AMESBURY — Last night, Rosemary Werner looked out upon the sea of volunteers serving the annual holiday meal at Our Neighbors' Table and felt a mixture of sadness and joy to see so many smiling faces arriving to minister to those struggling through the holiday season.
As she tended to the details for what would be her last official holiday dinner as director of ONT — with temperatures hovering in the 20s and the wind whipping across the church lawn — Werner was feeling grateful to have steaming hot cups of coffee to deliver to people lined up in the cold for holiday assistance.
When a volunteer asked if there were any blankets on hand to offer a mother and her infant child who were waiting in line for a hot meal, Werner was thrilled to remember a pile of baby blankets someone donated over the summer for this purpose, and she hand-delivered it to the mother herself.
"I'm so pleased I could do that," she said.
It troubled Werner that people lining up to receive holiday food assistance had to wait in the cold for a hot meal, and on the eve of her retirement from a director position she has held for more than 10 years, Werner said she's planning to ask the mayor if Town Hall can be used in winter months as a place for people to wait out the cold.
It's no surprise to anyone that the woman who's earned a reputation for rallying people to the cause of feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, or offering assistance to struggling families, is planning to take an urgent need to the mayor even while getting ready to hand over the reins of the organization to her replacement.
That's signature "Rosie," said friends and business leaders who have been inspired to work alongside her over the years. And as Werner prepares to step aside and take on a lesser volunteer role with ONT, workers wonder if it's possible for anyone to fill her shoes.
"It's a huge loss," said fire Chief Jonathan Brickett.
Brickett has worked alongside Werner serving meals on Wednesday night and collecting food at the station during special holiday drives. He said it will be difficult to find anyone more effective than Werner in the role of chief caregiver to the less fortunate.
"She has a unique way of relating with anybody that she comes into contact with," Brickett said. "That's a gift. She puts herself at the bottom of the list and makes everybody first."
Like so many other volunteers Werner has gathered to her cause, Brickett and his team of firefighters regularly pitch in to help out at ONT, which Brickett said is a testimony to Werner's passion for her work.
"It's addicting because once you get a taste of her passion, she kind of just motivates you," he said. "She's got a very positive personality and a very positive attitude. She's not selfish at all."
"Rosie is Our Neighbors' Table," agreed Tony Grillo, chairman of the ONT Board and self-described chief cook and bottle washer for the organization's weekly meal events. "I'm not sure she could ever be replaced because she's done so much. She's really put her heart and soul in this. And she'll be missed."
"There's not enough hours in the day for one person to do what she's been able to do," Les Childs said. "Rosie took the bull by the horns and never let go."
Under Werner's leadership, ONT has managed to receive donations to feed the hungry even when business owners aren't thriving, her co-workers said. Her outreach efforts are legendary, and her methods unmatched, when it comes to her ability to inspire giving.
"Nobody says no to Rosie," said mayoral chief of staff Kendra Amaral of Werner's special knack for bringing out the best in people.
"I have visions of people running when they see me coming because they're afraid I'm going to ask them for something," said Werner of the reputation she's earned while at the helm of ONT, where she's brought in the help of local farmers, restaurants, banks and individual donors to help provide fresh vegetables, milk and bread, and a specially designated vehicle to deliver meals to those who can't get to the pantry on Wednesday nights.
"People need it, and families need it, and I just feel we need to roll our sleeves up and just do it," Werner said. "If we all do a little, a lot gets done."
As she prepared to step aside and leave her work to a new generation of volunteers, Werner is more interested in talking about the kindnesses of her team of volunteers and donors than she is in touting her own gifts to the community. A new director for the organization has been identified and will soon be announced to the public, said Werner, who plans to help the new director assimilate before stepping into the background. In the meantime, she's content to have had so much time to make whatever mark she could on the lives of area families.
"I'm pleased in a small way that I could make a difference in some people's lives over the years," Werner said. "I feel like I've been very blessed — I feel very privileged to be able to be here and do what I do. None of that is possible without the volunteers and the community."
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