ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Amanda Khampharasavath serves up the ball.
By Gayla Cawley
LYNN — You can’t beat City Hall.
That’s what three teams learned when City Hall won the volleyball tournament on Thursday at Lynn Museum & Historical Society.
Lynn Community Health sponsors an annual event during National Health Center Week. Previous years have featured Zumba in Central Square and a flash mob.
“We’re raising awareness about the role community health centers play in our community,” said Lori Abrams Berry, executive director of Lynn Community Health Center.
The finals pitted City Hall against the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce. City employees squeaked by 22-21 and were awarded a basket of vegetables from the nearby Farmer’s Market. The other three teams had to share a basket of vegetables. To get to the championship, the city beat the Lynn Nonprofit Business Association in the first round, 20-17.
“We are the champions,” said Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, who didn’t play but served as an honorary referee.
“I always knew we have great employees at City Hall, but I never knew how multi-talented they are,” she said.
Leslie Gould, CEO of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, and coach of the runner-up team, took the loss in stride.
“We put up a great fight,” she said.
The host team had a rough outing, with the Lynn Community Health Center losing its first round match to the chamber, 29-13.
Berry said her team came back in the second half of the 12-minute contest, but was comforted by someone telling her, “you can’t save lives and save the game.”
“We do a great job of team-based care,” Berry said. “It’s just maybe team sports need a bit of work.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.
