Debbie Ricci (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
When Debbie Ricci checked in at Town Meeting last Tuesday, she thought she was the butt of an April Fools’ joke, not the recipient of Harvard’s annual Citizen of Note award. On her arrival, she received a smattering of congratulations, but, she says, “My husband [Selectman Ron Ricci] told me there wasn’t going to be a Citizen of Note this year, so I kept saying, ‘You have got to stop this, it’s April fool.’”
It was only later, when Sue Colwell congratulated her again and showed her the write-up in the Town Report, that she realized she was the Citizen of Note for 2013. “It was a total surprise,” she laughs. “I was shocked.”
A way to recognize extraordinary contributions
Honoring a citizen at Town Meeting is a tradition started by the Board of Selectmen in 1967 as a way to recognize residents who make extraordinary contributions to the town. “We try and look around town,” says Selectmen Chairwoman Marie Sobalvarro, and identify people in Harvard who are involved in the town in multiple ways. For Sobalvarro, the citizen of note is not necessarily a spokesperson, or prominent member of a committee; it is a person “who is just making things work, helping everything run, but not getting acknowledged.”
Selectmen clap for Citizen of Note Debbie Ricci as her name is announced at Town Meeting. From left: Stu Sklar, Lucy Wallace, Town Counsel Mark Lanza, Leo Blair, and Marie Sobalvarro.
In early spring the selectmen begin to discuss their potential candidates, knowing they have to make a decision in time for the printing of the Town Report prior to Town Meeting. “Ideally, this is a unanimous decision,” says Sobalvarro. “There are very few unanimous decisions on our board during the year,” she laughs, “but this is one.”
Ricci has served as a Brownie Girl Scout leader, taught Sunday school, organized the Math Olympiad, and served on the Bromfield School Council and the Hildreth Elementary School Council. She first became involved with town government as part of the Devens Financial Legal Subcommittee, an early effort to understand the implications of the acquisition of Devens. Since then, she has been on the Finance Committee, the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, and the Community Preservation Committee.
A dearth of female nominees
When the time came for the selectmen to submit their suggestions for this year’s honoree, few female nominees were mentioned. “We asked people to bring their ideas, and going around the table there were not a lot of names that were female,” Sobalvarro recalls.
In the past 46 years, nine of the awards have been given to females, and two to married couples. “We tend to default to giving this award to men,” says Sobalvarro. “It’s sort of ironic because the chairs of the School Committee, the selectmen, Parks and Rec, the Community Preservation Committee, the Planning Board, and the Finance Committee [to name a few] are all women.”
Sobalvarro thought of Debbie Ricci after working with her on the Finance Committee. “I know how diligent and dedicated she is, and she does incredible amounts of work; in fact, when we come to different conclusions, I wish she didn’t work as hard,” Sobalvarro says good-humoredly. “I wish I could be as diligent as she is.”
‘Deep insights and institutional knowledge’
Ricci is a charter member of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, formed in 2008. Keith Cheveralls, the other remaining charter member, says in their five years working together, “I have depended heavily on Debbie. The work of the CPIC is long and hard, and Debbie is always thoroughly prepared no matter what the issue.” Her background in economics, including time as a CPA and treasurer of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, was paramount when setting standards of review for the short- and long-term capital needs of the town. “Debbie’s deep insights and institutional knowledge are surpassed only by her sense of objectivity, fairness, and sound financial instincts,” says Cheveralls.
When the citizen of note is chosen, the selectmen do their best to keep the nomination under wraps. This is “one of our great big secrets,” says Sobalvarro. It’s not easy, as the selectmen must write up a profile for the citation and Town Report. This year they relied on people who have served with Ricci on committees, and then swore them to secrecy. “I would get a call after a meeting saying, ‘I have an update on citizen of note, will call you when I’m safely in the truck,’” says Sobalvarro.
Ideally the citizen of note doesn’t know of the selection until Town Meeting—meaning they have to attend Town Meeting in the first place. “We get in touch with the candidate’s spouse or partner or close friends so they encourage the honoree to show up,” Sobalvarro says. In this case, they knew Ricci would be there, and would be speaking as chairwoman of the Community Preservation Committee.
Clearly, the aura of secrecy paid off. “I am very flattered and I was really totally shocked. I am not sure why I would get it,” says Ricci. “I like doing things for the town; I think it’s good if everybody can do something. One of the reasons we moved here was because it was a small town; it was easy to get know people, and to volunteer.” Still in shock from the honor, Ricci says she has no idea what she is going to do with the framed write-up she received at Town Meeting.
As we finished up our phone call, she was pulling into the Bromfield parking lot two hours before the polls opened for town election. “I am at the polls now and I have to run in to work,” she said. A fitting sign-off for the citizen praised in print for her “personal dedication.”
