The Wrentham Times

Christmas Tree Pickup is January 10

Wrentham’s Boy Scout Troop 131 will be collecting Christmas trees on Saturday January 10, and once again requesting a $10 donation. To have your tree picked up put a $10 donation in an envelope, seal the envelope and place it around the bottom of the tree with a rubber band. Make checks payable to "Troop 131" and place the tree on the curb near the street before 8 a.m. For safety reasons, they cannot accept trees with tinsel, flocked trees, trees with nails, artificial trees, wreaths with metal shape wires, or trees with any other metal attached. The $10 donation helps to offset the cost of operating the troop whose programs have assisted our youths in topping 4000-foot peaks, hit the road for 30 mile bike rides on “The Vineyard” and 50 mile hikes through the wilderness. The Boy Scouts provide countless hours of service to the community, and the Troop's Eagle program has provided landscaping for town property inlcuing Fiske Public library, the creation of the 9/11 memorial, built and marked a number of the town's hiking trails-and much more.

Along with the trees the scouts will pick up bikes for Bikes not Bombs on the January 10. Bikes not Bombs, a Boston-based non-profit which collects retired bikes and, primarily, supplies them to overseas missions which are developing micro-economies based on bikes (Ghana), relief workers for medical personnel (Uganda), an operation in Guatemala which then re-engineers the bikes to drive pumps and various machinery which assist their agrarian communities, as well as other operations in Sierra Leone, Nevis. St. Kitts, and San Salvador, as well as Boston-based classes in bicycle programs geared towards youth and women. Discover more about them at www.bikesnotbombs.org.

This is a great opportunity to clean up after Christmas by having the scouts pickup your tree and to pass along a retired bike.

King Philip DECA Comes Full Circle

By Grace Davis

On December 22nd King Philip DECA invited back a panel of past DECA members to share their experiences from DECA as well as how it has influenced them since graduating. State Officers, Chapter Presidents, Vice Presidents, as well as vital individuals who have come through the DECA program paid a visit to the current junior and senior DECA classes.

DECA is an internationally recognized, entrepreneurship-based organization that allows students to familiarize themselves with principles such as marketing, finance, and hospitality. King Philip joined the international DECA community in 1971.

The King Philip DECA alumni reflected on their time spent in the DECA program, sharing enthusiasm for their past projects and the levels of competition that they achieved. Each one of them mentioned how DECA has given them life skills, such as time management and professionalism, which has carried them through college and for some even into their life after college.

Liz Arico represented the class of 2010 as she held the positon of Chapter President. She proudly stated that, “At almost 23 I’m still coming back here to root all of you on.”

Class of 2014 graduate Katie Lukes spoke to her past projects and skills she has gained by stating “DECA captured my work ethic.”

Class of 2014 Chapter President Emmy Lambalot spoke to time management and how what she learned through DECA has helped her in college. From the skills she has gained and from being a natural public speaker, DECA has made her transition to High Point University easier than most.

Tory Atkins was the Vice President of the class of 2013. From retaining her leadership skills and grasping all the other skills DECA offers, she is now the president of her class at James Madison University. Former Chapter President Shannon Poirier added how, “DECA taught me to be confident in myself and grow as a person.”

Savannah Tyo and Sarah Shiels also shared personal tips and tricks with the seniors and juniors to ensure their success in competition this year.

King Philip DECA is extremely privileged to have such a dedicated network of alumni who continually come back to share their knowledge and insight. Their words of wisdom will be remembered and taken advantage of during each step in the competition process.

Grace Davies is the King Philip DECA Director of Public Relations