LEOMINSTER — Two lifelong community members will be honored as the Citizens of the Year at the Starburst festivities this coming weekend, an annual family friendly event that is always well-attended and brings people together.
The Starburst festival will be held at Doyle Field, 206 Priest St., on Saturday, Aug. 22, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
It will start off with the Twin Cities Rail Trail Association’s free Walk N Roll event for walkers, riders and rollers at the rail trail next to Doyle Field. Participants are encouraged to show their Starburst spirit by decorating their bike, wagon, stroller, scooter, helmet — or themself — for a chance to win a prize. Decorations will be available if needed and everyone is welcome to attend the evening filled with fun, community, and capped off with fireworks.
Peter Bovenzi and Erica Grinkis were selected to be the 2026 Citizens of the Year, an annual tradition that recognizes people in the community doing amazing things.
Peter Bovenzi
Bovenzi said he “proudly accepts this recognition on behalf of and in honor of” his late father Frank Bovenzi, who passed away last year.
He shared that when the Leominster Italian American Club was forced to close its doors 30 years ago, with the help of many like-minded people his father Frank “made a personal commitment to keep the club’s community bocce league going.”
“He motivated my brother and I to relocate the courts in south Leominster and together with many volunteers he kept the league alive,” Bovenzi relayed. “Although our dad passed away last year his league still thrives today. We all miss him very much.”
He said his father taught him and his brothers and sisters “that our community is not the buildings, it’s not the longitude and latitude of a place on Earth, but it’s the people.”
“The smiles we share each time we meet. The hugs we give each other, especially the hugs we give in sadness and loss. We are each other’s safety net,” Bovenzi said.
“Harvard Political Scientist Robert Putnam described the value of these associational relationships in his groundbreaking book ‘Bowling Alone.’ The title of the book refers to two individuals whose association was only through a city bowling league,” Bovenzi said. “That purely social association lead to the empathetic gift of a lifesaving kidney. Loving and caring for each other is why communities are important. That was my father’s philosophy.”
One of his father’s favorite songs was Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and Bovenzi said the lyrics “I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do, they are really saying I love you” represent his father “perfectly.”
“When he shook your hand, it was with his full heart. He was saying ‘I love you.’”
He and his wife Leslie and his siblings are proud members of the community and “pledge to continue to pass the tradition of community service and dedication” to their three children — Emily, Peter and Katherine.
Many years ago, Frank and his six children anonymously donated the original lights at Doyle Field in honor of family member Leon “Huck” Hannigan.
“The lights which now light the baseball field still shine,” said Bovenzi, who helped organized the formation of the Leominster Land Trust for the protection of open space and the city’s water supply.
He and his brother Frank Jr. received an Environmental Protection Agency award in 1998 for their efforts in protecting the city’s drinking water supply and Bovenzi remains committed to the revitalization and improvement of the city center downtown.
“We announce the creation of the Frank Bovenzi Trust for the study, advocacy, and creation of affordable senior housing units needed in our city,” he proudly shared.
Erica Grinkis
Grinkis has lived in Leominster her entire life. The 40-year-old entrepreneur, business owner, wife, mother and community advocate’s passion for bringing people together has helped make a lasting impact throughout the city she proudly calls home.
A graduate of Leominster High School, Grinkis continued her education at Worcester State University and has been married to her husband Jared, also a local business owner, for 14 years. Together they have built a life rooted in family, entrepreneurship and community and are raising their two children, Braedy, 11, and Nolan, 8.
She relayed that hospitality has been a part of her life from an early age, getting her start at 14 years old bussing tables at Barbers Crossing in Sterling and by 18 was bartending at Paisanos Pizza and Spirits in Leominster.
Over the years, Grinkis worked nearly every role in the restaurant, from serving and bartending to kitchen prep and, on one memorable occasion, even making deliveries.
Those years gave her invaluable hands-on experience and helped shape the work ethic and understanding of the restaurant industry that she would later bring to her own business, The GazBar Sports Grill, which she transformed from Lidio’s Restaurant, which she purchased at age 26.
