Lynn City Councilor-at-Large and North Shore Juneteenth Association founder Nicole McClain was recently awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by the Marblehead Rotary Club.
McClain was recognized by the club from “the broad perspective of our shared values,” Marblehead Town Moderator and Rotary Club member Jack Attridge, who presented the award to McClain, said in a statement.
In an interview, McClain thanked Attridge, as well as the entire club, for recognizing her efforts.
“I’m very thankful to the Marblehead Rotary for agreeing to recognize the community service and the work that I’ve been doing in the city of Lynn and on the North Shore with the North Shore Juneteenth Association,” McClain said.
The Paul Harris Fellowship was established in 1957 and is given to those who embody the Rotary International’s motto of “service above self.”
Attridge said that he was honored to present the award to McClain, citing that she has had a “tremendous” impact on the region.
“Nicole is a force of change through education, awareness, cultural and diverse events, and by celebrating the Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates the emancipation of the last enslaved Black Americans in 1865,” Attridge said. “Her goal of preventing the cycle of racism is having an incredible impact through her work as an educator with the Salvation Army, her position as Lynn city councilor-at-large, and her position as founder of North Shore Juneteenth.”
An Army National Guard veteran who completed two tours of duty in Iraq, McClain filled the councilor-at-large vacancy left by the late Buzzy Barton in April. She currently works as the director of the Salvation Army Lynn SmART Center after-school program and previously opened a childcare business that she ran for six years.
“Her at-large position of representing all of Lynn is a testament to her broad leadership. Nicole is a dynamic leader, veteran, wife, mother, and grandmother,” Attridge added.
