A big thank you to our volunteer of the month, the caretaker of Monterey Community Center’s Facebook page, Essy Dean. Essy has been volunteering for the MCC since May 2019. She keeps our Facebook presence alive with news, photos, and events.  When Mary called on her to wish our Jewish friends a “Happy Chanukkah” she took a photo of her own heirloom menorah and posted it on Facebook.

Before helping out with MCC promotions, Essy did Social Media work with Arrowhead, the Herman Melville House in Pittsfield. She worked there for about a year handling Facebook and Instagram, and enjoys their annual reading of Moby-Dick. Of course, this year the reading was all virtual.

Essy grew up in Monterey and her early teenage summers were spent in Italy. She has been to Italy and London several times each and one of the London trips was her study abroad experience through Susquehanna University. She speaks some Italian and Spanish, plus small amounts of German and French, but her love is reading and writing English.

Italy will always be a seminal part of her late childhood although England is where her heart lies. If she could go back to England right now, she would go to London and take day trips to Brighton and Leicester.

When she is at home in Monterey, Essy’s favorite spot is Lake Garfield, where she often goes to swim and sometimes for boating.  She also enjoys the occasional visit with old friends from high school in Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox. She loves theatre, and was involved in the Fall Festival of Shakespeare at Shakespeare and Company. She has attended so many times, she feels like she knows everyone there.

Essy writes daily, and has written in many genres but not horror. (We agreed life is scary enough without reading or writing horror.) She spent November writing a book that weighs in at 76,457 words. She writes blogs while she continues to work on her craft. Her very favorite author, if Shakespeare were set aside, is the historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory.

Thanks to Essy for getting us so many more likes and engagements on Facebook. We appreciate all you have done for the MCC!