charity/volunteer

Selectmen Noah Eckhouse (right) and Peter Braun at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Lincoln.

By Alice Waugh

At an Annual Town Meeting notable for relatively little controversy, attendees were at their noisiest during several standing ovations for fellow Lincoln residents who have given volunteer service to the town in various capacities.

The most prominent retiree was Selectman Noah Eckhouse, who decided not to run for a third three-year term (James Craig is running unopposed for the vacant seat). Selectman Peter Braun paid tribute to “the fun-loving Noah, the high-energy, full of life Noah, the Noah who brings his A game to everything he does.”

Eckhouse played a key role in the Town Office Building renovation project, Braun noted. “Noah put blood, sweat and tears into that building… this was a true labor of love and we are the true beneficiaries of a building that will last a long, long time.”

Town Administrator Tim Higgins also praised Eckhouse as “the town cheerleader and chief tone-setter” who motivated town employees, “empowering them and encouraging them to do their best work.” Both Higgins and Braun also highlighted the entire Eckhouse family’s commitment to public service.

“Noah’s been a voice in favor of giving continuous support to our volunteer culture, and we should be as grateful if not even more so for that than for the building,” Higgins said.

After thanking his colleagues and family, Eckhouse offered some advice to his fellow Lincolnites, exhorting them to keep uncivil discourse out of Lincoln, to provide solutions rather than identifying problems, and to get involved rather than default to inaction.

“Not to decide is to decide,” he said. “Consider the cost of doing nothing. Sometimes our desire to utterly dissect a decision stops us dead in our tracks. I argue that our most precious asset is not money or land or the Lincoln Way—it is our volunteer energy. Squandering that resource is something we all must guard against. Consider the opportunity cost when raising an issue.” (The full text of Eckhouse’s remarks is available here.)

Other volunteers who were recognized for their service at Town Meeting:

• Andy Beard, who is stepping down after 15 years on the Capital Planning Committee. “I got more by serving than I gave to the town,” he said. “I got a deeper understanding of how the town works and built a set of personal relationships I wil value for many years.” He encouraged others to get involved in town service as the best way to follow the dictum “think globally, act locally.”
• Jim Meadors, who is leaving the Conservation Commission after 12 years (11 of them as co-chair). The other co-chair, Peter Von Mertens, praised Meadors’s knowledge of natural history, hard work and dedication. “If you ever wondered who it is that picks up roadside trash, cleared all the windblown plastic bags off the fences at the Transfer Station, and stops in the middle of jogging to pick up micro trash on the trail, that’s Jim,” he said.
• Bryce Wolf, who is stepping down after 10 years on the Planning Board. “All I can say is, what a long strange trip it’s been,” Wolf said. “Ive met a lot of very wonderful and very interesting people, and I really encourage to get involved in the town because you’ll never regret it.”
• Retired Town Clerk Nancy Zuelke, who received the town’s annual Bright Light Award. Zuelke, who remains active with the Council on Aging and helping out at town elections, said, “I always thought [the award] was for someone with a bright idea and I’ve had no bright ideas. I’m just letting my light shine, that’s all.”
• Deborah Dorsey, who is stepping down after 10 years on the Disability Commission. Dorsey was not able to attend Town Meeting.

Several of the honored volunteers have moved on to other important town offices for the coming year, however. Eckhouse and Beard were elected fence viewers, while Dorsey, Meadors and Wolf were elected Measurers of Wood and Bark.