LYNN — A crowd of Lynn District Court employees were treated to a pasta dinner with all the fixings at the Hibernian Hall in Lynn Thursday evening at the first court employees appreciation night since the pandemic.
Presiding Justice Ina Howard-Hogan hosted the event along with current judges Foster, Joss, and LaMothe, Court Clerk Michael Hogan, and members of the Greater Lynn Bar Association.
According to retired Presiding Justice of the Lynn District Court Hon. Bert Conlon, he and the late Presiding Justice Michael Lauranzo began the tradition of hosting an appreciation night for court employees almost 20 years ago.
Conlon said the idea grew out of a discussion among the court’s leadership team on how to show their appreciation for the hard work the employees do on a daily basis. He said Lynn District Court is historically one of the busiest courts in the Commonwealth.
“We wanted to do something that demonstrated to the employees how much we appreciate their hard work and dedication,” Conlon said.
At the inaugural event 20 years ago, the court’s male employees hosted and served female employees. Mark Medina, a former court officer, recalled that former assistant Clerk John Fleming used to dress in a tuxedo and served as the event’s maître d’hôtel.
The court leadership did all the cooking, spending most of the day at the Hibernian Hall making meatballs and sauce to serve later that evening to the crowd. The cooking was all done under the watchful eye of Maria Pennucci, the mother of Joseph Pennucci, the court’s current chief of probation.
Pennucci, who passed away recently, was not able to supervise the cooking at this year’s event, but the big spoon was passed to local attorney Mario Capano. The event was dedicated to Pennucci and her many years of volunteerism.
As time went on, the Greater Lynn Bar Association — one of the event’s sponsors — became more involved in the event and many of its members have volunteered throughout the years to help cook and serve the employees. The event was shelved for the past three years due to the pandemic but came back this year in full force with over 120 court employees, their families, and members of the Bar Association in attendance.
Hogan said the event will continue annually.
“It provides our employees the opportunity to be honored by the court leadership, attorneys, assistant district attorneys, public defenders and all the court customers that our people serve on a daily basis. It is a fun, social event that shows them how much we care,” Hogan said.
Conlon added that the event would not be the success that it is without the diligence of Lisa D’Urso, the head administrative assistant at the court.
