The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is celebrating 60 years of service to the region this month and we wanted to take the time to thank our advocates and allies for helping us get to this point. Nothing that MVPC does for the Merrimack Valley can be achieved without the support of our communities, residents’ municipal officials, and Commissioners as well as state and local partners. However, there’s a small group of people who deserve the Commission’s recognition for the dedication and hard work they bring to the valley and we don’t often get the chance to put the spotlight on them.
While we appreciate the expertise of all our staff and collaborators, this September MVPC wants to recognize our longest-tenured staff, who we lovingly dubbed “the 20+ Club” for their service and commitment to the region. These staff members have dedicated themselves to the Commission for over 20 years and the value they add to our programs cannot be understated. We wanted to get an inside look at how 20+ years looks and feels to them as the agency looks toward the next 60 years.
This week, we’re featuring one of our 20+ Club members, Transportation Program Manager Anthony Komornick, whose 36 years of service means he has seen how planning impacts communities over time. We asked Tony what 36 years at MVPC looks like to him and his response spoke to the collaborative nature of our team to assist our communities as comprehensively as possible:
“There are a few of us here at MVPC that are part of the 20+ Club. We work as a team at least as much as we work on our own individual projects. Our collective knowledge and experience give us a great foundation for assisting our communities with their needs and in completing regional analyses.”
With so many long-tenured staff members, one must wonder if anything changes at MVPC and how we help our communities adapt to changing demands. Through the transportation program Tony has had the privilege of working on some of our most notable projects:
“Early in my career at MVPC, I prepared a feasibility study for restoring commuter rail service to Newburyport. That study was one of the first steps in the process that led to the service restarting in the late ’90s. Our I-93 Corridor study set the stage for developing the project that replaced the I-93/Route 110 Rotary in Methuen with the new interchange we see today. We’ve also played a key role in assisting the development of the regional trail network in the Valley.”
One thing is clear MVPC staff are dedicated to the agency’s mission and the social, environmental and economic welfare of the Merrimack Valley. Thank you, Tony, for your service to MVPC and the region. Thank you to our member communities and partners for your continued support in our mission as well. Here’s to the next 60 years!
Transportation Program Manager Tony Komornick