Adams Lions Hosting Wine Tasting Benefit

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Lions Club is hosting "Flavors of France," its third annual wine-tasting benefit, at the new home of Gramercy Bistro at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

The event raises funds to support sight-saving projects and local programs for youth, seniors and others. Gramercy Bistro will be reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of benefit patrons on Tuesday, March 23, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Gramercy's Chef/Owner, Alexander Smith, will prepare foods from the Rhone, Provence, Burgundy, and Minverois/Languedoc regions of France. Each of the foods will be paired with a French wine and an American wine, so that tasters may compare and contrast how different wines complement foods and vice versa.

Gramercy's Sarah Smith and Mike Geary, a Lion and proprietor of O'Geary's Package Store, will pair the wines. Featured wines may be ordered from O'Geary's the evening of the event. Geary will donate a portion of the proceeds of each bottle purchased to the Adams Lions Club.


Tickets for the Flavors of France Wine Tasting are $45. They are available at Smith Bros. McAndrews Insurance Agency, Inc., 45 Park St., or from committee members Dianne Cutillo at 413-743-9564 or cutillo@roadrunner.com; Art McConnell, 413-743-5379, or Pat Socha, 413-743-2348.

The Adams Lions Club has more than 60 members.

Lions Clubs International has more than 1.3 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired and made a strong commitment to community service and serving youth throughout the world. For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit the Web site at www.lionsclubs.org.
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Community Hero: Noelle Howland

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Noelle Howland is committed to keeping alive the late Pittsfield ACO Eleanor Sonsini's mission of helping animals ... albeit farther north in North Adams.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — No Paws Left Behind Executive Director Noelle Howland has been selected as the November Community Hero of the Month. 
 
The Community Hero of the Month series honors individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact in their community. The series sponsor, Haddad Auto, has extended this initiative for one more month.
 
Howland breathed new life into the mission of the former Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter, which closed in August 2023. 
 
The shelter in Pittsfield operated under the mission established by Eleanor Sonsini, a local animal rights activist and longtime animal control officer in Pittsfield, to be a no-kill shelter committed to finding surrendered and abandoned pets new forever homes. 
 
Howland's love for animals, dedication to their well-being, and expertise in animal behavior and training and shelter management brought this mission to new heights at No Paws Left Behind, a new shelter for dogs located at 69 Hodges Cross Road. 
 
"I want people to understand that I know it's hard to surrender. So, my biggest thing is [making sure] people know that, of course, we're not judging you. We're here to help you," Howland said. 
 
When Sonsini announced its closing, Howland, who was the shelter's manager, worked to save it, launching fundraising initiatives. However, the previous board decided to close the shelter down and agreed to let Howland open her own shelter using their mission. 
 
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