ESMS is proud to
announce Dana Iacopucci, ESMS Board Member and life-long East Somervillian, as
our new neighbor of the month. Moving
from long term volunteer to a leader on the Board of Directors, Dana demonstrates just how much one person
can contribute to their neighborhood.
Driving Dana’s
passion for East Somerville are his deep roots and history in the neighborhood.
How deep? Dana’s Father, Angelo, was born
in the same house, and worked around the
corner as a meat cutter at Tony’s Foodland.
Dana also worked at Somerville Lumber (formerly on the now Stop &
Shop site) for 14 years.
Now not only a
leader within East Somerville, Dana now brings an East Somerville perspective
to the Chamber of Commerce, where he serves on the Board of Directors on behalf
of his employer Cubby Energy Services. As
Residential and Commercial Sales Representative, Dana travels across greater
Boston, but says he wouldn’t rather live anywhere but East Somerville.
Dana always had a
deep admiration for the community, but when the East Somerville Main Streets
office opened in 2007, he knew right away its potential would soar.
So, how did Dana
go from Glen Street neighbor to East Somerville community leader? When mutual friend and former business owner,
Pina Mingace, introduced Dana to Carrie Dancy, the Executive Director of the
ESMS – he immediately stepped up to volunteer.
“The implementation of the ESMS program couldn't have come at a better
time, as the community needed a resource in which would support and boost East
Somerville’s many assets.”
Dana started on
the ESMS Promotion’s Committee, playing a key role in the development of the
Under the Stars International Movie Nights.
With the committee, he played a role in creating many of the events that
that have shifted people’s perception of East Somerville to one that is focused
on its many assets.
After three years
as a volunteer and familiar face within the neighborhood, Dana decided to take
the next step with ESMS and join the board.
The biggest
change Dana has witnessed from the work of ESMS has been the voice the program
has helped to bring to the community. Dana credits the community outreach
events and volunteer opportunities ESMS has created for putting East Somerville
on the map.
“The work ESMS
has done in the community has definitely helped people recognize East
Somerville as a more vibrant and popular community.”
Dana’s next
mission? He is now the liaison to the
Restaurant Owners Working Group. As a
leader in the Chamber of Commerce, Dana was the natural choice of the ESMS
Board of Directors to work with the Restaurant Owners Working Group. Dana is excited about the impact ESMS has already
had on the community by building the relationships between business owners and
residents. This year, he is excited to continue building
those relationships and also educating businesses on how many resources they
have when working together with one shared voice.
When asked about
what he enjoyed most about living in East Somerville, he simply replied “Working,
living and playing in the community, no really.”
Thank you Dana,
for your contributions to East Somerville and East Somerville Main
Streets. We couldn’t do it without
neighbors like you.
.jpg)
