Published in the September 19, 2018 edition

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously last week to present the second annual Daniel Townsend Award for Excellence to late Selectman Al Merritt.

The selectmen established the Townsend Award last year for the dual purpose of both honoring the sacrifice made by the town’s native son, Daniel Townsend, who perished on April 19, 1775 in the first battle of the Revolutionary War, and honoring the actions of a present-day hero or heroine whose volunteerism makes Lynnfield a better community.

Town Moderator and Fields Committee Chairman Arthur Bourque was the first recipient of the Townsend Award last year.

Selectmen Chairman Dick Dalton said he had been considering nominating Merritt, who passed away in March 2013, for the Townsend Award the last couple of months.

“We have a lot of people in town who give so much of their time, but there is one individual who is head and shoulders above everybody I can come up with,” said Dalton. “And that is the late Al Merritt. He was a very special member of this community and gave so much of his time and expertise.”

In addition to serving two terms on the Board of Selectmen, Dalton said Merritt served two stints on the Finance Committee in the 1980s and 1990s.

“Al commuted back and forth from here to LA and still found time for his family and giving back to the town,” said Dalton.

Dalton noted Merritt served as the School Building Committee’s chairman during the educational facility renovation projects of the early 2000s.

“Not many years ago, the schools were really deteriorating to the point where something had to be done,” said Dalton. “There was a group working on it but it wasn’t going very well to be quite honest. Al parachuted into the situation and because of his hard work and quarterbacking, our schools were renovated. What we have today is in large part because of Al Merritt and his hard work.”

Dalton said Merritt served as chairman of the Economic Development and Housing Advisory Committee as well.

“That was tied in with MarketStreet,” said Dalton. “I don’t think a lot of people appreciate what was going on during that time. A lot of people saw Chapter 40B as a real threat to the character of this town as we were below the 10 percent minimum for affordable housing units, and builders could come in and ignore the Zoning Bylaw and build whatever they saw fit with very little input and control from the town. Through his efforts, the town was able to address infrastructure issues and increased the town’s affordable housing units through the housing at MarketStreet.”

Before Merritt moved to town, Dalton said the late selectman attended high school at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., where he was a baseball pitcher.

“Al was chosen as the All-Metro High School player of the year by The Washington Post,” said Dalton. “He got a four-year baseball scholarship to Georgetown University.”

Dalton noted Merritt earned “the medal for the highest proficiency on the CPA exam” in Virginia in 1963.

“The CPA exam has four parts, and passing all four parts is a huge accomplishment,” said Dalton. “Al not only passed all four parts the first time, but he was number one in the state.”

Dalton said Merritt was president of Investors Mortgage Company. He said Merritt later became the chief financial officer of Liberty Financial Companies.

According to Dalton, Merritt served on the Georgetown University Boards of Regents, Governors and McDonough School of Business. He served on St. John’s College High School’s board, and was a member of the Emmanuel College Advisory Board. He served on St. Maria Goretti’s Finance Board.

Selectman Phil Crawford noted the Al Merritt Media and Cultural Center at MarketStreet was named after the late selectman because of “all he has done for the town.”

“I was fortunate enough to be his friend and he was my mentor,” said Crawford. “The only reason why I am sitting on this board is because of him. He was a tremendous leader for the town of Lynnfield.”

Selectman Chris Barrett concurred with his fellow selectmen’s viewpoints.

“Al was a mentor and a father-like figure for me,” said Barrett. “During tough meetings, I like to look up and see his picture. It makes me smile that Al is looking down at us. We are so blessed and fortunate to live in a great community, and I like to think that we live in Al Merritt’s Lynnfield. He gave us great schools and a lot of what he did allowed us to have great fields.”

Barrett noted, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman.”

“That would be Beverly Merritt,” Barrett continued. “She gave Al to us, which was countless hours. I served with him on the St. Maria Goretti Pastoral Council. Al Merritt was always a go to person, and is someone I deeply respect and admire. I miss him dearly.”

Beverly thanked the selectmen for deciding to honor her husband with the Townsend Award.

“My family is quite touched by this,” said Beverly. “He loved this town like you all do. Thank you all so very much.”

Beverly also recalled a humorous story about her husband.

“I was working administratively for him when he was working on MarketStreet, and one day he was dictating information to me and he stopped for a minute,” said Beverly. “I asked what was wrong and he said ‘I cannot believe I am helping build another place for you to shop.’”

After the selectmen voted to award Merritt with the second annual Townsend Award, the late selectman was given a round of applause.

The selectmen will tentatively present the Townsend Award to the Merritt family at its Oct. 10 meeting.