[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Every year, The Friends of St. Patrick choose a Person of the Year to honor for their dedication to Walpole, and impacting the area in a positive way. However, this year was a little bit different. This year found the board selecting not a singular person, but persons of the year. The Giandomenico Family is made up of four brothers and a sister who are truly compassionate about the town they grew up in, and have been truly generous without searching for any recognition of acknowledgement.
“They have been incredibly involved in youth sports, and especially with the Fourth of July celebrations,” said Donnell Murphy, who is on the Board of Directors. “They saved it, actually. It was ready to go defunct a few years ago due to a lack of funding, and they did all sorts of fundraising and were the primary force behind bringing it back.”
Founded in 1987, the Friends of St. Patrick was a small group of local citizens who believed that the town should capture the spirit of good will that abounds each year on the feast of Ireland’s most famous saint. Over the past 30 years, the organization has donated over $364,000 to charities including the Wrentham State School, Friends of the Walpole Public Library, Project Face, Walpole Council on Aging and many more.
Each year, the Friends of St. Patrick surprise the recipient. “We got them all together at their office and they thought it was going to be for something else and they were truly flabbergasted, they were stunned,” Murphy said. “They were so taken aback, I almost want to say that there were tears from the guys – not quite, but almost.”
“They’re really one of the first families of Walpole, they really are townies and care about the community. I think they go back around three generations here,” Murphy added.
To celebrate the recipients, the Friends of St. Patrick will hold a luncheon on March 17. The celebration begins in the morning in Walpole with a parade. Then three or four trolleys circle from downtown to Ambrosia in Foxboro, and they will continue to rotate all day long. “Last year, there were almost 950 people there, and so this year we’re really hoping to hit over 1,000,” Murphy said.
In addition to honoring the recipient, there is also a raffle held with $30,000 to $40,000 worth of items. The grand prize is a trip to Ireland, where the town provides a house and car in Ireland for the week.
