Mary C. Wilson Award Honors the Medeiros Family

Tom Webb presents the award to Paul Medeiros’s wife Connie and their great-grandson Kason Gossic.

The family of the late Anthony Medeiros received the prestigious annual Mary C. Wilson Community Conservation Award for their significant contributions to conservation in Seekonk. Announced at the annual meeting of the Seekonk Land Trust on May 9, the award was accepted on Anthony’s behalf by Paul Medeiros’s wife Connie and their great-grandson Kason Gossic as Kason’s father, Chris Gossic, watched.

The Medeiros family worked with the town, former Conservation Agent Jennifer Miller, and the town’s Community Preservation Committee to allow the purchase of 40 acres of this historic chicken farm on Lincoln and Elm Streets where Anthony had lived. According to Tom Webb, President of the SLCT, the land will be used to provide, “a variety of activities from historic preservation, to active recreation as playing fields for teams and practices, to open space for hiking trails in the woods.” Webb noted that at the town meeting on May 8, Seekonk citizens overwhelmingly voted to set up a planning committee for the Medeiros property, to provide $150,000 in CPA funds to support the committee’s work, and to hire a consultant to facilitate the planning of the project.

As Webb presented the award, he stated, “What a wonderful way to honor our community, to honor the Medeiros family as long-time Seekonk residents, and to honor Anthony’s wishes for the property.”

As she accepted the award, Connie Medeiros expressed her appreciation on behalf of the family and noted that the Town and family had worked together to “ensure that Anthony’s wishes were respected”. She emphasized that the Medeiros family will continue to participate in all aspects of the planning.