing with friends and family in their 52-foot sailboat,
“Sunflower”. Mark holds a USCG 100 ton Masters License, a RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence, and various other maritime certifications that support their long range sailing plans. He is a member of the Cruising Club of America and the New York Yacht Club.
Wellesley’s Tolles Parsons Center officially opened its doors earlier this month to rave reviews (see photos here), but on Sunday the new Washington Street facility kept the celebration going by featuring a ribbon cutting, remarks from muckety-mucks, and more tours. Thanks to Swellesley devotee ML for sharing these photos.
