The elections were held online from May 15th to May 18th, and we are happy to report that we had a very good turnout this year! Thank you to all who took time to vote!
 
It is our pleasure to introduce you to the 2020-2021 Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors' Executive Board:
 
President: Debbie Colburn
First  Vice-President: Julianne Catlin
Treasurer: Mareourn Bo Yai
Corresponding Secretary: Beth Welch
Recording Secretary: Beth Ng
 
The position of Second Vice-President currently remains open, as we had no candidate.  It is not too late to express interest in the position! The Second Vice-President’s role is essentially to maintain the membership list, to collect dues and to work with the Welcome Committee to reach out to potential new members. It is a fun position, and the work can be done on your own time. If it is something you would like to do or if you would like more information, please contact us!
 
Take care and stay healthy!

The Nominating Committee,
Katrine Giroux
John Keogh
Roan Miles
Jennifer Mott

I hope this Newsletter finds you all well and enjoying the coming of Spring. It’s been great seeing some of you in our virtual HNN meetings. A big thanks to those members who have worked to organize these.  Looking forward to ‘seeing’ more of you in the future!
 
Some good news is that the Community Investment Committee selected and distributed the 2019 Community Grant Funds to six deserving town organizations.  Some not so good news is that we may not be able to help as many organizations next year as we have had to postpone our second and biggest fundraiser - Touch-A-Truck.  We hope we will be bringing our community together and raising funds with our fall & holiday events but for now we hope people are enjoying our ‘A PRIZE A DAY FOR THE MONTH OF MAY’ fundraiser.
 
I would like to close with again thanking those in the membership who are part of the ‘essential’ workers who are taking care of us and those around us.  Know that we appreciate your efforts and dedication. And to everyone - stay healthy, enjoy your family and we look forward to seeing you around town in the not too distant future.

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Join us Saturday, May 9 at 10:00 am via Zoom to say hi to your HNN friends virtually. Each child can bring a toy to share with the group or a fun art project to show off.

We will have a song to share together for some added fun!
Please email me if you are interested, and I will send you the invite!

Hope to see you all soon.

Julie
Children's Activities Chair
Julianne Catlin Juliannecatlin@gmail.com

Community Investments

The Community Investment Committee is pleased to announce the 2020 Community Grant Recipients!
 
     Holliston Public Library - Museum Passes
     Holliston Parks & Recreation - Summer Concerts in the Park
     Holliston Fire Department - Ice Commander Rescue Suit
     Holliston Police Department - Contributed to Flex-Safe Barriers
     Holliston Community Farm - Contributed to Electrical Upgrades
     Marigold Project - Contributed to Bulbs for Fall Planting
     A donation was also made to the Holliston Pantry Shelf
 
These recipients really appreciate our efforts, which help them give that extra back to our community. Remember that the Community Grant money is raised during the various fundraising activities held throughout the year, and why it is so important for the Newcomers & Neighbors membership to volunteer at and support these events.  The 2019 fundraising events that contributed to the 2020 Grant fund were Princess & Superhero Party, Rock & Roll Bingo, Touch-A-Truck, The Great Pumpkin Trail, and Gingerbread House Decorating. Thanks to all those who organized and volunteered at these events.
 
Thanks also to fellow committee members Christel DiPippo, Sue Hatton, Lisa Mancuso, and Beth Welch for the time and effort that they put into the review and selection process.
 
Debbie
Community Investments Chair
Community Investment Committee 
HNNCommunityInvestments@gmail.com

Book Club

With so many cancellations lately, it was wonderful that book club successfully held our April meeting.  Eleven people joined in on Zoom to enjoy catching up with other members and discussion of our past two books, Where the Crawdads Sing, and A Gentleman in Moscow.  Both titles got a thumbs up by participants, so if you are looking for a good read, check them out! Many thanks go to Cindy for coordination and hosting our first Zoom meeting.
 
Please save the date for our next virtual Book Club meeting on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30pm when we will again meet up, catch up, and discuss this month’s book, Olive, Again, by Elizabeth Strout. Registration will be required, so please check out our Facebook page, and/or the reminder email that is sent out a day or two before the meeting.
 
Libraries remain closed, yet digital access to collections is readily available.  Allow extra time to request titles as there may be a wait.  Check out hollistonlibrary.org for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital and audio versions.  While there, find instructions for expanding your online borrowing options by creating a Boston Public Library account. 
 

