On June 27, 2023, Fall River, Massachusetts, held a dual bench dedication ceremony to honor Julianne Kelly and Janice Clark for their significant contributions to the city and the Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail Trail. Julianne Kelly was recognized for her decade of service, from 2009 to 2019, as the city's first Mass in Motion coordinator. During her tenure, she was instrumental in revising the municipal open space and recreation plan, establishing and extending the rail trail, instituting the Complete Streets program, and creating the Government Center staircase galleries. Her efforts also led Fall River to become one of only six communities nationwide to receive the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's inaugural Culture of Health prize. Mayor Paul Coogan presented her with an official City Citation for her dedicated service, and her bench was humbly dedicated to the volunteers who maintain and advocate for the rail trail. Janice Clark was posthumously honored for her extraordinary volunteer commitment to the preservation and public enjoyment of the Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail Trail. Her sister, Cheryl, shared how Janice, after suffering a stroke at 52, found purpose on the trail, diligently cleaning goose poop, feeding animals healthy food like peas and corn, and educating children about proper animal nutrition. State Representative Carol Fiola and Janice Velozo, former head of the Friends of the Quequechan River Rail Trail, also spoke, praising Janice Clark's passion, commitment, and positive impact on the community. Janice Clark's dedicated bench is located on the rail trail, a little before the track switch.
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Council
Public / Other
well good morning everyone thank you for coming out here even amidst the rain uh you know we're at Fall River people we roll with the punches so that's that's what we get and we're still celebrating here because we we do it we do what we can it's wonderful um so we're here to celebrate two amazing women and I just want to thank you all for coming I want to thank Julianne Kelly who's here in person and
0:24uh one of the women we are celebrating and also I want to thank Janice uh velozo and Marcia Picard for just coordinating and helping put on this event and getting these benches in place I want to thank the family and friends of Janice Clark and all the um and their remembrance of her and all the work that she has done I'm going to be speaking on uh Julian's behalf so
0:52um I just have a few highlights about her time here as the coordinator of mass in motion so um in 2009 the Department of Public Health uh granted uh Fall River one of the first 10 mass in motion grants Statewide and there were eight communities that were given planning grants and only two communities were given implementation grants based on the systems and the people that were already in place one of
1:21which was Julian who was already working in this Arena and those two communities were Everett and Fall River so that is a wonderful thing and um Julian Kelly was the first mass in motion coordinator here in the city and she served from 2009 to 2019. and during and as a result of her tenure the municipal open space and Recreation plan was completely revised the Alfred J Lima quickashan River Rail Trail of which we are
1:51standing on part of was established and significantly extended the complete streets program was instituted that's a wonderful thing for the city the government center staircase Gallery was created two two staircase galleries on both sides were created that is a wonderful opportunity to exercise and enjoy art from City residents and local residents hundreds of bike helmets were distributed and multiple bike rodeos
2:19which included bike safety classes and training for young people and bike repairs by loyal bike walk Fall River members though they were held in the city and multiple healthy eating initiatives were developed and launched and so much more so Julie also played a major role in Fall River becoming one of only six communities in the country out of more than 160 applicant communities Nationwide to receive the Robert Wood
2:51Johnson foundation's inaugural culture of Health prize and this prize was given to communities that were doing exemplary work towards helping make their communities healthier which Fall River and Julie certainly were so I would like to turn it over to Mayor Paul Coogan who will say a few words and thank you again for coming actually Sarah stole all my thunder because I got the same notes as she did
3:20about the amazing work Julie did while she was both the massive motion director and pushing hard to get the rail trail uh done I also want to acknowledge one of my colleagues in government who obviously comes to everything Carol Fiola state representative is here with us today but Julie if you come on up for a second um we do want to give you an official City Citation for all you did for the
3:43city of Fall River in honor and recognition of your 10 years of dedicated service to the city of Fall River as the mass in motion coordinator we want to thank you for all you've done thank you foreign
4:02we would like to invite Dave weed to come up who is uh retired from the Department of Mental Health and partners for our greater forward partners for a healthier community and he will have a few words to say right hi it's nice to be back here and see so many uh familiar faces and a number of new faces I just want to say that since I left Fall River six years ago I've
4:32changed hats I'm if you read this now we are now on native land I'm working across the Taunton River with the poconocut tribe in developing a new National Heritage area Mike knows all about it if you want to ask questions and I have brochures if you're interested but enough about what I'm doing what I I too have that same list I don't know where we're going for this but I don't
