Page 8 - SPIRE Digital Version SEP-DEC 2024 9th Issue

SPIRE SPOTLIGHT
Volunteerism in the United States can be
traced back to the Revolutionary War when
civilians banded together to support the war
effort. Benjamin Franklin in 1736 started the
very first volunteer firehouse in Philadelphia.
While the Spire Center’s volunteers may not
come for as noble a cause, they do walk
through our door with an incredible sense of
community; they have fun and enjoy amazing
concerts while helping others. As you would
imagine, our volunteers come from very
diverse backgrounds. We have past military
officers, school principals, corporate vice
presidents, etc.
Which brings us to our very first Volunteer
Spotlight with usher, Lori Leveckis. I always
enjoy meeting and getting to know our
volunteer staff and within a minute or two of
T H E S P I R E C E N T E R M A G A Z I N E
Kasem’s top 40. Reflecting, Lori speaks fondly
of the time that she had with her dad who
passed at 59 in 2002. He was a trained
clarinet player although his true gift was his
ear, playing six different instruments. As a
young girl Lori would sit next to her dad and
sing along as he played folk songs. This
evolved into little jam sessions with Lori on
piano and her dad playing clarinet to swing,
Billy Joel, Whitney and more.
Love, togetherness and laughter is what Lori
receives from music although she never
pursued it as a career. She had the noble
calling to teach, became a career educator
and worked for twenty-three years as a full-
time high school English teacher. Lori
radiates much joy while reflecting on the
long-term impact that she has had with her
students.
Lori now works as an adjunct professor at
Quincy College (Plymouth campus). Plus,
she’s extremely excited about her
involvement as the vocalist and keyboardist
with a new six piece rock ensemble.
Top photo by Denise Maccaferri taken during the
Spire’s 10th Anniversary week. Top photo on pg. 7 by
Denise Maccaferri. Featuring (from left to right)
Mary Medeiros, Kathy Southern, Lori, Julie Briell,
Lloyd Rosenberg, Diane Hallisey, Catherine Watts.
Bottom photos: Bottom Left - Lori with Ruthie Foster
Bottom Right photo - Leslie Wight on the left, Lori,
and Leslie Jackman.
meeting Lori, I knew that I was speaking
with a gem of a human being. She is
extremely intelligent, a bit quirky and
she’s greatly caring of others. Lori moved
to Plymouth in 2021; she came to see a
couple of Spire shows and was hooked. In
her words “ I knew that I wanted to be
involved with the Spire. I think it’s such
an important entity”.
As a young girl of five or six, Lori began to
play the family Magnus organ by ear. She
impressed her mother and father enough
that they purchased a Sohmer upright
piano and lessons with Juilliard trained
teachers. Lori was not a diligent student
practicing her arpeggios and etudes. She
wanted to play all of the music that she
had religiously been listening to on Casey
| 0 6