Dr. Lepore's Staff Celebrate His "Fred Rogers Good Neighbor Award"

To the editor: On July 23^rd, 2023, at the Dream Big Event hosted by the Dreamland, Dr. Lepore will be awarded with the Fred Rogers Good Neighbor Award. At first glance, you may not understand why someone like Dr. Lepore would be receiving this award. However, upon further review, Dr. Lepore and Mr. Rogers share many features and quirks.

Old, worn blue sneakers are the shoe of choice by both our good neighbors. Rogers embarks his trolley to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Dr. Lepore embarks his pin-striped truck, with its fitting “911” license plates, and heads to his own creative space. Lepore fills his cup of coffee and gathers his staff for a motivating speech followed by his favorite cheer: “1, 2, 3, Heal!” In that same vain, Mr. Roger’s is pleasantly positive, optimistic but realistic all at once. Where Rogers was never one to ignore or hold-back from talking about negative emotions (“What do you do with all the mad you feel?”), Dr. Lepore keeps it real. You will never leave an appointment or conversation with our neighborly Doctor where he has sugarcoated his opinions or the truth. He is someone you can trust.

“It’s you I like, the way you are right now, way down deep inside” is a sentiment shared by Rogers and Lepore, though Lepore may have a less musical way of showing it. Dr. Lepore will never say “no” to helping someone. He does not discriminate and always sees people for the humans they are. He sacrifices his personal life to support, heal, and frequently save individuals in his Nantucket Neighborhood—all of which would not be possible without his loving and devoted wife Cathy, who continuously supports him in these wild endeavors. Just as Mr. Rogers shares his values through song, you may have heard Dr. Lepore on the radio, encouraging you to see him for support at Addiction Solutions: “If you have insurance, great! If you don’t, great!” Dr. Lepore reminds us that what matters most in this world is simple: Being kind and neighborly to all.

On Monday, after receiving this award, Dr. Lepore will not change, not even a bit. He will return to his office and inspect various animal skulls, answer tick questions, eat a delicious rice pudding from the NCH cafeteria, and then go home for a few hours to his wife and dogs before doing it all again. We cannot express enough how deserving Dr. Lepore is of this award, and how fortunate our community is to have someone like Tim looking out for them. Dr. Lepore, thank you for being more than just a GREAT neighbor. We are proud of you and lucky to know you!

On behalf of:

KD Tornovish, Jane Ziesing, Ayesha Khan-Barber, McKenzie Condon, Diana Hull, Laura Kohtio-Graves, Duncan MacDonald, and Beth Tornovish