Chester B. Kevitt Award

Chester "Chet" Kevitt served for many years as Chair of the Historical Commission and as president of the Weymouth Historical Society. To honor his memory and encourage similar commitment, the Commission created an annual award to recognize one or more persons who have made an outstanding contribution to the preservation of Weymouth’s heritage or the understanding of its history.

Vincent Cuoco Named 2019 Chester B. Kevitt Award Recipient 

On June 12th Mayor Robert Hedlund and the Weymouth Historical Commission awarded the Chester B. Kevitt Award to Vincent Cuoco, of Kingman Road. Vincent is a recent graduate of the Weymouth High School class of 2019, and researched the history of the town’s five Medal of Honor recipients who include: William Seach, Frederick C. Murphy, Thomas W. Hamilton, Elden H. Johnson, and Ralph Talbot. This was part of Vincent’s senior capstone project and aligns with the spirit of the Chester B. Kevitt award in which a person or group who has made a significant effort to preserve, protect, or educate on Weymouth’s history is recognized by the award.  

As part of Vincent’s project, he proposed that the town be known as the “City of Heroes” because the Town is home to the Medal of Honor recipients as well as other significant Weymouth residents, including Abigail Adams and Maria Weston Chapman. Vincent made this presentation to the Town Council at a spring meeting, providing for a broader public platform to educate the residents of the Town on the importance of the five Medal of Honor recipients and Weymouth’s historical significance as a whole. 

“I want to express my congratulations to Vincent and thank him for bringing to light the historical significance of these five medal of honor recipients,” said Mayor Hedlund. “As we approach the 400th, we will see more of these pieces of history come together as we celebrate this Town, its founding, and all that has happened here over four centuries”. 

Annually, the Historical Commission accepts nominations town wide for the Chester B. Kevitt award. The Commission was impressed with the in-depth research completed by Vincent, his presentation to the Town Council, and the fact that he developed the idea to use the “City of Heroes” phrase to describe Weymouth. The Commission is hopeful that this recognition encourages other students to learn about the Town’s rich history as it approaches its 400th anniversary.

The Mayor presented a plaque to Vincent in his office in a brief ceremony with the Historical Commission, Town Staff, and his parents and other family members in attendance.

Past Award Winners

2022 Rob MacLean & Library Staff

2021 David Finney

2020 Edward Walker

2019 Vincent Cuoco

2018 James F. Wadsworth

2017 Erica Dumont

2017 Debbie Sullivan

2016 Donald Mathewson

2015 Phillip L. Smith

2014 Ted Clarke

2013 Robert F. Sullivan

2013 William & Elaine Pepe

2010 Wilfred B. Mathewson

2009 Richard M. Pattison

2007 William Johnson

2007 Barbara Johnson

2006 John Iredale

2006 Berj Kailian

2006 Raymond "One Bear" Tremblay

2003 Esther E. Kibby

2003 James J. Palmieri

2003 Jane Holbrook Jewell

2002 Louise Young Flynn

2002 Vi Shaw

2002 Dorothy Cill

2001 Elizabeth Hollis

2001 Eleanor Cooney Smithey

2000 Mary F. Toomey

1999 Edmund L. Page,

1999 Harry C. Belcher, Jr.

1999 Eleanor B. Cormack

1998 Hope W. Patterson

1997 Donald C. Cormack