and Lily Van Campen during the Inaugural Ball Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Edward G. Connolly Center.
Everett city officials and residents enjoyed the Inaugural Ball Saturday, Jan. 10 at the spectacularly decorated Edward G. Connolly Center.
The capacity crowd enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, a buffet dinner catered by Rita’s, and a lavish dessert table, followed by dancing to the music of Clockwork Northeast.
program’s master of ceremonies
at the Inaugural Ball.
Mayor Robert Van Campen, First Lady Lisa Van Campen, and their children, Lily Van Campen and John Van Campen and members of the City Council and School Committee participated in a well-orchestrated individual grand entrance to the hall, partly to the Black Eyed Peas’ hit song, “I Gotta Feeling,” that appropriately includes the Jewish phrase, “Mazel Tov,” which means Congratulations and Good Luck.
Prior to introducing Mayor Van Campen for his welcoming remarks, City Clerk Sergio Cornelio, the program’s master of ceremonies, said,
“I want to thank everyone that helped put this [inaugural ball] together – it was a team effort. I call them the Sisters Van Campen – they were very instrumental in helping the design and picking the band. Obviously, that includes First Lady Lisa Van Campen, she was very involved and very helpful. This was a great team effort, and I’m so happy I could work with you. Thank you and thank you to my staff. Thank you to all the elected officials and all the hard work you put into your campaigns and the hard work you put in every day, making sure that the City of Everett is truly the greatest place in the Commonwealth to live.”
Mayor Van Campen told the admiring crowd, “People have asked me since Election Day what do you want to do over the next four years. I want to make the City of Everett the coolest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And I’m looking at this room right now and at least for a night, we’ve made the Connolly Center the coolest place in the City of Everett.”
Van Campen thanked Cornelio “for the incredible work that you and your staff did to put this together.”
“This is a community event tonight. This is a celebration of this city, everyone in this city,” concluded Van Campen.
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Councilor-at-Large Wayne Matewsky commended Cornelio and the inaugural ball organizing committee, stating, “This has to be one of the nicest events in my 40-plus years that the community got together. It was first class. I want to compliment our city clerk [Cornelio] who orchestrated it and ran it, along with his staff and the new mayor. Every one of my family members and guests enjoyed it so much.”