BOSTON—North Reading resident Kathi Lee was recently honored as a 2025 Commonwealth Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW), after being nominated for the award by House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading).
Lee was one of more than 125 women from across the state to be recognized for making valuable contributions to their communities and to local organizations as part of MCSW’s 22nd Annual Commonwealth Heroines celebration, which took place on June 26 in the Gardner Auditorium at the Massachusetts State House.
“I am honored to nominate Kathi Lee as a 2025 Commonwealth Heroine,” said Rep. Jones. “She exemplifies the high standards and exceptional qualities that define a Commonwealth Heroine, having contributed countless hours of volunteer work to the North Reading community through her business and her church while also supporting a wide variety of charitable endeavors.”
For 36 years, Lee was the co-owner (along with her husband Pat) of the Horseshoe Grille in North Reading, where she helped to raise funds for many community organizations and causes, including the YMCA, the North Reading Public Schools, KidSpot Playground, the tennis and basketball courts at Ipswich River Park, North Reading Little League and many other youth sports programs. She has helped to raise over $750,000 for the Jimmy Fund over the past 40 years, while also supporting the fight against multiple sclerosis through the MS-Peps Peddlers and fundraising for the Mighty Meredith Project, a North Reading nonprofit organization founded by Meredith Casey in 2017 when she was in seventh grade to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries and the importance of being kind to others.
As an active member of St. Theresa’s Church, Lee has served as a member and co-chair of the Parish Pastoral Council, and as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister. In addition to the initial creation of St. Theresa’s Children’s Summer Bible School, which she ran for 15 years, Lee has taught the Faith Formation for Youth Program. She has also led Bible studies and rosary prayer groups while also helping to raise money for several parish projects and contributing to the church’s Secret Santa Letter Campaign at Christmas.
For the past seven years, Lee has run St. Theresa’s “Christlife” Evangelization program, a program that helps people find the meaning of life through teaching videos and small group discussions. Over 300 people have gone through the program and it has changed many lives to help others in their church, their homes and their communities and to deepen their faith in God and give them hope.
“The Commonwealth Heroines are women who don’t make the news, but make all the difference in their communities,” said MCSW Chairwoman Mary-dith Tuitt. “Thousands of women in every community across the Commonwealth perform unheralded acts on a daily basis that make our homes, neighborhoods, cities, and towns better places to live. Commonwealth Heroines use their time, talent, spirit, and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others in their community. They are mentors, volunteers, and innovators – they are the glue that keeps a community together.”
Created by the Legislature in 1998, the MCSW is an independent state agency that works “to provide a permanent, effective voice for women of the Commonwealth and to promote their rights, opportunities, and equality for all.” Since 2004, the MCSW has recognized over 2,000 women from across Massachusetts for their contributions to their communities, first with the Unsung Heroine Award and then, beginning in 2020, with the Commonwealth Heroine Award.
For more information on the MCSW, visit https://masscsw.org/.