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Lincoln’s Jack Fultz reflects on Boston Marathon win in 1976

Jack Fultz. (Photo courtesy Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Media Relations)

Jack Fultz of Lincoln will be Grand Marshal of next Monday’s Boston Marathon — the race he won 50 years ago in some of the most challenging conditions in the event’s history.

The start of the 1976 Boston Marathon saw temperatures in the 90s. Many participants were unable to finish, and timing was stopped after 3:30 when only about 40% of the field had finished, according to the New York Times. Spectators sprayed runners with garden hoses to prevent heatstroke, so that year’s event became known as the “Run for the Hoses” (a nod to “Run for the Roses,” a.k.a. the Kentucky Derby). Asked in this 2020 Boston Buddies Run Club video abut the race and how he managed to beat the heat, he quipped, “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

Fultz’s chances were helped by the fact that several elite marathon runners did not enter the Boston race that year because they were preparing for the upcoming Olympic trials. He ran fast enough in Boston to qualify for the trials but didn’t make the Olympic team, which eventually consisted of Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Don Karong. Fultz also qualified for the trails in 1972 and 1980, though he opted not to run in the 1980 trials due to the U.S. boycott of the Moscow games.

A year after his Boston victory, Fultz finished ninth in the 1977 marathon with a time of 2:20:40 and fourth in 1978, just two seconds behind the third-place winner, with a personal best time of 2:11:17. He also won the 1981 Newport Marathon in a course-record 2:17:09. In 1990, he became the training advisor for the new Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team (a post he has held ever since). This year, the 500-runner team hopes to raise $8.75 million for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Fultz went into more detail about his running career in this Q&A with the Lincoln Squirrel, which has been edited for length.

Squirrel: What spurred your lifelong interest in running?

Fultz: From as far back as I can remember, playing hide and seek and other neighborhood games as a young kid, I always enjoyed running. When I started playing organized sports in junior high school, I enjoyed them all equally, except for getting beaten up on the football field, but I found more success on the track. By senior year, I was cultivating dreams of getting an athletic scholarship to college for my running.

Despite my moderate successes throughout northwestern Pennsylvania high school track, no colleges came knocking to my door to offer me that scholarship. Consequently, I was a walk-on at the University of Arizona. I literally walked into the track coach’s office in my Chuck Taylor high-top Converse basketball shoes and said I wanted to try out for the track team. Because my track times were pretty much a dime-a-dozen at any Division 1 college or university, the coach offered me nothing more than permission to train with the distance runners. But the runners on the team were very supportive, so I just kept showing up.

Having started college mid-year, when I returned to Tucson for my second semester of freshman year, freshman athletes had been deemed eligible for varsity participation in the minor sports like cross country. By the end of the season, I was seventh man on the team and was awarded a varsity letter jacket. I could not have been prouder of that accomplishment which provided more reinforcement for me to continue pursuing competitive running.

I lettered again in cross country my sophomore year but despite enjoying my time in Tucson, I transferred back east. This was 1969 during the Vietnam War and being out of classes for three months during that transfer process, I was drafted into the U.S. Army. I was able to enlist in the Coast Guard for a four-year commitment which took me to the Washington, D.C., area. There I continued to pursue competitive running at local road races and eventually met runners from Georgetown University. At 24, I was discharged from the Coast Guard when Georgetown offered me the full scholarship I had coveted for so many years.

Squirrel: Fifty years later, what sticks most in your memory about the 1976 race?

Fultz: Earlier in the year, I had no intention of running Boston year. 1976 was an Olympic year so my goal early in that year was to run a qualifying marathon time to be eligible to race in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. The top three finishers in that race make the Olympic team but the Boston Marathon was only six weeks before the trials marathon and that’s not enough time to fully recover between two all-out marathon efforts.

My two previous qualifying attempts in January and March didn’t work out, primarily due to circumstances and unfavorable weather conditions, but I was confident I could run a Trials-qualifying “A-standard” time. So Boston was my final opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Trials race.

