Today was "Class Day" at Medfield High School and Class Day tradition includes a Hall of Excellence induction. This year, Tom Kelly and Nancy Kelly-Lavin were the recipients of that honor and Richard DeSorgher had the pleasure of speaking about both of these Medfield High School Alumni The following is Richard's speech.
It is an honor for me to come back to my high school and also to the place I called home as a teacher for 35 years and to have the honor and distinct privilege of introducing two friends and fellow MHS graduates and to welcome them as this year’s Wall of Honor recipients.
Tom Kelly graduated from MHS with the Class of 1973 while his sister Nancy Kelly-Lavin graduated with the Class of 1974.
Find out what's happening in Medfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Tom was a four-year,/ three-season/ standout athlete in football, basketball and baseball. Nancy was a four-year member of the Cheerleading team and captain of the Varsity team her senior year, the same year she led her MHS Cheerleading squad to a state championship. For anyone who knows Nancy, there is no surprise that in their senior superlatives, she was named “Most School Spirit.”
Tom went on to graduate from Providence College with a BS in Business Administration and Nancy from Jacksonville University with a BA in Psychology.
Find out what's happening in Medfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Since college they both became active citizens in the Medfield community, giving back through their involvement in the institution that was called Lords: a store and a landmark clearly identified with Medfield. It was a special part of the town of 73 years. It was one of the last remaining mom & pop holdouts in this age of big box stores. It was a testimony to a family business that loved their hometown, who operated on loyalty and the handshake, and by example, taught their employees the values of hard work.
Both Tom and Nancy took over running the store from their Dad, Bill, who put his heart and soul into Lords.
"It's very hard to run a business today," said Tom. "But the business has grown and has really helped shape and build the kids of Medfield. I think Lords was a sort of founding father for this town. … 'Kids came back and they were CEOs or doctors or teachers and they said, 'This was my first job, and you showed me the right way to do things and work with people.'"
Lord's was considered the "heartbeat of the community," an anchor that became the place that sold tickets to school and community events….. the Kelly’s, through Lords, make it a priority to give back to the community –
They raised $25,000 to buy a thermal imaging helmet for the fire department to make sure our firefighters would be safe if ever called into the smoke-filled interior of a burning building “ Said Nancy: “You give back to the community that you live in”
Both Tom and Nancy began fundraisers and served on committees to restore the WWII Veterans’ plaque at the Dale Street School and Korean War and Vietnam War plaques, placed on the Dale Street School and Blake Middle School.
Nancy and Tom were both founding members of MEMO, the Medfield Merchants & Employers Organization, with Tom serving as its president and both were honored with the Citizen of the Year Award by the Medfield Lions Club. Tom was president of the Medfield Softball League while Nancy serves on the Downtown Study Committee, the Medfield High School Alumni Association, the Medfield Coalition for Public Education and was named a life-time honorary member of the Medfield Historical Society
Tom and Nancy were a driving source in the effort to honor those MHS students who went off to WWII and never received their MHS diploma; Because of their efforts those WWII veterans, including their dad, proudly graduated in their caps and gowns with the MHS Class of 2005.
Tom and Nancy, as “townies” themselves, continued the love fest between the town and Lord’s. Local sport jerseys, hats, jackets, you name it, along with Medfield memorabilia were sold, clearly giving Lords a hometown flavor. They both worked with the schools and had back–to–school kits waiting for students to pick up, in time for the first day of school in September. They kept their father’s love of patriotism alive each Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day with displays of local veterans inside the store, and made sure that Lords always displayed bunting and American flags on all holidays. Every December, “Midnight Madness” became a town tradition that started the Christmas season.Lord’s became the place of employment for generations of Medfield High School students. According to many, the Kellys were unique in taking great interest in the kids working there and were incredible role models, teachers and, on occasion, surrogate parents. Many life lessons were learned working at Lord’s including social skills, the value of reliability and hard work, and how to interact with people.
Through the Kelly’s Lords developed a special bond with Medfield High School athletics and school spirit. Team banners telling when the next game would be played were hanging from the outside wall of Lords. Banners announcing championships or winning seasons were plastered all over the windows.
Could I ask all those who were on the girl’s track team this year to please stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banners proclaim the 1997 Girl’s Outdoor track team/, state champions and the 1999 girls Class D relay team,/ state champions.-(please be seated)
Could I ask all those who played girls volleyball, (freshmen, JV and varsity) to pleased stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banners proclaim the 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 teams, / state champions. –please be seated
Could I ask all those who played on the golf team, (varsity and JV) to please stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banners proclaim the 2003 and 2004 teams,/ state champions. (PBS)
Could I ask all those who play on the boys Lacrosse teams to please stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banners proclaim the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 teams,/ state champions- and you know what.. if Lords were still here today a new banner would be proclaiming the 2014 state championship when the boys lacrosse team whips Concord- Carlisle tonight. (PBS)
Could I ask all those who play on the football team, (Freshmen, JV and Varsity) to please stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banner proclaimed the 2006 MHS football team /“Super Bowl Champions” (PBS)
Could all those who play girls soccer please stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banners proclaim the 2010 and 2012 teams, / state champions (PBS)
And finally could I ask all those who play on the girls’ lacrosse teams to please stand. It was the Kelly’s through Lords that had the banner proclaim the 2012 team,/ state champions and again, if Lords were here today a new banner would be proclaiming the 2014 state championship when the girls lacrosse team demolishes Wayland later today. (PBS)
Lord’s closed on February 28, 2013, just before the girls basketball team won the state championship later that fall and since then we miss those banners of town-wide pride that the Kelly’s use to plaster all over their very visible windows that united the town in celebration over the accomplishments of Medfield’s youth. A piece of small town Americana that was so special.
Before I ask Nancy and Tom to come up, I would like to recognize a very special person who was the anchor behind the Kelly family and responsible for the behind-the scene success of Lords… the person who brought Tom and Nancy into the world,…….. from the Medfield High School Class of 1945, a round of applause for their mother, Mrs. June Kelly.
The Kelly’s have given back and given back to their hometown community, this award today, in a small way, lets us give something back to the Kelly’s. At this time I would like you to please join me in officially welcoming the 2014 Wall of Honor Recipients, From the Medfield High School Classes of 1973 and 1974. Tom Kelly and Nancy Kelly-Lavin.
