RON BLOCK
New L.I.F.E. Board of Directors member
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Initiatives for Elders, Inc. (L.I.F.E.) Board of Directors has a new member.
The Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Colonial Village resident Ron Block to the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors during a recent meeting. Block succeeds former L.I.F.E. Board of Directors’ President George Paris, who recently resigned.
“I have lived in Colonial Village since October 2015,” said Block. “I moved here from New Jersey, and I am trying to assimilate and become a New Englander as fast as I can.”
Block said he received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from New York University. He also received an MBA With Distinction in Information Science from Pace University in New York City.
“I had a career in IT, corporate management, human resources and, of course, I sold potato chips,” said Block. “My last job was owning a vending company that I operated until I moved here.”
Block said he joined a number of organizations after moving to town, including Lynnfield Rotary in 2016. After becoming Lynnfield Rotary’s president in 2018, Block has served as Rotary District 7930’s assistant governor since 2021. He has also been Rotary District 7930’s secretary since 2023.
“I have graduated from the Rotary Leadership Institute,” said Block.
Block said he has been a member of Temple Tiferet Shalom in Peabody since 2016, and has been a trustee since 2018.
“I have been an active participant in the Lynnfield Senior Center,” said Block. “I am a member of A Healthy Lynnfield and I am a member of the Greater Wakefield Chamber of Commerce.”
Block also said he has helped launch a number of initiatives in town, including the Elder Act Club at the Senior Center.
“It is Rotary for seniors,” said Block. “We ran that until COVID. I hope we can bring that back one day.”
Block said he worked to implement a lockbox program that is a collaborative initiative between Lynnfield Rotary, the Fire Department, the Senior Center and A Healthy Lynnfield.
“We provide lockboxes for seniors living in town so that the EMTs can get access very quickly to a private home,” said Block.
Block also helped launch Lynnfield Rotary’s Build-A-Bed initiative for children in need.
“We have built about 60 beds for children in the state who don’t have beds to sleep in,” said Block. “We are looking forward to our next event in May.”
Block also said he is involved in Lynnfield Rotary’s scholarship selection process for Lynnfield High School seniors.
“I have also been involved with Rotary through the Turkey Trot and Concerts on the Common,” said Block.
Block said he is interested in serving on the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors because he lives in Colonial Village.
“It’s my home,” said Block. “I want to be part of the decision-making that goes into the process of running both Colonial Village and the rest of the (L.I.F.E.) communities in town.”
Select Board Vice Chair Phil Crawford said he has gotten to know Block through his volunteerism with A Healthy Lynnfield.
“We have known each other for several years since you moved here, and you have assimilated very well in town,” said Crawford. “You jump right into everything and you were at my first meeting for A Healthy Lynnfield. I appreciate that, and you have been at every meeting since.”
Crawford asked Block if he will have the time to serve on the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors considering he volunteers for other organizations.
Block said yes.
“I am actually scaling back some things to allow me to add to others,” said Block. “I am keeping my life in balance.”
Select Board member Alexis Leahy asked Block what would he like to see the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors focus on moving forward.
“When I moved in, the building was less than a year-old,” said Block. “It is now coming up on 10-years-old, and things are different. Paint has to be taken care of. I am interested in seeing what is going to go on for the next 10 years.”
Former L.I.F.E. Executive Director Stefan Taschner, who lives at Colonial Village, also interviewed for the Board of Directors position.
“I think that the board needs to make sure that all of the members understand their legal responsibility to the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Taschner. “It is a Massachusetts corporation, and therefore they have a legal duty. They are all officers in the corporation. The other thing is they have a fiduciary responsibility to the residents and people on the waiting list. When L.I.F.E. was created, it was done with the purpose of making sure that people who had homes in town could downsize from their single-family home and move into something that is less expensive to own and operate. I think they have been very successful with that.”
After Block and Taschner finished their interviews, Crawford expressed his support for appointing Block to the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors.
“These are always tough choices when you have two very good candidates,” said Crawford. “I have gotten to know Ron Block very well over the years. He has been a tremendous volunteer in town. He is at every event, and he does a lot of good charity work that doesn’t necessarily affect the town, but it affects kids and people outside of the town. I think Ron would be an excellent addition to this board.”
Leahy agreed.
“I believe that Ron would be a great addition to this board having seen directly what his impact has been in town,” said Leahy.
Select Board Chair Dick Dalton concurred with Crawford and Leahy’s viewpoints.
“I have known Ron since he moved into town through Rotary,” said Dalton. “I will say that I have not met a harder working volunteer in any organization. He has the utmost respect from all of the Rotarians here in Lynnfield for all of the hard work that he does.”
After the discussion, the Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Block to the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors. Dalton thanked Block and Taschner for volunteering to serve on the board.
“Congratulations Mr. Block,” said Dalton. “Thank you for applying and expressing your interest Mr. Taschner.”
Dalton thanked Paris for his service on the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors during an earlier meeting.
“George served for many years on the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors, and he has been a tireless advocate for the residents who live at the three different developments,” said Dalton.