The “A” standard for the Olympic Trials Marathon was 2:20. By running that time or faster, the U.S. Olympic Committee would pay a runner’s expenses to the marathon trials in Eugene, Ore. I also felt that if I could not meet and exceed that time by a significant margin, I would not have even a remote chance of making the Olympic team. But there was also a “B” standard of 2:23 which would grant me access into the Olympic Trials race but I would receive no funding.

My track times at Georgetown indicated to me that I was capable of a 2:15 marathon or quicker in ideal weather conditions. When it turned out to be exceedingly hot, peaking at 96 degrees at the noontime start on Marathon Monday, I had still convinced myself that the heat would affect all of us top runners somewhat equally and that hopefully it would not slow us down by any more than four or five minutes. That would still put me under the 2:20 “A” standard.

Because my primary goal was to run the trials qualifying time, my finishing place at Boston that year was of secondary importance to me. As such, I viewed my opponents as potential allies: the faster they ran, the faster I was likely to run, and I needed to run fast. That mindset played a significant role by keeping me very relaxed throughout the entire race.

Only when I moved into fourth place just past the 16-mile mark did I realize I might now win the race outright. That realization did alter my mindset from a focus on my finish time to my finish place, which I wrestled with a bit once I took the lead near the 18-mile mark. [Editor’s note: he won with a time of 2:20:19.]

Squirrel: Have you always worked in athletics-related jobs?

Fultz: My entire working career since graduating from Georgetown in 1976 with a business degree has been related one way or another to my running career. As my best competitive days began to wind down in the early to mid-1980s, I enrolled in the Graduate School of Education at Boston University to study sports psychology. Upon graduation, I was hired to teach sports psychology at Tufts University, which I did for the next 27 years. About that same time, I worked full-time at New Balance as the Director of Running Promotions.

My attempts to get New Balance to eliminate smoking in the workplace shortly before I departed were successful. During that process, I befriended the Boston chapter of the American Lung Association, then quit working at New Balance to bike across the United States with 200 other riders from across the country as a fundraiser for the ALA.

In 1988, during my early years at Tufts, I was hired by the Boston Athletic Association as Elite Athlete Liaison, a position I held for eight years. Two years later, our Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team began, and after a few years, Dana-Farber hired me to continue at training advisor to our rapidly expanding team.

Squirrel: How did you come to live in Lincoln?

Fultz: I moved to the Boston area in January of 1979 at the behest of Bill Rodgers with intentions of working for his fledgling running shoe company and his “BR” line of running apparel. I never did work for his company, though our friendship is closer now than ever.

I replied to a newspaper ad for a fourth housemate here in Lincoln. As I drove through the backroads of Weston and Lincoln in search for that house on Old Sudbury Road behind Drumlin Farm, I was enthralled with what appeared to be to be a road runner’s dream playground. As appealing as the back roads in this area are for a runner, the bucolic wooded trails I soon discovered added more to my love of Lincoln. Other than a year in Weston and two in West Concord, I’ve lived in Lincoln and I intend to never leave.

Squirrel: When did you run your last marathon? Do you miss running?

Fultz: My last marathon was Boston, 2000. My ailing hip caused me to drop out at 17 miles, and that ended my racing career. And I damaged my knee when rehabbing my hip, so I’m relegated to the bike for vigorous aerobic exercise, but I still walk/shuffle, and I’m a regular at Beede in Concord since HealthPoint/BSC Waltham closed during Covid. But yes, I do miss running for the simplicity and purity of motion it offers.

A can of the Start Line Marathoner IPA. (Click to enlarge; photo courtesy Jack Fultz)

Squirrel: What gives you the most satisfaction or pleasure these days?

