Karen Clement is unsung no more
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Reporter

Karen Clement

A former colleague saw all of the work that Townsend resident Karen Clement does as the director of the recreation department, as a volunteer in two schools, and through her church and in the senior center.

That former colleague, another Townsend resident, then nominated Clement for the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women's Massachusetts Unsung Heroines 2007 Award.

"I just believe being involved with my community is important," Clement said. "I just enjoy it. You meet a lot of great people."

In the next two weeks Clement will be baking for the Golden Age Bake Sale and cooking stuffed cabbage for the Friends of the Seniors' International Dinner as well as organizing the Townsend Earth Day Celebration and a McDonald's Night Fundraiser for Hawthorne Brook.

In between those things, she will be setting up the summer recreation program, working on the 275th Anniversary Committee for the town, and meeting a host of family commitments.

"I don't want my name associated with something that isn't perfect," she said. "I do a lot of work at night when everyone is in bed. I also do a lot when they first get off to school."

The Unsung Heroine award is a statewide honor that looks to identify and honor a woman from each of the Commonwealths cities and towns.

The nomination form calls these women "the glue that keeps a community together, they are the spark that gets things started and gets things done … they care about other people and it shows."

The state organization had all of the nominations reviewed by teams of people outside the agency and then an award winner was picked.

Clement and her husband, Don, have lived on Main Street in Townsend since 1986. Their four children have attended the public schools, with their oldest now attending WPI.

"The majority of the things were started because of the kids," Clement said.

She recalls meeting Albert "Tubby" Bouchard, who she credits as the person who "hooked me in, hook line and sinker for everything I do now."

A movement in town closed the playground behind Spaulding Memorial School because the "metal was too dangerous," Clement said. That closure left her and her two kids without a place to play, which she truly missed.

She met Bouchard and from there organized a fundraising effort to build the new Kiddie Kountry Playground. And for years she said they have done annual fundraising for maintenance and paying for the latrine.

"I've basically turned that one over to younger parents," she said.

Her youngest two children are at Hawthorne Brooke Middle School - Amy is in the sixth grade and Carla is in the eighth grade. Her other daughter, Kara, is a junior at North Middlesex High School.

Her children's interests have gotten her involved with the town's Little League program, the Destination ImagiNation teams, and she's watched two of her daughters work on the Relay for Life teams.

Clement gets excited as she talks about each of the different things she and her family are working on.

"One of my favorite things is running the haunted house every year," she said.