City employees feted at LHAND’s annual St. Patrick’s Day lunch

LYNN – One City Hall employee was remembered, two were honored and no one was safe from emcee Joe Scanlon’s sharp wit during Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development’s annual non-alcoholic St. Patrick’s Day Lunch.”This is dedicated to one of the founders of this event and a good friend, Ralph Cronin,” said emcee and LHAND’s Director of Policy & Finance Joseph Scanlon, referring to the city’s deputy tax collector who died in February.Two tables of Cronin’s family, including his wife, Linda, turned out for the event. Head LHAND chef John Pace and his crew cooked up 140 pounds of corned beef for a diverse crowd of about 183 that included city and state officials, city employees and residents.Donald Walker, director of project operations for Community Development, said he’s worked in City Hall for 30 years with a lot of good people and was completely caught off guard when his name was announced for the John Sullivan Community Service Award.”Could not one of you had tipped me off about this?” Walker said with a nod toward his colleagues.He admitted later he wondered why his wife, Ruthie, was at the event but shrugged it off when she told him a friend had offered her an extra ticket.He called the award an honor and said it was even more poignant since this year’s luncheon was dedicated to “such a great guy, Ralph Cronin.”LHAND’s Norm Cole, director of planning and development, said Walker is the kind of guy that if you asked him about a project he’d say, “Let’s see how we can make this work.”Walker also received citations from the City Council, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and U.S. Rep. John Tierney.Scanlon took aim at Kennedy when she jumped up too early to hand Walker his citation. He told her to sit down then turned to the crowd and said, “That’s not the first mayor I’ve put in their place ? just ask Al DiVirgilio.”Veterans Agent Michael Sweeney almost missed his big moment when he arrived late to the luncheon. Sweeney was honored with the Jimmy Lyons/Tom Muldoon Irish Person of the Year Award. Scanlon lauded Sweeney for doing enormous work on behalf of veterans and for revitalizing the city’s Veterans Department.”On a day when we’re honoring Ralph Cronin, it’s impossible to accept this without thanking Mary Cronin who does so much work in our office,” Sweeney said.State Sen. Thomas McGee said the luncheon was not just about celebrating the Irish but about bringing friends together.Scanlon took time during the event to tease his old friend, Economic Development and Industrial Corporation Executive Director James Cowdell. The pair served on City Council together a number of years ago. Scanlon, who is also president of the Lynn Museum’s Board of Trustees, pulled out what he called a recent rare find, a picture of Cowdell with a full head of hair.”You can put silk on a goat but it’s still a goat,” he said.Later Scanlon turned his rapier wit on Cahill.”There is an old Irish proverb, ?everyone is wise until they speak,’ and with that I’d like to call up City Council President Dan Cahill,” Scanlon said.Cahill offered his greetings, with a side of mocking Scanlon’s height and a request that people stop confusing him with Councilor at large Hong Net.Even Tierney got into the roasting game when he told Kennedy, “You got away without any pothole jokes. You are the only mayor in the commonwealth to do that.”For her part, Kennedy left the crowd with an Irish saying: “May you get all your wishes but one, so you will always have something to strive for.”