Gattegno honored at Westbay 50th anniversary celebration

By John Howell
Posted 10/25/16

Jeanne Gattegno wasn't going to miss Westbay Community Action's 50th anniversary celebration held Thursday at the Crowne Plaza. After all, she has spent 48 years working in community action programs, the last 32 with Westbay, where she

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Gattegno honored at Westbay 50th anniversary celebration

Posted

Jeanne Gattegno wasn’t going to miss Westbay Community Action’s 50th anniversary celebration held Thursday at the Crowne Plaza. After all, she has spent 48 years working in community action programs, the last 32 with Westbay, where she retired in 2014 as president and CEO.

But what she didn’t know is that she would be honored with the first ever Community Hero Award, at least until she saw a copy of the evening’s program. In addition, a service award bearing her name was presented to Westbay’s current president and CEO, Paul Salera.

“I was totally surprised,” she said Thursday as people arriving at the event circled around and congratulated her.

Gattegno has lived the transition of community action programs from a hands-on community effort to a “very sophisticated” series of programs providing a range of services from fuel assistance and childcare to running a farm to provide produce for the Westbay Marketplace.

Gattegno was the agency’s fourth director following in the footsteps of Jack Thompson, Leo Perrone and Fred Skidmore. In its 50-year history Westbay has grown to provide food to 2,700 household annually from its Westbay Marketplace; provide 3,800 households with utility and heat assistance totaling $2.5 million; provide 45,000 meals annually to seniors; and provide case management to more than 1,300 individuals, among a variety of other services.

“Back then we were building the system from the ground up,” Gattegno recalls of her early experiences with Community Action. She got her start at 17 years old with Programs for Providence after graduating from high school. She knew firsthand the plight of low-income people, having lived with her mother and 10 brothers and sisters in an abandoned apartment house.

In some ways, Gattegno feels those early days in the War on Poverty were more personal and community based than today’s system, which is so highly regulated and structured and budgeted by program. At the core, she points out, programs are dealing with food and shelter, the very basics of life.

Before coming to Westbay, Gattegno served as executive director of the Joslin Center. In addition to her work at the agency, Gattegno was one of the founders of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and the Rhode Island Donation Exchange. She also played a role in the creation of the Warwick 13, an organization bringing together Warwick’s non-profit agencies so as to better serve the city.

Gattegno said she never viewed the years spent at Westbay as work and in many ways she misses being involved now.

“Some people work so they can have a life,” she said, “and others work because it is their life.”

Channel 6 TV sportscaster Ken Bell, the night’s master of ceremonies, applauded the work of Westbay. He said the people of Westbay touch the lives of thousands of people every year and that what they do is a “tidal wave of care across the community.” Bell also hit upon the presidential campaign, saying he cringes at what is happening and believes “respect” is what’s missing.

“Each person counts. That’s the fabric of who we are,” he said.

In her remarks, Gattegno said she is blessed to have had wonderful friends and family. She identified energy, commitment, and compassion at the core of Westbay, adding, “I thank you for the opportunity I’ve had over the years.”

Salera was presented the Jeanne Gattegno Community Service Award for being a visionary and pioneer of Westbay. In accepting the award, Salera lauded the Westbay staff, saying, “You’re our partners and mentors. This is our award.”

Community partner awards were presented to Warwick and the towns of East Greenwich and West Warwick. Mayor Scott Avedisian accepted the city award. He said afterward the award belongs to Barbara Caniglia and Gloria Fairbanks, who both worked on the Westbay board for so many years. He said it would be on display with their names.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here