Fultz: Helping others realize their own running dreams and aspiration. I borrow this from the former HBO series “Arli$$” — “my job is to make their dreams come true” 🙂 But I also love to travel and to read good books and magazines. I’m a current affairs junkie, I still exercise regularly to stay healthy and fit but [also] to maintain a vigorous appetite because I very much enjoy good food, good wine, and a good IPA. In face, Start Line Brewing Company currently honored me with their annual Boston Marathon vintage IPA.

Dilla Tingley: Lincoln’s queen of quilts

Dilla Gooch Tingley shows some of the pillow she’s made. On the wall behind her is a quilt titled “Portraiture a la Matisse.” Click image to enlarge.

These are not your grandmother’s quilts.

Longtime Lincoln resident and quilter extraordinaire Dilla Gooch Tingley draws inspiration from well-known artworks to craft textiles with wildly varying textures and topics — and often a dash of humor. You see a selection hanging in Bemis Hall’s map room through March, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 19 at 3:00pm.

“I’m most delighted in my work when I can take an artistic subject and reinterpret it in an interesting way,” she says. Many of her quilts are based on famous paintings, such as “The Next Supper,” a takeoff on da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” where the dinner guests are religious figures including Buddha, Ganesh, Jesus, and Mother Theresa.

Then there’s “Windows on Matisse,” a 3×3 arrangement of Matisse paintings with windows, and a collage of works by Picasso. She’s also made quilts based on Inuit art, Escher, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Gauguin, “but Monet is too hard,” she says. Often there’s a humorous twist, such as a piece based on “Luncheon on the Grass” by Edouard Manet — except the gathering of picnickers now includes Paddington Bear and Winnie the Pooh.

Some of Tingley’s quilts are based on art forms other than painting, such as “Architextural,” a collection of famous modern buildings including the Sydney Opera House, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and the Transamerica building in San Francisco. As a surprise gift to Ellen Sisco, Lincoln’s assistant librarian who retired in 2014, she made a quilt with some of Sisco’s favorite literary characters and books such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and Wallace and Gromit. Another quilt called “Ex Libris” showing characters including Babar, Humpty Dumpty, and Madeline hangs in the children’s room at library. And decidedly non-literary is “Branded,” an array of brightly colored logos of Cheez-Its, Green Giant, Morton Salt, and more.

Tingley’s quilts aren’t always rectilinear, either. There’s “Damn Everything But the Circus,” whose top has the billowy shape and texture of a circus tent, and a round piece depicting a crying sun called “Sol Says Sorry” (caption: “My life-enabling warmth is causing so much grief — I cry for you”) that was included in the global warming exhibit.

Tingley, who is self-taught, didn’t start out on an artistic path. She earned a degree in physics at Vassar and then worked in a research laboratory in Harvard University’s Division of Engineering and Applied Physics, “though it was clear I wasn’t destined to be a physicist,” she says.

Starting in 1977, she worked at a variety of jobs at Polaroid. “I started as a supervisor on the production line making SX70 film, so I told people I was a film producer. Doesn’t that sound more interesting than saying you worked on a factory floor?” she says.

In 1988, she took early retirement from Polaroid, “and I bought a sewing machine on my way home from my last day of work,” she says. She started by making pillows and eventually graduated to quilts. Her process involves finding interesting fabrics, then sketching a design, cutting out appliques, and ironing them onto pieces of fabric to guide her in cutting. When choosing a subject or theme, she’s guided foremost by practicality. “Generally when I see the image, my first thought is: how easy would that be to render?” she says.

The post-career phase of her life also included working as a business manager for a Framingham youth guidance center and volunteering in numerous capacities in Lincoln including as a member of the Planning Board and as president of the League of Women Voters.

In her former Lincoln home on Laurel Drive, Tingley’s workshop took up most of the basement and featured dozens of cubbies for fabric and a hanging quilt rack that her late husband Fred made for her. She downsized to a Ryan Estate condo after his death in 2022 but still has room on her walls for many of her quilts along with a bedroom repurposed as a workroom. Not surprisingly, her collection of fabrics includes few of the familiar cotton scraps often seen in American quilts. For textures and background, she’s used everything from batik to silk to African mud cloth (“Demoiselles d’Mud Cloth” based on the similarly titled Picasso painting).

