Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Car seat installations and inspections at New England Chapel - Oct 7 from 10 to 1 PM
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Franklin Girls Scout bridging ceremony held on June 4, 2023
First and foremost, I am a parent to two Girl Scouts here today, a 2nd year Cadette, and a 2nd year Brownie. I am also Cookie Mom & Treasurer for both of my girls’ troops, a co-leader for the Brownie troop, and most recently added on being theTreasurer as well as the Fall Product & Cookie Mentor for Franklin Girl Scouts. I love being a part of this organization and helping foster strong, independent, caring young ladies in our community in hopes that they can go out into the world and do even better than we have.We are so glad to have you all here today to take part in the long standing tradition of “Bridging.” For our newest Girl Scout parents, bridging is the act of crossing from one level of Girl Scouts to the next. There are a total of 6 levels before becoming an Adult member, most of these levels are maintained for 2 years. We begin as Daisies in Kindergarten & 1st grade. Brownies are 2nd & 3rd grade. Juniors are our 4th & 5th graders. Cadettes are 3 years for all of middle school 6, 7, & 8th grade. Then it is 2 years each of Seniors & Ambassadors through High School. You will see and hear from troops in each of these levels today, some will bridge, others will not, but all of them have wonderful things to share with us today.This year it finally felt like we were truly back to Girl Scouting as normal after 2 years of makeshift scouting during COVID, and this year there were many changes within our Service Unit (SU). Our long-time Franklin GS Mentor stepped down and a new team of leaders worked hard to step up and get our Service Unit back up and flourishing after the past few years. I’d like to thank and recognize Liz Feigen for stepping up to take on that new leadership role so that our SU did not dissolve, and Sarah Clarke for her help working together with Liz to keep our SU thriving this year and bringing back so many long standing traditions. Thank you both.Before we get to the Girls and their accomplishments, recognitions, and bridging, I’d like just a few more moments to highlight some of the wonderful and fun things we did as a whole Service Unit this year. Our Service Unit is Franklin Girl Scouts as a whole, we run under GSEMA, but operate independently for anyone wondering. This fall we came back to the Harvest Festival with a tent for crafting and recruitment trying to remind girls and parents that Girl Scouts are still here in Franklin, MA!
We of course sold cookies, as you all very well know, and had so many amazing cookie booths. We hit some incredible numbers for both personal and troop sales! I will let the troops choose to mention the personal sales, but I would like to recognize Daisy Troop 64085 as our top selling troop for the year, and Junior Troop 82351 as our 2nd highest selling troop. Great job ladies, I’m sure you will do or have already done so many amazing things with the money you earned from all of your hard work. While mentioning cookies I would at this time like to recognize all of our wonderful Cookie Volunteers who are here today.
If you are a TCC “aka Cookie Mom” would you please stand so we can thank you for all you did for us this year. We could not have a cookie season without you, so thank you from all of us for your hours of dedication to ensure the cookies were ordered & picked up, cookie booths were stocked, and all of these girls got their numbers in on time. Thank you.
If you are a TCC and also a Troop Leader or Asst Leader would you please remain standing. These volunteers work double time during cookie season, not only doing all of the things I just mentioned, but also planning and running our Girl Scouts’ meetings! They are rock stars!!! Thank you ladies, for all that you do for our girls.Some other highlights at the SU level include multiple donations to the Franklin Food Pantry during the holidays, lots of cookies after cookie season, as well as snack items following our My Guy and Me Dance. In total over 200lbs was donated this year from our Franklin Girl Scouts. We also had a troop that donated to first responders as well as the FFP. This year our My Guy & Me Dance returned after a three years hiatus, with over 80 Girl Scouts in attendance and 75 special Guys dancing the night away!
I can tell you that was a big thing in my house, as my daughter was a 1st year Daisy in 2020 when the Dance was canceled just a few days before it was supposed to take place. Now 2nd year Brownies (that’s 4 years of GS) were finally able to go!!! Franklin also held World Thinking Day at the FPL as a public event for the first time ever which was a wonderful time.
