There was laughter and there were tears as family and friends of Ed Bell came together at the Boston Yacht Club last week to celebrate Ed’s legacy. Longtime colleague and friend Susan Wornick and Ed’s daughter, Andrea Bell Bergeron, co-hosted the first of what we anticipate will be an annual event. Love was in the air as Wornick and Bergeron regaled the crowd with stories about Ed’s past accomplishments and fun-filled anecdotes.
The crowd sat in rapt silence (for the most part) as they viewed a video masterpiece created by MHTV’s own James Maroney. Photographs of Bell, commentary by friends and excerpts from episodes of “Up for Discussion,” all set to music, provided further testament to the man called “Eddie” by Susan.
To further celebrate Bell’s lifetime body of work, there was the presentation of “Ed Bell Community Recognition Awards” by our editor, Leigh Blander, to Grey Collins for Outstanding Student Journalism, to Teri McDonough for Community Service and to the Marblehead Masonic Lodge for Philanthropic Community Leadership. Their friends and family members joined with all other attendees to celebrate the recipients’ achievements.
And there were silent and live auctions. Our dear friend and Board member Gene Arnould, with a little help from Wornick, served as auctioneer, encouraging the willing attendees to open their pocketbooks to bid on fun items, engendering much good will along the way.
All of this was made possible by a wide range of community sponsors, whom we want to take this opportunity to thank. First, we must thank the Boston Yacht Club for the generous donation of their facility, which enabled us to welcome such a large crowd. Our other community sponsors were Shubies, The Landing, Marblehead Bank, National Grand Bank, Beauport Ambulance Service, The Mariner, MHTV, Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor and Johnny Ray (on behalf of both Warwick Theater and The Music Emporium).
And then there were our personal sponsors, all of whom share long-standing and deep commitment to Bell and to the Current: Doug Hill, Ginny Buckingham, Jessica and Andy Barnett, Francie King and Bob Peck and Brenda Beaton.
For those of our readers who did not know Bell, he was a co-founder of the Current, bringing to the table his life-long career as a local and national journalist. In addition to Bell’s involvement with the Current, he devoted countless hours to numerous Marblehead groups, including MHTV, where he served as treasurer and board member for well over a decade, co-producing and hosting 100 episodes of “Up for Discussion,” a roundtable forum addressing local news and events. Bell was also active with the Council on Aging, the Boston Yacht Club, Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor, the Masons and St. Andrews Church, to name but a few.
Bell was a special person. Notwithstanding his many accomplishments, he was as down to earth as ever a man could be, always anxious to learn more about the person with whom he was speaking than to speak of himself.
Bell was tireless in his commitment to community, with a willingness to lend a hand whenever there was a need to be fulfilled. Most of all, Ed was devoted to his family. All of these attributes came through loud and clear last week.
We miss you, Ed. You were one of a kind, and we at the Current will carry on your wish that we continue to report on and distribute the news of Marblehead in print and online.