In 2004 she organized a group to make a quilt to celebrate Lincoln’s 250th anniversary. It features scenes from Lincoln’s history, including the Lewis Street pickle factory and a boathouse on Sandy Pond, and now hangs in the Tarbell Room at the library. Since about 2024, she’s been a member of the Lincoln Quilters., whose members work on quilts together. They recently exhibited in the Lincoln Public Library and held a silent auction of quilts that raised nearly $8,000 for charity.

Tingley’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibits at the Depot Square Gallery in Lexington, including a 2007 show called “HOT: Artists Respond to Global Warming.” Her submissions included the slyly humorous “We Love Our Cars” with colorful background landscapes overrun with cars full of monkeys, and “Venice of Massachusetts” showing a Venetian gondola in front of a State House at the top of Beacon Hill island surrounded by water.

One of Tingley’s volunteer roles is chair of the Council on Aging & Human Services board of directors, and she’s been deeply involved for years in efforts to create a new home for the COA, most recently as a member of the Community Center Building Committee. That work will reach fruition when the community center opens sometime in 2027 — and one of its interior walls will feature the quilt of Lincoln buildings that currently hangs in the living room at Bemis Hall.

Click on the images below to see larger versions with captions.

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Council on Aging locations next week

Given the continued closure of Bemis Hall due to a failed boiler, here are the locations for COA&HS activities next week.

Friday, Feb. 13

Tuesday, Feb. 17

  • 9:00-10:00am — Glucose screening: Town Hall by appointment only
  • 9:30-11:00am — Knitting group: Town Hall
  • 10:00-11:00am — Doo Wop Group: Pierce House music room

Wednesday, Feb. 18

  • 9:30am — Line Dance: Pierce House
  • 10:00am–noon — Memoirs Group: Zoom
  • 10:30am — Cardio Jazz: canceled due to Instructor medical leave
  • 1:00-4:00pm — SHINE Office Hours: TBD
  • 1:00pm — Tai Chi: Zoom only at this time

Thursday, Feb. 19

  • 9:00am-noon — Veterans Office Hours: Town Hall by appointment
  • 9:15am — Tai Chi 1: Zoom
  • 1:00pm — Mah Jongg: Town Hall

Friday, Feb. 20

  • 10:00am — SAIL/BALANCE: Zoom
  • 10:00am — German Conversation: Zoom
  • 11:30am — Senior Dining Lunar New Year lunch with dumplings: First Parish stone church (RSVP to 781-259-8811)
  • 12:30pm — Classical Piano Concert played by Abla Shocair: Pierce House

Indoor Walking, Stretch and Flex, Active Aging, and Open Art Studio are canceled next week. If you need to speak with staff, please leave a voicemail on 781-259-8811 and they will call you back.

New faces at the COA&HS

Lily Sonis

Lily Sonis

Role: Social Worker (part-time) serving all ages

Education: Dual master’s degree in social work and public health

Before coming to Lincoln: Lily worked at Jewish Vocational Services overseeing refugee and disability services 

Lily, who started just after Labor Day, spent her first days visiting clients and officials in Lincoln Woods, Codman Community Farm, and the police and fire departments, “seeing the different resources in the community and the way people work together. People really seem to know each other, look out for each other, and support one another. I’m very excited about doing that collaborative work and helping people in different ways.”

Katherine (Kat) Kmetz

Kat Kmetz

Role: Transportation Coordinator (part-time)

Education: Studying at Boston College for a master’s in social work with an emphasis on Spanish-speaking communities

Before coming to Lincoln: Kat was a mental health specialist at McLean Hospital, helping the nursing staff with patient interactions, running groups, etc. 

