The end of January marked a bittersweet milestone for Maria Stella Gulla, who retired after 25 years of service with the ABCD North End/West End Neighborhood Service Center (NE/WE NSC), nearly 8 of which she was director. Retiring will allow her to spend more time with her children and grandchildren and to pursue other interests and activities, including spending more time in Italy, where many of you know she is from.
ABCD celebrated this occasion with a small in-person luncheon with only the team at the NE/WE NSC due to the inability to gather due to COVID-19. It was so touching that all of the local officials sent citations or dropped by in person with citations and flowers. The visitors included State Senator Sal Di Domenico, State Senator Lydia Edwards, State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, State Representative Jay Livingstone, and City Councilor Kenzie Bok.
A larger group of ABCD board members; ABCD leadership, including President/CEO John Drew and Sharon Scott-Chandler, Executive Vice President/COO, and Josh Young, Director of Field Operations and Legislative Affairs; ABCD staff; and members of the community joined in a Zoom celebration with a slideshow of the center and Maria Stella’s service throughout the years. The photos dated back to the days when the NE/WE NSC was located on Tileston Street. Where has the time gone?
Maria Stella looks forward to staying connected to the community. “ABCD does such valuable work for its constituents, and I am proud to have led programs assisting the seniors and families of the North End, West End, and Beacon Hill neighborhoods,†she remarked at the culmination of the celebration. “I hope to be back now and again to volunteer to prepare a hot meal when it is safe to gather again.†Ci vediamo, Maria Stella! We will miss you.
What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. ~T.S. Eliot