The event is Feb. 22, at the Wherehouse? in Holyoke.
HOLYOKE –Because they live by the motto of “Friendship, Unity and True Christian Charity,” two parishioners of Our Lady of the Cross Church have been honored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Paul F. Hogan Jr. is “Mr. Hibernian 2014,” and Rosalie A. Pratt is “Ms. Hibernian 2014.”
Hogan said he was “taken aback” by the designation. “The award should go to every Hibernian in that (James A. Curran Division One) club. They’re all great,” he said. “They all chip in. I look for a volunteer, and I get 10. It’s a terrific organization.”
The awards will be given at The Ancient Order of Hibernians’ annual Daniel P. Curran Irish Night on Feb. 22, at the Wherehouse? in Holyoke. Tickets must be reserved by Feb. 17.
“It’s very exciting” to be named “Ms. Hibernian 2014,” said Pratt, whose mother, Judy Pratt, was Ms. Hibernian 2013.
Rosalie Pratt, a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, has owned and operated R and R Variety Store on Sargeant Street in Holyoke, for the past 20 years. She serves on the Maurice A. Donahue Memorial Scholarship Committee, and helps to raise money for the scholarship. She speaks the Irish language and has been to Ireland eight times. An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of the Cross Church, she cooks for “The Take and Eat Program” for the needy.
Her Catholic faith is important to her, and she is proud of her Irish heritage. “You honor your heritage by the things you do and your faith by the way you live it,” Pratt said.
She sponsors two children through the Christian Foundation For Children and Aging, one from India and one from the Philippines. She raises money for the Alzheimer's Association and for the past 10 years has participated in the annual walk in memory of her grandmother, Jenney Pratt. She also sponsors a Holyoke Youth Soccer League team.
Hogan, a construction inspector for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, has been a member of the Hibernians for 38 years, and has been president for the past seven years. He is the vice president of the Massachusetts State Board AOH. Each year he organizes a contingent in the Holyoke St Patrick’s Parade.
He said he will accept his award “for all the members of the (Hibernian) group.”
Asked how he lives the motto “Friendship, Unity and True Christian Charity,” he said he treats other people the way he would like to be treated and encourages people to work together. “I go by the old adage, ‘You can catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.’”
Entertainment for the night will be provided by Matt O’Connor and members of the Springfield Kiltie Band, Maureen Ziskowski and the McDermott Academy of Irish Dance and Ireland Parish Band with Brian Conway and Ben Lavelle.
A corned beef and cabbage dinner will be served; the proceeds of the event will benefit the scholarship fund, established in 1980 in honor of the late Massachusetts State Senate President Maurice A. Donahue. More than $60,000 has been distributed since its inception.
Tickets for the event are $25 per person. Doors open at 6:30, with dinner at 7 p.m.
Reservations can be made by calling CMS Landscaping at (413) 533-3300 by Feb. 17.