The Community of Haverhill

Haverhill is a big city with a small town community feel. We love that no matter how much Haverhill grows, the community feel just keeps getting stronger. We want to see Haverhill continue to grow and thrive. We want young people to consider Haverhill a great place to live and raise their families. Like all the ingredients we use here at Romanos, we want Haverhill to offer quality education to their residents. This is why we are so happy to be able to support Haverhill Schools and Haverhill Children. Pentucket Lake Elementary School approached us to assist with fundraising efforts for their new playground. They need to raise $25K by June 2014 or they will lose a state grant awarded to them that would cover the other $25K needed to purchase the playground. Romanos offered to donate 20% of all sales on two dates: February 25, 2014 and March 25, 2014. On February 25, we saw so many come to Romano's to support this endeavor. The response was incredible and warmed our hearts. We're very proud to be part of the business community in Haverhill. We very much look forward to supporting Pentucket Lake Elementary on March 25.

Hope to see you there!

Bob Greatorex and Carolyn Werner, Co-Owners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Haverhill, MA

March 4, 2014

PENTUCKET LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WORKS WITH COMMUNITY TO RAISE MONEY FOR A NEW PLAYGROUND

HAVERHILL, MA – On Tuesday, February 25, the kitchen was hopping at Romano’s Pizza on Primrose Street. As part of a fundraising effort for the Pentucket Lake Elementary School playground, Romano’s offered the school 20% of all sales made that day. “The response was overwhelming! We are so happy to support Pentucket Lake School and the children of Haverhill," explained co-owner Bobby Greatorex. He and his staff are looking forward to their next day-long event in support of the playground, scheduled for March 25.

This is the new face of fundraising. Pentucket Lake Elementary is a Title 1 school in desperate need of a new playground. There are more than 500 students who do not have access to safe playground equipment; in fact the current structure is off-limits due to the danger it poses.

A new playground costs $50,000.00 and the school has received state funding for $25,000.00 from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. But time is ticking: the school must take advantage of this state funding by June 2014 or lose it altogether, which means another $25,000 must be raised by then.

Local business and individuals have been generous -- companies such as Pentucket Bank, Fantini Bakery, OMO Specialties, New Age Real Estate, Lowell 5, State Representatives Mirra and Dempsey, and Councilor Ryan have donated to the playground fund – and the goal has been whittled down to $20,000. Pentucket Lake School is actively fundraising for the remainder of the project with additional restaurant nights, car wash, yard sale, and fun walk. The public is welcome to all events.

UPCOMING EVENTS/SIDEBAR INFO

Restaurant Nights:

Brothers Pizza & Restaurant, 755 Main Street, Haverhill, 978-372-9396

March 10, 2014, 4-9 p.m.

10% of all sales will be donated

Romanos Pizzeria, 620 Primrose Street, Haverhill, 978-373-9906

March 25, 2014, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

20% of all sales will be donated

McDonald’s, 53 S. Main Street, Bradford, 978-374-9812

April 28, 2014, 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

15% of all sales will be donated

Walk for the Playground

Pentucket Lake Elementary School, 252 Concord Street, Haverhill

March 29, 2014, 9 am - Noon

Sponsor a student!

Car Wash and Yard Sale

Pentucket Lake Elementary School, 252 Concord Street, Haverhill

May 10, 2014, 9 am – 3 pm

Come get your car washed and have some fun!

*****

 Pentucket Lake Elementary School’s (PLS) playground fundraising committee, Team Play Strong, is a group of parent volunteers working with Site Specifics/Miracle Playground Equipment to bring a new playground to PLS. The design was selected to address diverse student needs; providing vestibular input, encouraging gross motor development, and fostering imaginary play.

Please send all donations to Pentucket Lake Playground Fund, 252 Concord Street, Haverhill, MA 01830. The Pentucket Playscape Fundraising Committee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible

The X-Factor, do you have it?

The X-Factor, the thing that sets us apart. The thing that motivates us to do and be more.  Who among us has it? We all have thoughts and dreams about this but MOST of us just don’t act upon those thoughts. In fact, very few do. We all aspire to be the ones that lead the pack but too often just slip under the covers every night only to let those thoughts slip away and be gone by morning.

