by Cathy Slade

Roslindale Village Main Street (“RVMS”) awarded Roslindale native Tom Donahue a Lifetime Achievement Award at its Annual Dinner that also served as the 20th Birthday Party for the organization. Tom, who has served on the RVMS Board of Directors since 1990, began volunteering for the group a year before. A few years later, he started serving as the Secretary/Clerk and has held that position ever since. Tom decided to dedicate his time to the RVMS Promotions Committee, which runs events such as the annual Village Tree Lighting, Easter Egg Hunt, Harvest Festival, and Trick or Treat Trot. He can be seen helping at all of these RVMS events, in addition to working on other Main Street activities.

Lending his organizing abilities and interest to the sponsoring group, Healthy Roslindale Coalition, Tom always helps out at National Night Out in Adams Park. He is one of the most recognizable and well-respected citizens in the Roslindale community.

From the late 1980s to 2000, Tom worked on the Roslindale Day Parade with Fraser MacKinnon and Walter Michalik, under the auspices of the Roslindale Historical Society. When the parade committee incorporated differently, Tom continued to organize the event as Chairman of the Roslindale Day Parade Committee. He is assisted by a very able and dedicated team of volunteers.

Over the years, Tom has traveled to many a local parade, taking note of the best bands, marching units, colorguards, dancing troupes and special performers so they would be invited to the Roslindale event. To this day, he still recruits such participants. He has increased the number of floats, local schools and civic groups who participate, thereby making Roslindale’s one of the best represented, best attended and most talked-about neighborhood parades in the city.

Congratulations are extended to Tom Donahue, who is most deserving of this special Lifetime Achievement Award, and any other recognition that comes his way. The Roslindale community is blessed to have this energetic activist working on our behalf, making our neighborhood the wonderful place that it is.