Kat coordinates with volunteer drivers to arrange rides to medical offices and businesses for seniors. She also helps set up and run events and shadows the social workers, helping set up clients with benefits. “I get a lot of face-to-face interactions with the seniors, which is awesome,” she said. “Not being from this town and being new, it’s kind of nerve-racking, but everyone has been so welcoming and so nice.”

My Turn: Friends of COA urge support for community center

At the 2024 Town Meeting, as the culmination of decades of discussion and planning, the citizens of Lincoln resoundingly approved a project to build a new community center designed specifically to meet the needs of the Council on Aging & Human Services (COA&HS), Lincoln Extended-day Activities Program (LEAP), and the Parks and Recreation Department.

Since then, architects, site planners, designers, along with the Community Center Building Committee (CCBC), the Conservation Commission, and other town boards and committees have worked diligently to turn the vision of a community center into reality. Throughout the process, they made a number of cuts to the original design to reduce costs. Even so, when bids for construction came in, the lowest bid exceeded the original budget by $2.3 million due to tariffs, supply chain issues, and overall economic conditions.

The CCBC has requested the additional $2.3 million from the town in order to proceed with the construction of the community center on the current schedule.

The Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging has been a strong proponent of the community center project from the beginning. We contributed $1 million to the community center project in order to reduce the amount the town needed to borrow to fund it. In addition, we helped raise $345,000 through private contributions to reduce the cost of the project to the taxpayers.

We strongly support the CCBC’s request that the town contribute $2.3 million from the stabilization fund to the community venter project. The town has managed its affairs prudently so that the requested funds are available without requiring additional borrowing. This project, at this time, still represents a generationally unique opportunity for the residents of Lincoln to build an asset that will continue to serve the town’s residents, of all ages, for years to come.

Please join us at the Special Town Meeting on June 25 at 6:30pm. We hope you’ll vote in favor of Article 1 to provide the community center project with the funding it needs.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Swain (143 South Great Rd.)
President, Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

The Commons presents details on plan; hopes to break ground in winter

Green numbers show where parking will be added. New surface spaces are shown in purple (click to enlarge). Existing tree are shown as circles with dotted lines.

At the first session this week of a public hearing on the site plan for expanding The Commons in Lincoln, presenters outlined some minor changes from the plan that was first aired almost a year ago. The Planning Board’s September 10 hearing will be continued to October 2 at 7:05 p.m.

At a Special Town Meeting in December 2023, residents approved rezoning the parcel, a first step in a process that also requires additional approvals from the Planning Board and others, including environmental officials.

As before, the plan calls for 28 new independent living units (14 two-bedroom units in the Flint building, six one-bedroom units in the Russell building, and eight new cottages). The Flint units will be in a separate structure connected to the main building with a sky bridge on the second and third floors.

The net addition of 52 parking spaces on the campus and more connecting sidewalks also hasn’t changed. However, the surface parking will be slightly rearranged so they’re located where they’re most needed on a campus where parking is tight for aides and visitors.

New trees to be planted are indicated in green (click to enlarge).

“The issue wasn’t the quantity of spaces but the location,” said Chris Fee of landscape architecture firm Stantec. “We tried to locate the new parking at three locations where we have problems, in addition to spots for [residents of] new buildings, so this should go a long way to help solve the parking problem.”

Another landscaping change from the previous plan: the existing community garden will be relocated, but a new bocce court and two additional smaller gardens are being deferred. Some trees that weren’t specified at the public hearing will be removed, but several dozen new ones will be planted, along with native plants are also being chosen in coordination with a resident group.

If all goes as planned, construction will begin in the first quarter of 2025 and will take a total of almost two years, though the cottages will be treated as separate construction sites and built on their own timeframe.

Doo-Wop Team hits it out of the park

The Doo-Wop Team from the Lincoln Council on Aging & Human Services sang on the field at Polar Park in Worcester before the WooSox minor-league game on August 16. Group member Peter Stewart plays the organ at Polar Park twice a month and encouraged the group to come and sing. Members also took a moment to sing “Happy Birthday” to member Harold McAleer, who turned 94 the next day. The Doo-Wop team has performed several gigs and donated the proceeds to the Lincoln food pantry over the past year. Left to right: Priscilla Leach, R.L. Smith, McAleer, Mark Faulkner, Stewart, Candace Foster, and Jessica Bethoney. Not visible in photo: Carol DiGianni and Lynne LaSpina.