Have you ever thought about leading a huge corporation, being the starting quarterback in the Super Bowl or inventing the next big device that everyone must have? For a few, those thoughts motivate to action. Others simply lay in bed and dream only to get up day after day living the mundane, going to a job they don’t even enjoy.

I happen to think that most of us have dreams that we really want to live out.  Why then are we not acting on those dreams? That’s the million dollar question.

The old adage of “You only live once” is so very true. What are you afraid of???!!!

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning

Who the better quarterback is has been put to rest, in my opinion. It is futile to discuss being “The Best” when you hold the record for the most post-season losses, which Manning does by the way. Manning is certainly a great quarterback, but he is not clutch. Perhaps it’s the pressure of the Big Stage that simply overwhelms him.

I do know this: Tom Brady is 3-2 in Super Bowl appearances. In all FIVE Super Bowl appearances, he drove his team down the field in the 4th quarter to take the lead. Whether the defense held on or not is not something Tom Brady can control.

In Manning’s 3 Super Bowl appearances, he is 1- 2 with a pick six in both loses.

To compare Manning and Brady at this point is, to me, useless. Brady lives for those moments, Manning buckles in them. Tom Brady’s Playoff record is 18-8, Peyton Manning’s is 11-12. Tom Brady holds the record for most playoff victories, Peyton Manning the most playoff losses. You be the judge.

Brady haters need to look at all the facts over the last 11 years. Manning can have all those MVP awards, we prefer Vince Lombardi Trophys.

Special Love of Pizza

Where should I begin? It was twenty years ago when I realized how much fun making a pizza really was. I would buy dough in the local supermarket, come home and spread flour all over the kitchen counter. Making a mess was the best part! I made sure I had some good veggies or maybe a stick of pepperoni to spice up my homemade pizza. I would stretch that round dough onto a rectangular cookie sheet, that was the hard part. I remember doing this with my Mom at an early age and so I started doing with my daughter at an early age as well. I have fond pizza-making memories with both my Mom and Daughter. I’ve now owned my own pizza shop in Haverhill for 8 years and I still get to play and experiment with all kinds of sauces, veggies and meats . The process of creating and expressing in the form of a new pizza is incredibly fun to me. When I would do this at Romanos, I would always put samples of my new creations on the counter for our customers to try and give feedback. I would wait with bated breath as they would bite into it, watching their reaction and hoping they liked it. That's where I derive the pleasure. The feeling of watching a customer enjoy something you created from your own imagination is indescribable. I wish I could take all the credit but my staff and friends have come up with a few pizza ideas which are now hold high esteem on our menu. Romanos has quite a list of absolutely delicious Specialty pizza. Most are there with own unique names and personal stories behind them. Pizza is what I do, it's what I enjoy and it is truly what I Love

Low Calorie New Year?

It's coming, the New Year of 2014. Soon we'll be bombarded with advertisements encouraging us to get into shape. We'll be overwhelmed with commercials filled with sexy women and men trying to motivate us to get up and exercise and eat healthy. While, the woman are sexy and the guys are, well, guys, do they really motivate us to get our butt out of bed in the morning and hit the gym? We've all done it, celebrate the holidays with a little too much cheer (and cake, and wine, and cookies, and ...you get the idea). We diet and start every new year with a great exercise plan, a great diet plan and great intensions, all too often falling back into old habits of eating too much and exercising too little.  

There's not a single day that goes by that I don't think about eating pizza, especially being in a pizzeria almost constantly and truly believing that pizza should be it's own food group!!!! 

We do have many healthy options on our menu (Solid white tuna, turkey, salads, skinny pizzas and such) but there's nothing like the flavor of a pepperoni pizza!!

So here is the new year again. I, for one, am making a desicion to keep on keeping on, hitting the gym or going for walks. I will also enjoy the things I love (pizza, french fries, subs), but, everything in moderation, right? I'll also eat the salads, the turkey pocket, the subs with all the loaded veggies.

Don't give up the pizza, just don't eat the whole thing!