Meet our 2019 Public Servant of the Year!
This month, leading up to our Annual Celebration in May, we’ll be featuring the recipients of each of our awards on our blog! You can stay up-to-date by checking in every Wednesday.
Every year at Triangle, Inc.’s Annual Awards Ceremony and Fundraiser, we honor a public servant that uses his/her voice to advocate on behalf of people with disabilities. As an organization devoted to improving the lives of the people we serve, our work wouldn’t be possible without steadfast support on Beacon Hill. This year, Triangle has elected to honor the Honorable Robert DeLeo, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as the 2019 Public Servant of the Year.
Triangle recognizes Speaker DeLeo’s tireless work advocating for people with disabilities in his role in the House of Representatives. Representing the 20th Suffolk District, comprised of Revere and Winthrop, since 1990, and serving as Speaker of the House since 2009, Speaker DeLeo has shepherded numerous pieces of legislation directly impacting the community Triangle serves. After only three months in legislature, Speaker DeLeo fought to protect funding for special education. As his first legislative priority after being sworn into office, he made clear that he saw the value in protecting and enhancing services for people with disabilities. This has continued over the almost three decades that he has served, including the past ten years that he has presided over the House. Even during the 2008 recession, he made maintaining funding for people with disabilities a priority, despite a tight statewide budget. More recently, Speaker DeLeo backed the Real Lives bill, passed in 2014, which allowed people with disabilities to create their own service plan to best fit their specific needs. As a result of his tireless work over 28 years representing our constituents, Triangle is honored to award him with the 2019 Public Servant of the Year Award.
Join us on Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for Celebrate: Triangle’s 48th Annual Awards Ceremony and Fundraiser. Click here for tickets and sponsorship information!