Remembering Boston Mayor & Posse Champion Thomas Menino
The Posse Foundation joins the City of Boston in mourning the loss and celebrating the life of the Honorable Thomas M. Menino, who passed away on October 30, 2014. The city’s longest serving mayor, in office from 1993 until 2013, he was a longtime champion of the Posse program and its Scholars and alumni.
“The Posse community is incredibly saddened by the loss of Mayor Menino,” says Posse President and Founder Deborah Bial. “The deep love he had for the City of Boston and its residents made him a powerful advocate for education, equality and public service. His support of the Posse program made a lifelong impact on the Scholars and alumni who met him, especially those who worked in his administration. We will always be grateful to Mayor Menino for his leadership and commitment to young people.”
Posse Boston, established in 1999 as the second chapter of the Foundation, had the support of the city’s mayor from the very beginning. Mayor Menino met personally with Posse alumni at intimate conversation forums to discuss the opportunities and challenges for young professionals in Boston. He also hired four alumni to work for his administration, encouraging them to pursue public service careers.
\"It was a privilege to be allowed into Mayor Menino's civic family when I graduated from college,\" says Denison University Posse alumnus Christopher Moore, the manager for international relations and marketing for the City of Boston. \"The two years I spent working for him, going from one event to another watching as he tirelessly fought for the people of Boston, changed my life for the better. If Mayor Menino saw something in you, he took a chance on you, and believed in you. He saw people for what they could be and what they could do. He approached every corner of every neighborhood of Boston in the same fashion.\"
\"Mayor Menino loved Posse because he believed it did one very important thing—provide opportunities to young people, just like he did for me,\" says Bryn Mawr Posse alumna Jackney Prioly, the director of Future Ready Massachusetts. \"I had the honor and pleasure to learn a great deal by working with him. He welcomed this “kid,” as he often referred to me, onto Team Menino and this kid will always be grateful.\"
In 2013, at the close of his final term, Posse Boston was thrilled to honor Mayor Menino at the Power of 10 event. It was a fitting opportunity to formally recognize his dedication to education, youth development and social justice.
“Posse is one of the most successful programs we have created for young people in Boston,” said Mayor Menino. “I am proud and honored to have my name mentioned with Posse Boston and the dozens of outstanding young men and women who have gone on, and will continue to go on, to do amazing things at college and after graduating.”
Elected five times as mayor of Boston and five times as a city councilor from Hyde Park, Mayor Menino spent a lifetime building a better Boston for residents and businesses. Posse sends heartfelt condolences to his wife, Angela; his children, Susan and Thomas, Jr.; and his six grandchildren.