We participated in Franklin’s Earth Day Cleanup, we had a super fun Roller Skating Party at Roller Kingdom, and most recently marched in the Memorial Day Parade. It has been such a wonderful year seeing our Girl Scouts back out front and center in the community, and we hope to do even more next year to let Franklin know we are here, and we are SO much more than just cookies.Last on my agenda this afternoon is to recognize all of our INCREDIBLE volunteers who are here today as Leaders. Without our leaders and assistant leaders, we would not have Girl Scouting, period. These women put in hours of work on top of everything else they have going on to dedicate their time to these young ladies sitting in front of me. They plan meetings and execute them, they learn songs and games that have been around for decades, and keep so many Girl Scout traditions alive and moving on to future generations.
Most of them also volunteer at the Service Unit level to plan events like the dance, and this bridging ceremony today. They are amazing and hard-working and deserve to be recognized. If you are a leader, co-leader, or assistant leader of a troop, would you please stand and remain standing, we’re going to play a little game. If you have been a leader for at least 2 years, please remain standing. If you have been a leader for at least 4 years, please remain standing. 5 years….6 years….8 years…10 years….12 or more years.
Thank you for your leadership and dedication to Girl Scouting in Franklin, and for anyone here today that wants to get more involved but does not want to lead a troop, please reach out to any one of us here today. Parent volunteers are so important not only at the troop level, but also at the town/service unit level. We would love parents to help with planning some of our bigger town events, and getting to know you!
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Tonight we would like to show our gratitude to 2 amazing volunteers for their dedicated service to our Franklin Girl Scouts, Roni Doherty, and Judi Cook.
● Judi Cook started volunteering when her granddaughter was in Daisies. She joined as a leader for the troop as 2nd year Daisies and remained a leader through 2 years of Brownies, 2 years of Juniors, 3 years of Cadettes, and all 4 years of High School staying with the troop for a total of 12 years. During this time Judi also took on the additional role of becoming the Franklin Girl Scouts Treasurer, and served in that role for at least 7 years. She was also the designated CORI Volunteer for our Service Unit. At this time we would like to recognize and thank you Judi for your 12 years of service to Girl Scouting in Franklin. Would you please come up and accept this recognition on behalf of everyone here today.
● Roni Doherty has been a staple in Franklin Girl Scouts longer than some of us have even lived in town. Roni has been a registered Girl Scout for the past 22 years, and is currently a Lifetime Member. Over the course of those 22 years she has led troops of Brownies for 6 years, Juniors for 2 years, Cadettes for 3 years, and the High School Seniors/Ambassadors for 9 years. Roni joined and began leading a Brownie troop before her own daughter had even joined Girl Scouts, and remained a leader for 7 years after her daughter graduated from High School. Beyond leading her own troops, Roni has received several awards from our Council. In 2010, Roni was awarded the Honor Pin from Girl Scouts of Eastern MA, in 2015 she was recognized for 5 years of Sustained Service, and in 2019 she received the Appreciation Pin.
In 2019 Roni took her service beyond the troop level and began serving as Franklin’s Service Unit Coordinator. The Service Unit Coordinator is the key contact person for GSEMA to get information to each town’s troops. And the point person for troops to go to with questions about policies and procedures from GSEMA. She’s like the COO of Girl Scouts in Franklin. So it’s a big job, and Roni led us for years. She was knowledgeable, accessible, hard-working, and dedicated to making sure that leaders were informed, and the girls had a fantastic experience. This year, Roni has officially passed the torch on her leadership role. And while we know she has stepped down, we also know that Girl Scouts will always be a part of her life in some capacity, and that she is always one of our sisters.
Thank you Roni, for your 22 years of service and leadership to Girl Scouting in Franklin. Would you please come up and accept this recognition on behalf of everyone here today.