June activities hosted by the COA&HS

Here are some of the June activities hosted by the Lincoln Council on Aging and Human Services. Most events are open to Lincoln residents of all ages. For a full list — including clinics, exercise classes, regular meetings of interest groups, and online chats with town officials — see the COAHS’s calendar page or newsletter archive page. Call 781-259-8811 or email gagnea@lincolntown.org for Zoom links and other information.

Health and wellness fair
Friday, June 7 at 12:30 p.m., Bemis Hall
Get your questions answered by local healthcare vendors including Lincoln public health nurse, police and fire personnel, Parks & Rec, Emerson Health, AARP, SMOC, elder law attorneys, Vascular Care Group, St. Vincent de Paul, Minuteman Senior Services, independent & assisted living and many more. Free door prizes.

Toni Lynn Washington jazz concert
Thursday, June 13 at 2:30 p.m., Bemis Hall
All ages are invited to a free jazz concert by Boston’s queen of soul and blues. Sponsored by Margo Cooper in celebration of her mother, Ronna Cooper.

“Love, Loss and What I Wore”
Thursday, June 13 at 7 p.m., library Tarbell Room
Friday, June 14 at 12:30 p.m., Bemis Hall
Wordsmove Theater presents this poignant and hilarious play by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, based on the book by Ilene Beckerman (details here) that explores matters of the heart and closet. Cast: Carol Becker, Nancy Bush, Mary Crowe, Susan Gates and Sally Kindleberger. Directed by Mary Crowe.

Strawberry & Ice Cream Social
Thursday, June 20 at 12:30 p.m., Bemis Hall
Make your own ice cream sundae topped with luscious local strawberries, chocolate, and more, and then share conversation with old friends and new. Please RSVP by June 14 by calling 781-259-8811. Transportation available for those who need a ride. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging.

The Gardner Museum Theft
Friday, June 21 at 12:30 p.m., Bemis Hall
Bob Ainsworth shares the story of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s life and her creation of the museum. He delves into the heist on March 18, 1990, when 13 priceless objects were stolen. Why was the heist successful? Who are the suspects?

Classical Piano Concert
Friday, June 28 at 12:30 p.m., Bemis Hall
Join us for a concert with Abla Shocair and her grandchildren, Nooreddeen and Zaineddeen Kawaf. Music includes compositions by Beethoven, Liszt, and Chopin.

Seniors at The Commons mentor staff with English tutoring and more

(Editor’s note: This article is based partly on material supplied by Gabriella Pais of Montagne Powers.)

Retirement offers almost endless possibilities for how to spend one’s time—travel, golf, a new or renewed hobby — but seniors like Elaine Smith and other residents at The Commons in Lincoln are busy helping those who help them.

Smith is the founding member of RAMP, the Resident Associate Mentoring Program, where residents with skills, experience, and time are paired with Commons associates who need mentorship. Often, the employees work with resident mentors on English as a second language, but they offer other types of help as well.

RAMP is a voluntary program, but associates are paid for the work time they spend in their classes. An associate’s supervisor will direct them to RAMP if they are seeking assistance, at which point they’ll meet one on one with a mentor. Since its inception, about 40 residents have tutored an equal number of associates.

Smith and others started the program via FaceTime in 2021 during the Covid epidemic and later switched to in-person sessions. “When I looked around, I could see there were a lot of [residents] who were quite intelligent and had various expertise in the work world and otherwise. There were people who had a lot to give,” she said of her fellow residents. When they went to the head of Human Resources, “they were very much in favor of what we wanted to do.”

