Historical Society Meeting Draws Longtime Wellington Residents

Wellington Historical Society founders Maureen Budjinski, Laurie Cohen and Francine Ramaglia.

The new Wellington Historical Society held an informal meeting at the Grille Fashion Cuisine in Wellington on Thursday, Jan. 11.

The meeting served as an invitation to village residents who have interest in supporting the historical society and sharing their own history in Wellington.

Longtime Wellington residents — school teachers, past mayors, council members, business owners, friends and family — filled the private room at the restaurant to its capacity. During the meeting, all who attended shared their personal Wellington history.

“So, you’re here at the beginning of the organization, and we hope that we can preserve the memories of people like yourselves and like others in the community, who were here in the beginning and have particular knowledge about how it all came to be,” said Village Attorney Laurie Cohen, who has taken the lead in the creation of the Wellington Historical Society.

The organization is in the process of achieving its formal nonprofit status.

“It could probably take 90 to 120 days for us to receive that tax-exempt designation,” Cohen said. “But any donations that are received after the submission on the application, once we receive the status, that would be tax deductible.”

Moving forward, Cohen will serve as the first president of the organization, with Francine Ramaglia as vice president, Maureen Budjinski as secretary and Regis Wenham as the temporary treasurer.

“We are looking for people to participate, to give their memories, to give history, to take oral histories, to gather artifacts and things like that,” Cohen said.

For additional information, call (561) 252-9828 or visit www.wellingtonhistoricalsociety.org.