- Daisy Troop 77229
- Daisy Troop 64036
- Daisy Troop 64085
- Brownie Troop 70643
- Junior Troop 82351
- Cadette Troop 62378
- Cadette Troop 62394
- High School Troop 80637
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Inside New England Chapel - Open House 11/13/21
If you missed getting to the Open House of the New England Chapel on Saturday, you can also watch the preview done by NECN here -> https://www.necn.com/on-air/as-seen-on/bowling-alley-in-franklin-transformed-into-church/2616029/
View the photos captured during my walk through which also includes photos of the outside as the changes began to take place transforming it from Ficco's to New England Chapel
Open house -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/vMHAE8vK1EALrNEaA
Outside transformation -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/LMEoUw44vky1vQ8P9
The handout provided a self guided walk through of the facility. You can view a copy of it here -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Wk8BHJoOxij4SixQwVuv5Oia4pOBM-I/view?usp=sharing
To find out more about the services of New England Chapel visit them -> https://www.nechapel.org/
Inside New England Chapel - Open House 11/13/21 |
Thursday, November 4, 2021
New England Chapel schedules Open House at former Ficco's Bowladrome - Nov 13
An historic building in Franklin is now
serving another kind of history:
Former bowling alley transformed into a new kind of church
Open House Set for Saturday, November 13, 2021
At least twice a week, a car will pull into the parking lot at 300 East Central Street in Franklin. Families, former patrons and even former workers want to see what has become of the place they used to spend their weekday nights, birthdays and teenage years. They are always delighted to see that the building remains and that a few of the creatively-repurposed bowling alleys are still on the premises. The transformation will be on full display as New England Chapel hosts a self-guided open house next month.
OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, November 13, 2021
3 to 5 PM
Self-guided tours, refreshments and giveaways.
How does a bowling alley turn into a church?
For more than 75 years, Ficco's Bowladrome served as the entertainment mecca of the small suburban town of Franklin, Massachusetts. It closed its doors in 2015 after an offer was made to demolish the building to make way for a shopping plaza. Hundreds of patrons came to say their goodbyes to the building that was the background for family nights, birthday parties, tournaments and more.
For six years, the iconic Ficco's Bowladrome at 300 East Central Street in Franklin MA stood abandoned. On another side of town, New England Chapel's lease was expiring and they were ready for a place to call home. A sales sign on the property caught the eye of the senior pastor during a ride to the supermarket in 2019 and well, the rest is history.
This unlikely community of buyers were able to purchase the building that would keep the walls standing and even a few bowling alleys on the premises. New England Chapel, established 20 years ago in Franklin, is a church for people who have given up on church but not on God. At a time when church attendance continues to decrease nationwide, hundreds of people attend the weekly services and attendance is growing. Many new attendees have come to 'check it out' due to their Ficco's connection.
A community comes together to make it happen
Much of the construction took place during the pandemic while the three pastors conducted virtual service out of their temporary office space
The community of New England Chapel came together to make this opportunity happen with many volunteering a collective 1,500 hours painting, unpacking and prepping the space
Inside the building (21,450 square feet)
A sanctuary that seats up to 400 people (where 10 lanes were previously)
A cafe-free coffee is served during services (where the party rooms once were)
A space for children from birth through 5th grade during services
A designated youth room
Conference rooms and offices rooms (including a library and prayer room)
About New England Chapel (NEC)
NEC is active in the community via partnerships with the Hockomock YMCA and the Franklin Food Pantry. Every year, they host a community-wide serve day where they end services early and send hundreds of volunteers out to serve local areas. Projects have included weeding a community garden, painting a concession stand at a local field, cleaning library windows and more.
More information available at nechapel.org.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
In the News: New England Chapel will move to the former Ficco's; Tri-County librarian recognized with MSLA President's Award
New England Chapel will move to the former Ficco's
"Salvation is in the cards for the former Ficco’s Bowladrome and, appropriately, it is coming at the hands of a church.
New England Chapel, a vibrant and growing Christian faith community based in Franklin, is in line to take over where Paul Ficco and his family left off almost four years ago.
“We are under agreement for purchasing the Ficco Bowladrome building,” said senior Pastor Mike Laird.
He can’t help but beam at the prospect. Neither can Family Ministries Pastor Heather Kempskie, who joined Laird in announcing the news."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190412/heavenly-strike-for-ficcos-church-to-resurrect-former-franklin-bowladrome/1
New England Chapel will move to the former Ficco's |
Tri-County librarian recognized with MSLA President's Award
"One of the beauties of working with people with different interests is that their ideas can be combined, said Ariel Dagan, library-media specialist at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School.
“I look at my surroundings and say, ’How can I create behavioral changes when I see something that’s missing,” said Dagan, who has worked in education since 1992 and arrived at Tri-County five years ago.
The Norwood resident is originally from Jerusalem, and has since spent his life traveling back and forth, attending school in both Israel and the United States. After serving in the Israeli army, as is required of all citizens there, he attended the University of California-Berkeley and University of Rhode Island, earning a master’s degree in information studies.
