By Erin Shannon Patriot Ledger
Christie Coombs, founder of the Jeffrey Coombs Memorial Foundation, was honored as a 2013 “Unsung Heroine.”
Coombs, of Abington, was selected and give the award at the tenth anniversary of the ‘Unsung Heroine’ awards, presented by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.
Coombs started the foundation in honor of her husband, Jeff Coombs, who was killed on Flight 11 in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Coombs was nominated by state Rep. Geoff Diehl (R- Whitman).
Since 2001, she has organized multiple concerts, road races and food drives, raising and distributing approximately $50,000 annually to help local families who are in financial need because of a death or illness.
“The Foundation also provides emotional support, and funds special outings and events for those families,” said Diehl.
Coombs also serves as a Board Member on the Veterans’ Advisory Board, the Mass Military Heroes Fund as well as on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross.
“While everyone in my district knows Christie and the wonderful things she does for people in our community and for the soldiers of Massachusetts, she doesn’t always get the recognition she deserves,” said Diehl. “I am so proud of the fact that she has been acknowledged by the state for years of putting others ahead of herself.”
The MCSW, who presented the award, is an independent state agency that was legislatively created in 1998 and is comprised of 19 members who are appointed by the Governor, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Caucus of Women Legislators.