"Olive Kitteridge has returned, as indomitable as ever, this time as a person getting older, navigating her next decade as she comes to terms with the changes--sometimes welcome, sometimes not--in her own life. Here is Olive, strangely content in her second marriage, still in an evolving relationship with her son and his family, encountering a cast of memorable characters in the seaside town of Crosby, Maine. Whether it's a young girl coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth at a baby shower, or a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, the irascible Olive improbably touches the lives of others."--Provided by publisher.

Upcoming selection:
June: The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

Join the Ladies of HNN for a virtual get together on Friday, May 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. Just send us an email, hncladiesescape@gmail.com, and we'll reply before May 1st with the Zoom link to join! (And feel free to join us any time between 8 & 8:30 p.m. based on your schedule.) Grab a glass of wine, a hot cup of tea, or a bowl of ice cream and snuggle down for a chat with friends. Please come with a favorite activity, recipe, drink, book or whatever has brought you joy or peace while at home, to share with the group. We look forward to seeing you!

I know that this has been a difficult month for everyone. I would like to thank those in the membership who are part of the ‘essential’ workers who are taking care of us and those around us.  Medical professionals and support staff, first responders, store and restaurant workers, IT professionals, volunteers for organizations, or just someone making meals, or trips for those who need help - the list goes on.  Know that we appreciate your efforts and dedication.
 
In our little world, all HNN social events were canceled as well as one of our great fundraisers - Princess & Superhero Party - scheduled for April 4th and our Easter Basket partnership with the Holliston Pantry Shelf. With a hopeful look into the future, though, we are moving forward planning Touch-A-Truck scheduled for June 14th.  But for now, the new ‘Prize A Day for the Month of May’ fundraiser was created just in the nick of time!
 
Stay healthy, enjoy your family and we look forward to seeing you around town in the not too distant future.

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Announcing HNN’s new fundraiser!  And you already have a front row seat - right in your own home!
 
This fundraiser works by selling a Month of May calendar where every day is filled with different give-aways from businesses in Holliston and the surrounding communities. Every calendar will have a unique number associated with it. Then each day in May, a calendar number will be selected and the person who has that number will win that day’s prize. You can buy as many calendars as you want and you can win multiple times on the same calendar - how fun is that?

How can you and your friends be winners?  Just purchase one or more calendars at hollistonnewcomers.org ($15 for 1 calendar with discounted prices for multiples), receive your unique calendar number(s) through email, and wait to see if your name is picked.
 
Good Luck!
 
Beth, Bo, Pamela & Debbie
Prize A Day Co-Chairs
Beth Ng   bethng99@gmail.com
Bo Yai   mareournyai@gmail.com
Pamela Pinter Parsons   newpamela@comcast.net
Debbie Colburn   cd.mp@verizon.net

One of the many wonderful pleasures of reading is that a great book can be enjoyed just about anywhere, and these days there are so many ways to get a copy of a great book. Let’s join together this month in reading the very timely selection, A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles.
 
Our April gathering date is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30pm We will be putting our heads together to explore the possibility of meeting virtually. If you happen to be tech savvy or master of collaborative options, we’d love to have you host, or consult on the process, so please reach out if you can help.
 
Libraries are currently closed, yet there are still several ways to read the book.  Please check out the Holliston library website for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital and audio versions.  You can also expand your online borrowing options by creating a Boston Public Library account.  An update regarding the April meeting will be emailed to book club members as decisions are made. If you have questions and ideas, please reach the co-chairs through Facebook or email; we’d love to hear from you! 
 
 

"A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel's doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery..."-- Provided by publisher.
 
Upcoming selections:
May: Olive, Again, by Elizabeth Strout
June: The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current State of Emergency, we regret that the following social, fundraising, and civic events have been canceled.  We thank the committees for the time and effort that they put into planning these events and look forward to getting together and helping our community in the future.
 
    Ladies’ Escape (4/3) – Jennifer Mott, Timea Kovacs, Erica Long 
     Princess & SuperHero Party (4/4) - Christel DiPippo & Donna Goyette
     Children's Activities (4/27) - Julianne Catlin  
     Easter Baskets - Mary Kinsella & Tricia Benson