After years of service as a mainstay of Open Table—and our truck driver extraordinaire—Jeff Geraghty has officially hung up his keys! While we already miss seeing him every day, we are thrilled to wish Jeff a happy, healthy, and well-deserved retirement.

We were excited to celebrate Jeff and honor his many contributions during the event. Executive Director Alex DePalo reflected on the impact Jeff has had on the organization. Board Chair Emerita Deena Whitfield shared a heartfelt story of how Jeff went above and beyond to support clients even before joining the staff. And Operations Manager Rob Slattery expressed his gratitude—and that of the entire team—for Jeff’s hard work, humor, and dedication. As part of the celebration, Jeff received a special gift along with a “guest book” filled with messages from volunteers, staff, and supporters across the community.

Jeff has been an extraordinary member of the Open Table team. He was instrumental in helping us expand operations and serve more people with dignity and care. His can-do spirit, quick wit, and remarkable driving skills (he could practically thread a needle with our truck!) made him a joy to work alongside.

Jeff has touched countless lives during his time at Open Table, and his legacy will continue to inspire us for years to come.

We have SO many hardworking, enthusiastic, and helpful volunteers that it is always difficult to pick just a few to highlight. This year, we recognized several individuals who, in Fiscal Year 25, according to CERVIS, worked 200 or more hours in on-site pantry operations. These are volunteers who signed up for shifts, logged in, and worked directly in the pantry. We also know that many others dedicate countless hours to other aspects of our operations, both on-site and behind the scenes, and every hour our volunteers give is deeply valued.

The first is Margie Jenkins, a distribution extraordinaire who works double shifts each week. She is usually a shopper and is often tapped to train new volunteers.

Janet Moffat works a long shift every Tuesday, starting in the kitchen and then moving to our late distribution shift. She is usually found on the street chatting with clients and making them feel welcome.

Maureen Casey works on our Pick and Pack team, with a specialty in mobile delivery packing. Maureen may be small in stature, but she lifts banana boxes over her head onto our unwieldy u-boats with ease!

Chris Avery does double duty each week, working in the kitchen and assisting on the van for our largest mobile home delivery to Maynard COA clients.

Mary-Anne Schubert helps Jill with pantry distribution set-up for client hours and serves on distribution teams.

Kai Shaner works in Pick and Pack fulfilling online orders on Mondays, delivers groceries twice a week from Crosby’s with her husband Ralph, and even picks up Open Table’s mail.

Two other volunteers who were unable to attend the event but were recognized are Peter Rally, who regularly does daily double shifts on distribution, and Deb Roussell, who works in the kitchen and serves as a shift leader for our Tuesday senior hour distribution.

And no list is complete without Karen Young. With all of the different groups we considered honoring, Karen hit them all. In Fiscal Year 25, Karen clocked in an incredible 1,093 hours!

Thank you to these special volunteers—and to all of you who do the hard work that brings our mission to life and supports so many local individuals and families.

Throughout the evening, mistress of ceremonies, Alannah Gustavson, asked the table teams to answer several trivia questions related to Open Table and food. Can you beat the winning team?