During the eighth grade graduation in June, the Willington Board of Education presented the annual Citizenship Award to Mary Bowen. The annual award goes to a citizen who has shown a lifetime of community service in Willington.

Mary recently retired from her long-held position as Secretary to the First Selectman and Chair of the Library Board of Directors. She spent 29 years at the Town Office Building in various positions and worked under 7 different First Selectmen.

After moving in 1974, Mary and her husband Roger raised their two girls in Willington. In the early years, Mary helped out at the Willington Nursery Cooperative and volunteered as a Girl Scout leader. She fondly remembers spending time and making friends at Hall’s Pond and St. Jude’s Church where she was a CCD teacher.

Mary started her career in local government as the part-time Registrar of Voters in 1980. After that, she moved on to the Town Clerk office and did a stint as The Director of Social Services. In 1987 she became the Town Office Manager.

In addition to this, she has been a 16-year member of the Library Board (some years as Chair), and helped in many ways to facilitate all the "red tape" involved in building the new library. She is currently involved in the “Friends of the Library” organization.

In 2002, Mary was heavily involved in the 275th Committee and organizes a Relay for Life team called “Circle of Friends.” A cancer survivor herself, Mary is grateful she lives in such a “wonderful town” as Willington, giving thanks to her friends and neighbors who have come through during her time of need.

Mary offered words of thanks and some inspiration for the graduates: “Graduates, I would like to say a few words to you about volunteering your time and energy. You are entering high school, a wonderful exciting four years awaits you. Joining different clubs, theater and sports is a way to volunteer; you learn to share and grow while working with and helping your fellow students. As you grow older and go on to college or into the workforce you will take that sharing and helping with you and apply it in different ways. There are many ways to volunteer, it does not always involve money - your time and energy are valuable commodities. And it can be fun! As a good citizen, no matter what your age, you can always help; at your church, in neighborhood sports, at a senior center, political organizations; even volunteer here at Hall Memorial School and of course at home.”

Make sure to visit our district’s web page at willingtonpublicschools.org. It includes links to the school web pages and many resources for parents.

On behalf of the Willington Board of Education and all of our staff - welcome to another exciting school year. I hope you had a wonderful summer and that you and your children are looking forward to an exciting new school year as much as we are.