The Massachusetts School Library Association recently presented Dagan with the President’s Award, which is given to school librarians who over the course of one to five years make a significant impact on student learning."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190412/tri-county-librarian-ariel-dagan-is-top-shelf
Related article on Ariel Dagan
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/04/tri-county-librarian-receives.html
Monday, April 24, 2017
Palliative Care Informational Session - Apr 26
You are welcome to attend a free palliative care session to answer any questions you might have. This session has the answers to creating your best life now even with a serious or chronic illness.
On Wednesday, April 26 - 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Register for the session at cmulligan@newenglandchapel.org or call 508-541-9078
This informational session is co-sponsored by Milford Regional Medical Center
Palliative Care Informational Session |
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Youth Sports Got You Crazy? - Apr 27
Please join us for an informative panel discussion about youth sports in our modern suburban culture and how it impacts all of our families. What can we learn from each other – and the Bible – about how to balance our lives and prioritize our goals?
Two of our featured panelists will include: Former Patriots Offensive Lineman Matt Light and Former NHL Player and Director of Ronan Power Skating Ed Ronan
When: Thursday 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: New England Chapel http://www.newenglandchapel.org/
Brought to you by Pulse and Family Ministries @ NEC
NOTE: CHILDCARE IS FULL FOR THIS EVENT!
Former Patriots Offensive Lineman Matt Light and Former NHL Player and Director of Ronan Power Skating Ed Ronan |
Registration form
Saturday, March 4, 2017
'He Said, She Said' - March 18, 6:30 - 8:00 PM
'He Said, She Said': A night designed for couples who wouldn't mind getting real.
On your next date night, you could go to the movies but wouldn't it be much more fun to go to a live airing of a reality show instead?
He Said, She Said |
Picture this: Two experienced, candid couples with a combined 50 years of marriage ‘practice’ take center stage giving us an inside peek into the good, bad and ugly parts of marriage. We laugh, applaud, relate and dine on some basic refreshments as we slowly learn we are not alone in this crazy marriage train. We can learn something about what it takes, really takes to be the best version of US.
Hosted by: Mike and Laura Laird and Chris and Cindi Mitchell (pictured)
Moderated by: Heather Kempskie and Marc Pitts
Brought to you by: Pulse and Family Ministries @NEC
Register online here
http://www.newenglandchapel.org/events-wedge-details/502261/1489879800
Sunday, July 13, 2014
New England Chapel in the news
In this first news item, a group of 33 people from Franklin's New England Chapel spent time in PA fixing up houses.
"Franklin, MASS"
Daily update ⋅ July 12, 2014
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NEWS | ||||||||
Missionaries wrap up week of fixing up Shamokin houses
The 33 volunteers from New England Chapel, of Franklin, Mass., arrived in Shamokin Sunday to perform construction work on dilapidated homes.
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Shrewsbury Softball Player, Others Honored for Academics
Junior Edie Richardson (Franklin, Mass./Fontbonne Academy), sophomores Joanna Giordano (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay), and Caroline Kushner ...
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Global Market & Cafe - March 29
New England Chapel, located in Franklin, is hosting its annual community event, the Global Market and Cafe to support a number of missions around the world. The Global Market and Cafe will take place on March 29th from 6-9 PM at 140 Kenwood Circle, Franklin, MA.
The Global Market and Cafe began as a way for individuals going on missions trips to raise funds from the community to help pay for their trip. The individuals would take a small amount of money and attempt to “multiply their talents” by baking or crafting and selling their wares in reference to the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25 in the Bible.
In recent years New
England Chapel has opened up the event to the wider community, welcoming everyone to come see how the members of their community are working to help restore the world. This year’s Global Market and Cafe will support trips for ongoing development work Haiti, Hurricane Sandy rebuilding in New Jersey, a medical trip to the Dominican Republic, and an ongoing partnership with Ajulu,Uganda.
Global Market and Cafe
The Global Market and Cafe will have food from the different countries, live music, games for kids, crafts and other items for sale, a silent auction and more! So come check out a great community event at New England Chapel and help support causes around the globe.
For more about New England Chapel and the Global Market and Cafe
http://www.newenglandchapel.org/events-wedge-details/235033/1396134000