The mayor honored numerous city children for their accomplishments at City Hall Tuesday evening. But one stole the show -- and that was John "Bodie" Vaccino, a wheelchair-bound boy with boundless energy and enthusiasm.
Mayor James Richetelli Jr. explained that 8-year-old Vaccino's classmates had nominated him for recognition at The 23rd Annual Mayor's Youth Award Ceremony because of his enthusiasm for building a "boundless" playground in town.
After three years of prodding, Vaccino -- who has cerebral palsy -- managed to convince his classmates and their parents to raise $400,000 to build which opened in Eisenhower Park last weekend.
"The inspiration and the man behind the scenes of all of this was the winner in the elementary school category, John Vaccino," the mayor said.
As he handed Vaccino a plaque, the audience broke out in loud applause.
