“Taste of Warren” for the Warren Animal Shelter held at The Warren Armory

“Taste of Warren” for the Warren Animal Shelter held at The Warren Armory

                On Thursday evening, May 15, 2014, many volunteers and local businesses came together for the support of The Warren Animal Shelter.  Special thanks to recently honored Ed Theberge and the Warren Armory restoration committee, along with the tremendous support of our local elected and appointed officials, who paved the way for the dedicated volunteer group, led by organizer Florette Ruggiero, to gather at the much improved Warren Armory for the sole purpose of providing much needed funds for our animal shelter.  This group, Friends of the Providence Animal Care & Control Center, in addition to helping Providence, reach out to help a different community each year.  We are so fortunate that they chose Warren and that our community responded in great fashion as they are noted for whenever there is a need.   The turnout was tremendous and a great deal of appreciation must go out to all the people who came to participate in this worthy cause.  

            Mario Hilario, known for his “Pick a Pet” program on local NBC Channel 10, came to present the award in his name “The Mario Hilario Compassion Award” to Mike Briggs.  Congratulations to Mike and a special thank you to Mario for helping to make this evening a success. Grace Barker Nursing Center & Willows Adult Day and Assisted Living, another established Warren business always there for Warren’s families and good causes, provided the programming, advertisement, meeting facilities¸ and respected volunteers: Karen Borges, Joan Alfano, Deb Thurber, Linda Pelletier, Clemete Rocha and Cindy Mello. Patriot Wine & Spirits, a very classy organization, generously and unselfishly provided all of the wine and expertise for the wine tasting portion of the evening.  Without their continued help and guidance, this would not have been possible.     These two main sponsors used their business experience and true professionalism in guiding all the volunteers through the weeks of planning.  As a result, the event was a huge success and the enthusiasm was outstanding.

            Crestwood Nursing Home, another well-known family run business in Warren that really goes out of their way to support our community, once again came through for this event by providing the very steadfast and caring volunteers Sandy Medeiros, Cynthia Creel, Martha Foster, and Stephanie Carvalho. 

            The “Taste of Warren”, a long-time dream of former Town Manager and current Town Treasurer, Michael Abbruzzi, was made possible by Warren’s retail eateries featuring authentic culinary creations.  If you were lucky enough to be at this event, you know about the specialties that were provided by The Coffee Depot, Amaral’s Fish & Chips, Market Street Pub & Grill, The Wharf Tavern, Balasco’s Pizzeria Ristorante, Edible Arrangements, The Square Peg, Eli’s Kitchen, the Trafford, Simply Devine, and the Country Inn.  If you missed it, please find time to come to the next one.  Other businesses that need our thanks and that provided specialties to create the perfect ambiance are Style Unleashed, The Olive Tap, Kolby Rentals, Hot Club Providence, Bristol Theater Company, Woonsocket Health & Rehabilitation Centre, NHS Linen Rental, McBlarney’s County Tap, New England Linen Supply and East Bay Tent Company.

            Volunteers at our shelter, Rose Mary Oliveira, Anna Palmeiri, Jessica Gonsalves, Deidre Julien and Karen Lynch have been a tremendous inspiration to our community in all they do for the animals at the Warren Animal Shelter.  Their time and efforts there and with this event are sincerely valued. The volunteers on the committee that worked diligently on the Wine Tasting portion of the evening are: Anna Palmeiri, Penny King, C. J. Audet-Kelly, Karen Lynch, Deidre Julien, Jean Bellm, Betty Brule, Sarah Golotto, Carmen Medeiros, Kirstin Flynn, Crazy Sunflower Photo and Nicole Narducci.  This group assisted with so many tasks to help make the evening go smoothly.

             The attendees remarked how welcoming Warren is, how beautiful the Warren Armory is becoming, and how impressed they were that our community and its fine people have tremendous dedication, energy and selflessness. This special fundraiser that brought volunteers and local businesses together was another proud moment for Warren!

Sincerely,                                                                                 Frank J. Alfano