• Robert G. Bradford, North Shore Chamber of Commerce
  
• Malcolm F. MacLean III, MacLean Holloway Doherty Ardiff & Morse, P.C.
  
• William J. Tinti, Tinti, Quinn, Grover & Frey P.C.
  

• John Goff, Salem Preservation, Inc.
  
• Joseph Knapp, Georgetown Historical Commission
  
• Hilda Ramirez, Live Lawrence Initiative
  
• Michael Ristuccia, Andover contractor and preservationist
  
• Bill Whiting, Topsfield Historical Society

Organized by the ad hoc Border to Boston Trail Coalition, with support from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program and the Essex National Heritage Commission, the relay highlighted many of the natural and historic assets in the eight communities situated along the former railroad right-of-way: Salisbury, Newburyport, Newbury, Georgetown, Boxford, Topsfield, Wenham, and Danvers.

Congressman John Tierney succeeded in gaining passage of bipartisan legislation to continue the federal government's commitment for ENHC.  Co-sponsored by the Congressman, H.R. 1483 passed the US House by a vote of 291 to 122 on October 24.

"I am pleased that additional funds have been authorized to support the Area's important preservation and education programs, which also spur tourism and help strengthen the local economy. I will continue to work with Senators Kennedy and Kerry to ensure that this bill is signed into law," said Tierney.

Heritage Areas must undergo a periodic re-authorization process which enables them to continue to receive federal funding.  They are required to supplement these funds through grants, private donations and fundraising activities. This bill needs to be passed in the Senate before it becomes law. Read the House bill here...

Embodying the true spirit of the ENHC Partnership Grant Program, the Wenham Museum recently hosted an invitational quilt weekend to showcase the textile collections of ten Essex County historical societies: Andover, Beverly, Boxford, Cape Ann, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lynn, Marblehead, North Andover, and Wenham. Over 300 exhibit attendees, including quilt collectors, quilt makers, and members of the visiting American Quilt Study Group, were enthralled by more than 70 quilts spanning three centuries of American quiltmaking. In addition to quilts, quilted textiles (petticoats, pockets, and bonnets), quilting tools and equipment helped to tell the story of the region's quilt heritage.    

Conceived as an opportunity to present the rarely displayed quilts to a broader audience, the ENHC grant-funded project engendered a level of collaboration that could well lead to more regionally themed exhibits and projects.