Grinkis poured everything she had into making her dream a reality and while she said the first three years “were the hardest and most uncertain … through determination, relentless hard work and the energy of a young entrepreneur,” she persevered. In 2018, she expanded her entrepreneurial journey by opening another business in her hometown, Central Cup, which she owned and operated until November 2023.
Grinkis credits much of her work ethic and passion for serving others to her parents. Watching her father build and lead his own business inspired her from a young age and she admired not only how hard he worked, but how deeply he cared for his employees, customers and community. Her mother shared that same generous spirit and together, they taught her “one of life’s greatest lessons — even when they didn’t have it, they gave it.”
“Their generosity, compassion and willingness to help others became the foundation for the way I lead both my business and life and remains the values I strive to pass on every day,” Grinkis shared.
Her foray into fundraising began even before opening The GazBar. When her aunt Maryann Bradford, who Grinkis says is more like an older sister, was diagnosed with breast cancer, their family searched for a way to give back after Maryann entered remission. Alongside fellow city resident Kathy DiRusso and the Cup Crusaders team, they participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk for breast cancer on two consecutive years.
“Through that experience, I learned the power of fundraising and what could be accomplished when a community rallied around a cause,” Grinkis said.
Not long after opening The GazBar, Grinkis and her aunt realized they had an opportunity to turn the restaurant into more than just a place to gather — they could use it as a platform to give back.
“That conversation became the beginning of what has grown into more than a decade of charitable fundraising, community partnerships and support for local families,” said Grinkis, who remains “deeply grateful” to both Maryann and Kathy “for inspiring that journey and showing me what was possible.”
Over the past decade Grinkis has partnered with many charitable organizations including The Healing Garden, the Simonds-Sinon Regional Cancer Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and many local families facing difficult circumstances.
Whether through community fundraisers, benefit dinners, merchandise sales, special menu items, drink promotions, food donations or other creative initiatives, she has continually found ways to use her businesses to support those in need.
One of her proudest accomplishments is founding the annual Rock the GazBar 5K, a community tradition that began over 10 years ago.
After a brief pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the event returned stronger than ever and in partnership with fellow city resident Missy Hendry, the event has grown into one of the area’s signature charitable events, raising more than $50,000 for Boston Children’s Hospital last year alone with the goal of making an even greater impact each year.
Grinkis credits her GazBar team, who have become family to her, as being instrumental not only in the business’s achievements but also the incredible fundraising accomplishments.
“Several members of The GazBar team have been by my side since the very beginning, standing with me through the long hours, challenges, celebrations and growth over the past 13 years,” she said. “Their loyalty, dedication and belief in my vision have been instrumental in The GazBar’s success.”
Grinkis is the first to say that none of what she has accomplished would have been possible without the incredible people who have worked beside her and “continue to create the welcoming atmosphere that guests have come to know and love.” Over the years, she has learned that while she may help organize events, it is the people of Leominster “who truly bring them to life.”
Her commitment to her profession and her community has earned her recognition as one of the Worcester Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty in 2018 and the City of Leominster’s Community Service Award in 2026. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, staying active through running, golf and women’s dek hockey, and recently challenged herself by training for her first half marathon.
“I believe life is meant to be enjoyed, laughter should be shared often, and meaningful relationships are life’s greatest reward,” she relayed.
Being named one of the Citizens of the Year is one of the greatest honors of Grinkis’ life, but she believes this recognition “is about far more than one individual.”
“Every fundraiser, every community event, every meal donated and every dollar raised has only been possible because people chose to stand beside me,” she said. “This award reflects what can happen when a community comes together with a common purpose.
“I believe Leominster may look like a small city, but it is filled with people who carry extraordinarily big hearts,” Grinkis said. “The success of every fundraiser, every event and every effort to give back has never belonged to one person. It has always belonged to a community that chooses kindness, generosity and service. That is the Leominster I know, the Leominster I love, and the city I am proud to call home.”
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