Chamber Annual Awards Breakfast draws large crowd to the Porthole

By Joshua Resnek --The Lynn Journal

December 15, 2004

The Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner was a potpourri of sorts.

Keynote speaker Mayor Edward "Chip" Clancy gave a comprehensive speech decrying the way business is done at the Water and Sewer Commission while praising the ongoing development in the city.

A fabulous breakfast was served to a crowd of about 250 of the city's business community.

One man suffered a serious health issue causing the breakfast to be cut short when EMT's, police and firefighters entered. The victim was removed to the hospital and is fine today.

Other than that, it was an opportunity for Chamber Executive Director Kevin Donahue to let the crowd know it was a banner year for Lynn businesses and that the city's development environment, especially at city hall, had been enhanced by the creation of a new and improved Inspectional Services Division.

However, it was Mayo Group founder and president, John McGrail, who came to the United States from Ireland with the shirt on his back in 1987, who wowed the crowd with a quiet, barely audible thank you speech after being named the Lynn Businessman of the Year.

With a thick Irish brogue, McGrail, who has transformed his life through the success he has brought the Mayo Group, said he was proud and pleased to accept such an award.

"I want to thank the mayor, the city council, the director of city development and the many, many people who have helped us to become a success in Lynn," he said in a whisper. "When we first came to Lynn and purchased our first properties, we were told by some people that we were crazy, that we would fail " he added.

Instead: McGrail and Mayo Group have succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

The company today is among one of Lynn's largest landlords and developers and throughout Massachusetts and now into New Hampshire, the Mayo Group's holdings includes 1,500 units it owns and manages and one million square feet of commercial space.

David Hughes, president and owner of Hughes Century 2 1, Lynn's largest grossing real estate firm, won the Community Service Award.

Frank Hope of Hope Trucking and Demolition won the Community Commitment Award as did real estate investor Alex Steinberg of RCG Associates and the Lynn Recreation and Sport Center, one of Lynn's most famous candlepin bowling institutions that has become a favorite entertainment and sports stop. The bowling alley is owned by Paul, Shawn and Michael Crowley.

David Potter of the North Bay Company also won a Community Commitment Award.

The Lynn Museum and Historical Society, this city's most crucial fink to the city's disappearing past, won a Good Neighbor Award. Steve Rima, local businessman and library trustee, and the library's curator and director, Connie Colom, accepted the award.

Lynn Attorney Paul Keating and Eastern Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stanley Lukowski were inducted into the organization's hall of fame.

The Porthole's breakfast included scrambled eggs, twin sausages, bacon, buttered English muffins and all the fixings.