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| Massachusetts Adjutant General to speak at annual PAV Communion Breakfast on March 4th |
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February 23, 2007...Brigadier General Oliver J. Mason, Jr., Adjutant General of the Commonwealth and head of the Massachusetts National Guard, will be the principal speaker at the Webster-Dudley Polish American Veterans Communion Breakfast on Sunday, March 4th Senator Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, who arranged General Mason’s visit, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.
The breakfast will be held at the PAV headquarters on Ray Street, opposite the former Massachusetts National Guard Armory beginning at approximately 9:30 a.m. Before the breakfast members of the PAV and Auxiliary will attend 8:15 a.m. Mass at St. Andrew Bobola Church in Dudley. Tickets may be obtained at the Post or from members of the PAV and Auxiliary prior to the event. Brigadier General Mason was born in Clinton, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Massachusetts Army National Guard in 1976. He received his commission from the Massachusetts Military Academy in 1977. He commanded the 1-104th Infantry Battalion (Light) and has held numerous staff positions at the Battalion, Brigade, Division and State Headquarters levels of command. General Mason’s recent assignments include a tour as the State Counterdrug Coordinator, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and Chief of Staff, Joint Force Headquarters-Massachusetts before assuming the position of Adjutant General. He received his Masters Degree in Education from Worcester State College and was a High School Science Teacher. Brigadier General Mason is a graduate of the Senior Service College Fellowship Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. General Mason assumed duties as Adjutant General on April 22, 2005. As Adjutant General, he is the Governor’s senior military advisor responsible for protecting life and property, and preserving peace, order and public safety in times of natural disaster and civil emergency. General Mason is also responsible to ensure that the Massachusetts National Guard forces are ready to deploy worldwide and accomplish military missions in support of the national defense strategy. Serving under the Adjutant General are approximately 8,000 soldiers, airmen and full-time civilian employees throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The PAV Communion Breakfast has featured a number of outstanding speakers throughout its 30 year history. Previous speakers include: Bishops Timothy J. Harrington and George Rueger; Congressman Richard Neal; former State Rep. Kenneth M. Lemanski, D-Chicopee; Col. Richard Kattar, Commandant of Ft. Devens; Col. Frank Baran of the Massachusetts National Guard; former Executive Director of the Governor's Alliance Against Drugs, Thomas Cullen; former Nichols College Presidents Lowell Smith and Debra Murphy; former Assumption Basketball Coach and Executive Director of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Joe O'Brien; former Massachusetts Adjutant General Wayne Wagner; former Worcester State College Basketball Coach Tom Moore; former State Rep. and current State Sen. Richard T. Moore; former State Rep. and former Region I Mitigation Director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Al Gammal; State Rep. Paul Kujawski, D-Webster; Vietnam Veteran and Author Frank Grzyb; Lt. Col. Henry L. Cyr, Jr. (USAF-Ret.); former State Sen. and Massachusetts Public Safety Secretary James Jajuga, and Major Wayne Seelig (USAF-Ret.), who heads the JROTC program at Bartlett High School. |
