Jeff Bennett's Blog

I had the honor of attending the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund Breakfast today at the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston. The MSLF has been established to offer college tuition assistance grants to the children of Massachusetts based Servicemembers who have died while deployed in support of Operation Enduring or Iraqi Freedom. The purpose of the MSLF is to honor the sacrifices of our local Servicemembers and to assure these families that the losses they have suffered will not be forgotten as time moves on.

This morning the MSLF Breakfast was hosted by Master of Ceremonies Gord Kluzak. Featured speakers were Peter Trovato, the founder of the MSLF, who is a member of the team at Summit Partners, Rob Hale, Jr., and the CEO of Granite Telecommunications, Colonel John Lowrey, III, of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Boston Mayor Tom Menino. The attendees were then introduced to the leaders of the Boston Sports teams: Wyc Grousbeck, CEO of the Boston Celtics, Larry Luchino, President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, Jonathan Kraft the President of the New England Patriots and Charley Jacobs the Executive Vice President of the Boston Bruins. The leaders of the Boston sports franchises spoke about leadership and successful management principles. These folks surely speak from experience as we look at the three Super Bowl Championships, two World Series Championsships and Banner 17 by the Celtics in June. Charley we are all pulling for you and the Bruins…we are off to a good start this season!  All four beloved Boston teams have become supporters of the MSLF.

I would like to honor all members of the U.S. Armed Services past and present. Your commitment to our country is appreciated and honored. This mornings breakfast also honored several U.S. Veterans who have died in the line of duty. As Colonel Lowry said in his remarks this is the ultimate sacrifice to God and Country. Colonel Lowry went onto discuss this as also the ultimate sacrifice for the families of our fallen soldiers. It was humbling to meet and share the morning with the families of several fallen Massachusetts soldiers.

MSLF is a wonderful organization with a noble cause.  Our freedoms and liberties are often taken for granted in the U.S.   Those who serve in the military and their families pay an large price for all of us.  Our support of the MSLF will ensure the sons and daughters of our fallen heroes will have an opportunity to go onto attend college thanks to the generous benefactors of MSLF. Special recognition and thanks to generous MSLF supporters Rob Hale, Jr., Marty Mannion, Tom Jennings, Joe Trustey, Bruce Evans, Tom Roberts and Gord Kluzak, who were all honored at the breakfast.  Despite our financial crisis, nearly $1 million was raised by this event.  You can donate to this important fund at the MSLFund web site.