Letter: Bilal for Williamstown Select Board

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To the Editor:

I am writing to urge Williamstown voters to elect Bilal Ansari to the Williamstown Select Board on Tuesday, May 10. Dr. Ansari has dedicated himself to a life of service, to helping people resolve difficult situations. He listens intently and responds carefully with compassion. He appeals to our best nature. These are essential skills needed at this moment in our town.

Dr. Ansari does not believe that he alone has the solutions to all of the challenges facing our town. Instead, he wants to hear from those comfortable speaking up and also those who, until now, have not felt comfortable nor heard at all. He believes it will take a village to share concerns and work together to make Williamstown a better place for everyone to live and work and grow. But making that happen takes a special type of skilled leadership.

Bilal Ansari is the candidate blessed with that skilled leadership and a stake in our town's quality of life. He has deep roots in this town: his ancestors lived and worked here. He is committed to an approach based in kindness and inclusion. He is the candidate who can and will help us reach a new, inclusive and more equitable chapter in our town's history.

I ask for your vote on May 10 for Bilal Ansari for the Williamstown Select Board. Thank you.

 

Hugh L Guilderson, Ph.D.
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 

 


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Williamstown's O'Grady Remembered as 'Pillar of Support'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Present and former town officials expressed grief this week at the news that longtime Council on Aging Executive Director Brian O’Grady died last week.
 
The passing of O’Grady, 69, who served the town in that role since 1999, was framed as a both a professional and deeply personal loss by two of the town managers he served under during his 27 years in Williamstown.
 
“When I came here a little over four years ago, I had spent my career in government work, primarily working in the human services realm,” current Town Manager Robert Menicocci said at Monday evening’s meeting of the Select Board. “This was my first foray into the broader municipal government. But Brian's career had always been in the human service realm.
 
“It was a bit of a comfort for me to come into a setting where I could speak to someone who was part of my team but also, we spoke the same language and got into the work for the same reason. We all are here to serve the public, but I think there's a special calling for some who work in the human service realm to support folks on their hardest days. It's a big part of how government functions and serves as part of the safety net. And Brian fully embodied that every single day.”
 
One of Menicocci’s predecessors, Peter Fohlin, left a message of condolence on O’Grady’s online obituary.
 
“I am heartbroken to read of Brian's illness and passing,” Fohlin wrote. “From 1999 until I retired in 2015, Brian was the staunchest member of the Town of Williamstown team. Strong beliefs but always a kind heart. A pillar of support and energy in the aftermath of [Tropical Storm] Irene in 2011. Always working to improve the Harper Center facility and programs for his community. Respected by everyone and loved by all. The best friend.”
 
Fohlin was joined on iBerkshires.com’s obituary by O’Grady’s colleagues at Elder Services of Berkshire County.
 
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