Speakers

Andover's Leadership Academy is an 12 week course designed to enhance townspeople's understanding of Town government operations and for municipal leaders and townspeople to learn from one another through conversation. The program is designed to advance understanding of and participation in civic affairs as well as to increase awareness of the challenges facing municipal government.

For the past seven years Andover Rotary has hauled in more money from a day of bell ringing for the Salvation Army than any other group in the Greater Lawrence area.

This year we go for our 8^th year. Our secret? Corny music and bad dancing.

On Friday, December 20, from 9:00 to 5:00, in front of Old Town Hall, come ring with us and drop some bills in the kettle.

Meet the Makers - The Heart Behind Pinch Dab Dash: 

Hi there! We’re Andrea and Eric, the founders of Pinch Dab Dash, and we’re thrilled to share our culinary journey with you. Like many of you, we found ourselves juggling busy lives and the familiar question, "What’s for dinner?" That’s when we realized the need for flavorful, easy-to-use solutions in the kitchen.

With Andrea’s extensive knowledge of cooking and her talent for replicating global flavor profiles, we’ve meticulously crafted our gourmet blends to bring the taste of classic worldly cuisine straight to your kitchen. At Pinch Dab Dash, we believe in gourmet made easy — that cooking should be an exciting adventure for everyone, whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience.

Our ready-to-use blends simplify the cooking process, allowing you to whip up delicious meals without the hassle of buying, measuring, and mixing individual spices. Each blend is a testament to our commitment to quality and flavor, designed to inspire your culinary creativity and help you feel confident in the kitchen, knowing that the perfect spice is at your fingertips.

We invite you to join us on this flavorful journey. Ask us questions, share your cooking stories, and let us be your trusted companions in the kitchen. Together, let’s make gourmet cooking simple, fun, and effortlessly delicious!

Essex Capital Partners was founded in 1995, and since its inception, has owned, developed and operated a portfolio of commercial properties in the greater New England region.

ECP’s first solar project was CRL Solar in White River Junction, VT, which entered commercial operations in 2012. Since that time ECP has successfully developed and capitalized 14 MWdc of solar projects in Massachusetts and Vermont.  As a family business and owner-operator, we take a long term view towards equipment and vendor selection, community relationships and sustainability. 

The goal of the Haggetts Pond ADA Rail Trail project is to improve the existing trail along the railbed near Haggetts Pond to make it more welcoming and usable to all town residents. The paved trail proposed at the site will be fully accessible, providing opportunities for persons of all abilities to enjoy Haggetts Pond and the serene environment that surrounds it. When completed, the trail will be the first Town-sponsored accessible and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant trail in Andover, making it a cornerstone of accessible recreational opportunity in the community. 

James Moore has more than 30 years in the banking and mortgage arena, but today he will speak with us about his role as President of the Merrimack Valley Toastmasters.  Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that builds confidence and teaches public speaking skills through a worldwide network of clubs that meet online and in person. In a supportive community or corporate environment, members prepare and deliver speeches, respond to impromptu questions, and give and receive constructive feedback. It is through this regular practice that members are empowered to meet personal and professional communication goals. Founded in 1924, the organization is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado with approximately 270,000 members in more than 14,000 clubs in 150 countries. Learn how Toastmasters can help improve your public speaking and build leadership skills!

Andover High School students made a splash on the world stage recently after winning an international physics competition and being invited to a laboratory in Germany.

It all began at the start of the 2023-2024 school year when then-junior Richard Chen approached physics teacher Daniel Donovan with a lofty idea. Chen, a member of the Andover High School Physics Club, wanted to enter a group into Beamline for Schools, a challenging particle physics competition.

Last May, the team received news that it was one of the competition’s three winners and earned the team a trip to Hamburg, Germany to test their experiment.

Only the third team from the United States to win this competition, the team is bound for Germany in September 2024, excited for a unique two-week long learning experience that will serve Andover students in years to come.

Transmural Systems is a Clinical Stage Medical Device Company with a Platform of Innovative Transcatheter Electrosurgery and Heart Failure Therapies headquartered in Dundee Park in Andover.  

Kimberly Lannon is an Addiction Medicine Physician in BEDFORD, MA. Kimberly evaluates patients using many different procedures, in order to determine what treatments must be carried out in order to properly assess their symptoms. Addiction Medicine Physicians provide medical care in addition to consultation for each patient and their families.

Since 1809, the Andover Bookstore has been located on Main Street, in the heart of historic Andover, MA. We take pride in being the country’s oldest continuously operating independent bookstore, in the value we add to our local community, and in our part in the fight to save small, local independent bookstores across the country from the faceless, ruthless online corporate behemoth that threatens all of our Main Streets.

Recently 60 Minutes reported on fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid that has created the worst drug crisis the United States has ever faced.

Last year, more than 70,000 Americans died from a fentanyl overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a higher death toll than U.S. military casualties in the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. 

Drug cartels in Mexico have flooded the United States with fentanyl, often hiding it in counterfeit pills designed to look like authentic prescription pills, including OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax, and Adderall. And fentanyl is also showing up as an additive in street drugs, like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. This has led to an increased risk of accidental overdoses, cases where someone has unwittingly ingested fentanyl without knowing it was present.

This week, as part of our ongoing Andover Cares efforts, Paul Salafia will present on this harrowing topic.