By Thor Jourgensen
LYNN — Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker will be the keynote speaker at the Nov. 3 gala at the Lynn Museum commemorating the 40th anniversary of local literacy program Operation Bootstrap in Lynn.
Gala chairman and Lynn attorney, James J. Carrigan, will introduce Baker and highlight her continued passion for social responsibility evident through her current work with several causes for children, education and health and social services.
Baker’s address is expected to focus on the importance of providing access to education and training for lower-skilled adults on the North Shore. Gala attendees will also honor Dr. Claire Crane, director of the newly established Center for Community Schools at Salem State University, for her lifelong commitment to community education and her generous support of adult education.
The North Shore-based Cummings Foundation will be honored for its generous support for adult education on the North Shore.
The Bob Hirschkron Annual Volunteerism Award will be established to honor Hirschkron, a volunteer tutor at Bootstrap for more than two decades, who died this past summer. The first award recipient will be announced at Bootstrap’s June 2017 graduation ceremony.
Gene Martin, another retired GE engineer, who volunteered at Bootstrap for a quarter of a century, will be honored by the naming of the GED diploma space at Bootstrap as the Gene Martin Room.
Current Bootstrap student Francisca Mora will speak at the gala and her son, Alex Mora, recently named the Secretary of the Navy’s liaison to the White House, will appear with her.
“This is an event not to be missed. From the First Lady to Dr. Crane to Bootstrap volunteers and students, this will be a night of celebrating and supporting one of Lynn’s greatest community assets,” Carrigan said.
The gala begins at 5 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at tjourgensen@itemlive.com.