5:00have the high-tech version Sarah I have the low-tech version but I think you've mentioned everything but what what I want to especially say is that I remember Julie as the person who gets things done okay even if they take 10 years all right she had more tenacity and stuck with more of these projects than anybody I know to get changes in the physical structures around here a lot of healthy City Fall River had to do
5:31with the social structures and Marsha I credit with keeping those social structures getting those is up and going in the education that's involved that's kind of the software of doing healthy cities but the hardware was Julie's job and she helped to make sure that the structures like the quickashan River Rail Trail the bike paths all of the uh even the infrastructure for bicycles and
6:00repairing bikes all of that came under Julie's watch and she did a fabulous job and I think this bench is just the most appropriate occasion to honor her contribution that hundreds if not thousands of people are walking by this spot every year and they will get a chance to see a little bit do we have a QR code on that is that on the bench we need to get a QR code that
6:31takes you right to a Julie Kelly webpage so so everybody will know who she is and what she did but it's a great opportunity and thank you Marcia and all the organizers here to make this happen and thank you Julie thank you David um now we would like to have the dramatic unveiling of the bench that is in true humble Julie fashion she refused to have it dedicated to her so it is
7:05dedicated to the volunteers who maintain and um advocate for this uh rail trail in this in this city yeah I guess go go you just witness it oh we have no music where's the trumpets
7:34if anyone's willing to dodge the raindrops they can step right up and uh have a peek
7:51thank everybody for coming on this lovely day uh I really appreciate all the hard work that was done by the folks at City Hall and who are members of the group and even my old friend Al Lima who's no longer with us miss him and miss my sister um my sister would be so happy to see that bench and plaque on the trail that she loves so much she had a stroke when she was 52.
8:21and she had moved to housing over on Quarry Street in one of the Mills and she spent every day cleaning goose poop notice there was none she had it taken care of last night with a thunderstorm and yes she really loved it she would buy certain kinds of things to feed the animals because if you give them bread it's really unhealthy for the birds so she would buy peas and corn and
8:55they would come they would hear her wheelchair coming and they'd come flying up to meet her and eat right out of her hand and I think the most important thing she did besides cleaning goose poop was educating the young children as they walked along and telling them no bread not good make the birds sick and she really loved every day on the trail and it was it just made her life so much better
9:21so I thank everybody for having this ceremony and and putting her name on a bench it's much appreciated thank you and her honor um obviously everybody knows she did a great job out here so in honor and memory of Janice Clark's extraordinary volunteer commitment to the continued preservation and public enjoyment of the Alfred J Lima quickashan River Rail Trail thank you very much and I think Carol's going to say a few
10:02words and I appreciate it Carol first of all Julie congratulations you know whether you're a city employee doing your job it's one thing to do your job but it's another to bring the passion the class the collaborative spirit that you brought and the kindness to the job I mean Julie you will always be remembered as a champion and a wonderful Advocate and congratulations on the bench for the people who enjoy this Trail
10:42um those of us who know Janice she was a gem she was in that wheelchair with a mission every day whether it was on the corner of the Lady of Light band club I'd see her in that parking lot before she'd make her way down here on the trail again you don't have to be important or gifted with some unique job you just have to have a passion and a commitment
11:15and a desire to make a difference and boy one person has made a tremendous difference and for that we are very grateful Cheryl that Janice whether I'd pop over to the apartments where she lived there to seeing her on the trail here boy she's a champion for Fall River and boy oh yeah oh yeah I would get a I would get a lot of phone calls from Janice and um I I respected and honored every one
11:46of them and so congratulations in her memory forever the people of the trail who walk the trail and enjoy the beauty will ask who was Janice clot who was Janice clock and hopefully they'll ask somebody who knew and be able to tell her somebody who made a difference for the people of Fall River so thank you Cheryl for allowing me to be here and for everyone here to make this special honor in her name thank you
12:27so Cheryl made reference to the goose poop that's on the trail and the rain is Janice's problem today this is why it rained so that there was no poop on the trail that was her big job I'm Janice filozo and I used to be in charge of the friends of the quick question River Rail Trail but that was my kind of title I was the bad Janice Janice Clark was the good Janice it was
12:52always a big joke and she would always tell me what to do and how it was supposed to get done um I got it I I was very lucky to have a really get a really good friend out of being involved in Fall River and the rail trail Janice was a sweetheart she had a tough exterior She chased you down with her wheelchair on the trail if she thought that you were doing something wrong
13:18um but she had a heart of gold and um she was just the greatest volunteer and anyway I cried because I get I'm too old now and every time I do something I can write um but um yeah she was a really good friend and I appreciate all of the things that Janice did on the trail and everybody in the city of Fall River should appreciate them too thank you
13:57so we could if you if you care to walk down there at some point then you can see Janice's benches on the right hand side a little before the track switch and similar in structure to that bench with a different plaque of course so