East Bridgewater Scholarship Kick-Off Event Also Celebrates A Life

Outpouring of Support Honors Memory of EBHS Librarian Anne Kenneally Hynes

June 2013

By Patrick Cronin

The recent Anne Kenneally Hynes Memorial Scholarship Fund Kick-Off was just the kind of event Anne Kenneally Hynes would never attend, a gathering of many people who were all there to shine the light on her. In her life as a teacher, librarian, mentor, and wise counsel to so many, Mrs. Hynes preferred to remain in the background, usually disappearing completely, once she had managed to set into motion a series of seemingly miraculous events that would in some small or large way celebrate someone else’s accomplishments. At the kick-off event recently held in the very East Bridgewater High School library in which Mrs. Hynes toiled for so many years, stories of her selflessness and generosity were passed back and forth fondly among those who attended.

Mrs. Hynes, a member of EBHS’s Class of 1950, began her work with the young people of the town as an English teacher before becoming the high school librarian. During her more than 4 decades in that position (Mrs. Hynes retired in 1995) and throughout her life (she passed away in 2011), Anne made a lasting impression on so many in her home town and beyond that a scholarship has been created in her name, one that will become available to the members of the East Bridgewater High School Class of 2014. The goal is to raise $100,000 to fund the scholarship or scholarships.

“The goal is to award a substantial annual scholarship or scholarships in Anne’s name, allowing us to provide significant financial assistance to an East Bridgewater student or students each year,” according to Ginny O’Kelly, one of the eight members of the scholarship executive board, as well as a former student and colleague of Mrs. Hynes. “Anne Kenneally Hynes was such a force in our school and in the lives of so many people, we want the scholarship to reflect the tremendous magnitude with which her love, wisdom, and selflessness impacted so many during her years of service in our school and town. Beginning with the Class of 2014, East Bridgewater High School seniors will be able to apply for awards from the largest scholarship fund ever offered by the community, and that scholarship will forever be called ‘The Anne Kenneally Hynes Memorial Scholarship.’ ”

During the kick-off event’s program Dr. Judith Riordan, former East Bridgewater teacher, high school principal, and superintendent, spoke of the library’s Spirit Collection, a collection of published works by graduates of East Bridgewater High School. This collection was created and maintained by Mrs. Hynes until her retirement. The collection will be moved to the new East Bridgewater Junior-Senior High School library, which will be named The Anne Kenneally Hynes Library, in Mrs. Hynes’s honor.

George McCabe, a former EBHS student and teacher and presently serving as the School Committee chair, delivered a humorous but touching biography of the many of the Anne’s accomplishments in and for the high school. Guests were treated to a story of a possible “scandal” involving the late teacher Miss Mary Sullivan and the members of the Class of 1950.

Kristine Resendes, Vice-President of the Bridgewater Savings Bank and EBHS graduate, Class of ’69, representing Mr. Jim Lively, the bank’s president, provided some exciting news when it was announced that the bank is contributing a substantial donation to the scholarship fund. In addition, President John Boucher of South Shore Bank has offered to sponsor a fund raising event for the scholarship, and planning for that activity will begin soon.

Graduates of East Bridgewater High School’s Class of 1963, Ginny O’Kelly and Fred Adams, continued the good news about initial funding efforts as they announced that the scholarship has received a donation by The Class of ’63 in recognition of its 50th reunion year. They added that to date the total for that donation is $6,063, and that the total donations and pledges to fund the scholarship are already over $20,000.

It was also learned that June 15 will be the official date for whatever major annual fund raising event the board of directors organizes each year to help fund the scholarship. The date was selected because it is Anne’s birthday, and Anne faithfully – and in legendary fashion – mailed birthday cards to former students and staff members, their children, and grandchildren, for over forty years.

“Everyone who knew Anne will tell you that she had an amazing memory,” said Beth Hayes, a member of the scholarship’s board of directors and a member of the School Committee. “She knew your birthday and the birthday of everyone in your family. She could recall minute details of an event that happened 50 years ago. But what made Anne truly special and endeared her to so many people was her genuine interest in each person as an individual. She cared about you and she showed it. She kept in touch. She cheered you on when you had success and offered a willing ear when you needed to talk. In a world that is often too rushed, Anne always had time for you. Her enduring impact on an enormous number of people is immeasurable.”

Anyone wishing to learn more about the Anne Kenneally Hynes Memorial Scholarship and how to contribute to it may visit a website established in Anne’s honor at
www.AnneHynesScholarship.org. Also, those wishing to contact the scholarship’s board of directors may do so at info@annehynesscholarship.org.

Below are few photos of the Kickoff for the Anne Kenneally Hynes Memorial Scholarship.