One supervisor who’s recognized the benefits of associate enrollment in RAMP is David Aviles, the campus plant operations director. An associate for whom David has seen positive outcomes for is Marcia Alves Xavier de Souza, the lead housekeeper of assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing. Marcia has worked at The Commons since May 2021 and was promoted to supervisor after only six months. As a housekeeping leader, she must be able to both run an efficient team and advocate for herself and her colleagues, and speaking English more fluently allows her to meet those goals. Marcia and her ESL resident mentor have worked together in hour-long structured lessons that include homework.

De Souza’s first language is Portuguese; she understands English but is still learning to speak it more conversationally. She and her resident mentor have been working on her English speaking and writing skills for the past several months. “My teacher is very patient with me, and every Tuesday and Thursday I have my class,” she said. She’s also getting extra practice by sharing and strengthening her skills at home and in her church. 

Aviles has seen great improvement in de Souza’s comprehension and use of English, and he understands the value that the program holds for someone in her role. “She is a very important part of the Plant Operations team. She has about nine to 10 employees under her that follow her direction,” he said. In fact, he feels enrollment in the program should be a required part of training for new associates who need assistance. “We have about five new hires and they’re all excited about this program,” he said.

While many associates enroll in RAMP to improve their English, mentors also help in other areas including legal forms, personal finance, and even piano lessons. In one case, RAMP helped a woman navigate the complex legal process required to become the guardian of her niece who was visiting from another country. Another associate recently earned their American citizenship thanks in part to help from RAMP.

“It felt like one of my kids had gotten into college — I was so happy,” said Smith, a retired Wellesley College chemistry professor.

Tutors, associates, and The Commons all benefit from RAMP. “It’s an example of how they feel about what’s being done for them,” she said as she displayed a heartfelt thank-you note from one associate. “You get a tremendous feeling of satisfaction in knowing that you’re helping someone who needs the help.”

The Commons in Lincoln held a celebratory luncheon for RAMP resident tutors and associates on March 19 prepared by RAMP associates. Click on image below for larger versions with captions.

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Owners postpone move to expand The Commons

In this map of The Commons campus, the additional units that had been proposed are shown in yellow.

Faced with resident objections and a tight timeline, New England Life Plan Communities, which owns The Commons in Lincoln, has postponed their push for an expansion proposal that was slated for a February 28 Planning Board public hearing.

Owner’s representative OnePoint Partners submitted a proposal to the Planning Board on February 6 that called for 32 new apartments in the existing Flint and Russell buildings and eight freestanding and attached cottages at various locations on the campus. This gave residents and others about three weeks to prepare for the public hearing, which would have preceded a vote at the March 25 Annual Town Meeting. Because The Commons resides in a zoning overlay district with specific conditions, a two-thirds majority approval would have been required at that time.

“We have engaged in several conversations with current Commons residents and it has become clear that more collaboration is required to address certain elements of the project. In order to ensure these critical stakeholders are given multiple opportunities to provide input, we need more time than the few weeks before the March Town Meeting allows,” said Larry Bradshaw, chairman of the board of New England Life Plan Communities, in a February 23 letter to the Planning Board.

David Levington, a Commons resident who has been active in organizing opposition to the proposal, said he was “pleased and relieved” by the postponement. “Everyone will have to work together in an open manner so that The Commons can grow in a manner that is healthy for all. The upset has been corrected and we’re moving forward — residents, management, ownership.”

He didn’t specify whether some aspects of the proposal were more objectionable than others but added, “Eventually a new plan will be developed… and I do look forward to a collaboration in which the residents have a voice.”

“Thanks to the efforts of the executive director of The Commons, Reynaldo LeBlanc, and the Resident Council, a number of formats were provided for residents to present their questions and concerns about the proposed expansion of The Commons to the new owners and their consultant and management teams,” said council president Judith Foster. “As a result of these meetings, the owners have withdrawn the proposed plan in order to allow more time to address the concerns of residents. We are looking forward to a productive partnership between residents and the ownership team.”