Blue Hills Civic honors 2018 Citizens of the Year

The Blue Hills Civic Association honored Victor Del Vecchio and Lisa Lopez, co-recipients of the 35th annual Dr. Richard Elkort Citizen of the Year Award, at an awards dinner on Monday, September 17, at the Canton Town Club.

Senator Walter Timilty (right) and Rep. Bill Galvin honor Citizens of the Year Victor Del Vecchio (left) and Lisa Lopez. (Tim O’Connor photo)

Lopez and Del Vecchio have lived in Canton for 34 years and have three children: Alexis, 34, Nick, 32, and Dana, 26.

Lopez, for most of that time, was the chief legal officer at Haemonetics Corporation, a global medical device company headquartered in Braintree. Over the years, in addition to her day job, she devoted time to St Gerard’s Church as a CCD instructor, lector, and member of its Parish and Finance councils. She was also a Problem Solving instructor when her children were young.

After retirement, Lopez turned her attention to community preservation, first helping Canton to adopt the Community Preservation Act statute, and then chairing Canton’s first ever Community Preservation Committee. Among the many CPA projects approved by voters, she is most proud of the open space at the Paul Revere Heritage Site that will be purchased with CPA funds. She also chairs the Open Space sub-committee for the Revere Heritage Commission. Outside of her Canton activities, she volunteers as a pro bono attorney representing unaccompanied minors who enter the U.S. seeking legal permanent residency; she serves on the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of Cathedral High School, a South End high school devoted to urban youth; and serves as chair of the Compensation Committee and member of the Board of Directors of Boston’s Radius Bank.

Del Vecchio was a practicing attorney for over 30 years, working first with the Boston law firm of Sullivan and Worcester and then with Verizon Communications where he held a variety of positions in the field of complex litigation. He capped his career as president of EnergyNorth Natural Gas, Inc. and Granite State Electric Company, managing more than 250 employees and multi-million-dollar gas and electric utilities.

Del Vecchio has been active in Canton since 1985, when he began his public service on the town’s Personnel Board (1985-87), followed by elected positions on the Planning Board (1995-2002) and Board of Selectmen (2002-17), having served as chair of both boards during various years.

He is proud of the town — which has long enjoyed a AAA bond rating reflecting sound fiscal policy — and its accomplishments during his time on the BOS. Among other things, Del Vecchio championed the Paul Revere Heritage Site rezoning and preservation success; negotiated millions in infrastructure improvements for Dedham, Chapman and other streets throughout Canton; fought to construct the new senior center, DPW facility, police station and fire station within the levy and without tax overrides; negotiated the then largest solar farm in the commonwealth, locking in millions in revenues and significantly improving the town’s energy efficiency; and supported early adoption of Community Preservation Act funding of vital historical, open space, recreational, and community housing interests.

He also negotiated achievement of the affordable housing threshold that eliminated Chapter 40B threats throughout Canton for nearly 20 years; negotiated millions in “mitigation” revenues and infrastructure improvements from developers and utilities, including University Station, Plymouth Rubber, NSTAR, Brightview, Barletta, Southern Sky and other projects; revitalized the downtown center with underground utility wiring, state streetscape grant and mixed-use zoning changes; significantly expanded and improved the town’s recreational facilities for Canton’s youth as part of the Field Study Committee; and implemented permitting processes enhancing the town’s “business-friendly” image.

Since 2002 Del Vecchio has been a director of the Simoni Foundation, providing annual charitable contributions to local and regional schools, towns, hospitals and other worthy causes.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Sep 29 2018. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.