LYNNFIELD — John Scenna has worked as the Lynnfield Center Water District director for five years and was appointed as the Lynnfield Department of Public Works director by the Select Board in June.
“We’re trying to create a structure not just for today, but for the future… public works, in my opinion, is the backbone of every community,” he said. “Every day when it comes to work, my goal is to make sure that our staff understands what they do and they value what they do. And at the same time, my goal — my hope — is that our work and our production will create value.”
Scenna, the son of two Italian immigrants and an Everett native, married lifetime Lynnfield resident Rebecca Canter 18 years ago and has lived here ever since. He said he credits her with their move to Lynnfield and his involvement in the community, which also includes coaching his sons in youth and high school soccer.
John and Rebecca Scenna share three sons — Rocco, the rising junior at Lynnfield High School, and their twin sons Charlie and Phillip, who are entering sixth grade at Lynnfield Middle School.
As the eldest of three sons of immigrants, working hard is in the “essence of everything I do,” Scenna said.
“If you put in the work, good things happen,” he said. “I like to be described as hardworking, but I like to be behind the scenes.”
Scenna graduated from Malden Catholic, where he played high school soccer, before attending Merrimack College, where he said he had to end his career as a soccer player due to injuries.
He said even before entering the field he works in now, he was always interested in construction projects.
“With Italian grandfathers, there’s always something. They’re either painting, or adding a patio, or making the patio bigger,” Scenna said. “I always liked that, and I like math and science.”
He said he decided to stay working in the public sector, rather than the private sector because of the impact he has made.
“I liked the ability to find the problem, create a solution, and then deliver it,” Scenna said. “Now, here at home in Lynnfield, where the benefits aren’t just professional, I’m doing things that help my family, to help my boys, help their friends, and it’ll help the community that I don’t leave.”
