Little Local Conversations

What makes Watertown special? One of the reasons you'll often hear people say is that it's a community that deeply cares about taking care of each other. One example of that is Watertown Helps Out, a unique month of community volunteering organized by the Watertown Community Foundation each May.

The Helping Hand is a new series for the podcast that focuses on nonprofits and mission-based organizations and projects in Watertown. So for the first episode, I thought Watertown Helps Out would be a great topic to dig into. I sat down for 3 conversations to get stories and perspectives from:

-The main orchestrator, Tia Tilson, Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation.

-A nonprofit benefiting from the projects, Gary Beatty, Executive Director of the Watertown Boys and Girls Club.

-And a life science company that says their company wouldn't be what it is without its day of service, Matt Forti, Head of Facilities, and Alessandra Arace, Employee Experience Manager, C4 Therapeutics.

You can find out more about Watertown Helps Out and join in the volunteering effort at watertownfoundation.org/watertown-helps-out.

Thank you to The Helping Hand series sponsor Watertown Savings Bank!

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Meet Kelly Cronin and Kristy Walter! They work at Watertown Savings Bank doing community relations and running the Club 50 program for the bank. We talk about the bank's philosophy of focusing on Main Street not Wall Street, and how that translates to 90+ employees volunteering their time in the community, awarding $100,000 to nonprofits through their Customer Choice Awards (on top of their regular sponsorships and donations), and their unique Club 50 program that helps build in-person community through bringing customers together for travel and local events to help make memories and friendships. Plus, we get a little of Kelly's and Kristy's own backstories, what else they're involved with in the community, and how they found their way to the bank.

Learn more:

Watertown Savings Bank

Club 50 (Website, Facebook, Instagram)

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Listen to the latest conversation with Tyler Cote, the Community Engagement Specialist for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV to discuss things that have happened during the past month in Watertown through key moments, success stories, and important numbers. 

See links for things mentioned in the episode at www.littlelocalconversations.com/episodes/local-government-update-april-2026

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

In this Gallery Stories episode, discover the stories behind the Art and Healing exhibition up at the Mosesian Center for the Arts here in Watertown. Take a listen then go visit the gallery and experience the art yourself!

To see images of some of the pieces mentioned and more details about the show and the artists, go to www.littlelocalconversations.com.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Do you know about all the amazing STEM things happening at the Watertown Public Schools? Did you know 1,000 heads of lettuce are grown every week in the school's freight farm? Or about the school's award-winning robotics team, or the culinary program that provided food at the state house recently, or the student club working on designing a net zero accessory dwelling unit to showcase at the Lemelson-MIT Center?  

I sat down with three people to learn more about the 2nd Annual Community STEM Night where people can come to learn about all this and much more going on at the schools. I'm joined by Lynsey Kraemer, the Science Curriculum Coordinator for grades 6-12, Laura Alderson, the CTE Director for Watertown Public Schools, and Elizabeth Kaplan, the K-5 Science Coordinator, K-8 Math Coordinator, and the Farm to School Coordinator.

Come join the Community STEM Night on April 29th to learn about all this and much more through conversations and hands-on experiences! Community STEM Night is organized through a partnership between the Watertown Business Coalition and the Watertown Public Schools. The event is on Wednesday, April 29th from 530pm to 730pm at the Watertown Middle School. 

Find all the details here!

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Meet Andrew Provost and Meaghan Harwood Provost! They're the co-founders of PT In Cadence, a physical therapy practice here in Watertown. In this conversation we talk about their paths to physical therapy (Andrew through a sports injury and Meaghan in a shift away from neuroscience and research), their strong patient-centric view of designing care and helping people navigate the challenges of a fragmented healthcare system, one of their key focuses being pelvic health care and why its often overlooked, and what it's like building a physical therapy practice and building a community within Watertown.

Find out more about Andrew and Meaghan at ptincadence.com

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

This is a recording from a series for the podcast at the Mosesian Center for the Arts called Creative Chats. I sat down for a live conversation with cellist and educator Alyssa Lawson to discuss the question: How do we teach creativity to the next generation?

Alyssa shares her experiences as a Suzuki cello teacher for youth and teaching her own kids cello, the importance of building basic skills to even allow creative expression, getting beginners through "the dip", dealing with different types of learners and personalities, and the ultimate balance of teaching while not getting in the way of the student's creativity.

Find out more about Alyssa at alyssavlawson.com

Join the next Creative Chats event on April 3rd and the Creative Chats Conference on June 4th

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

This is a recording from the Watertown Business Coalition's City Update event with Watertown City Manager George Proakis. The event was on March 5th, 2026 at the Hampton Inn in Watertown. Take a listen to City Manager Proakis' presentation on the city's goals, where things are going now in the city, and then some discussion about planning and growth in Watertown. 

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

In this mini Gallery Stories episode, discover the stories behind Nina Nielsen's art exhibition up at Storefront Art Projects here in Watertown. Take a listen then go visit the gallery and experience the art yourself!

To see images of some of the pieces mentioned and more details about the show, go to www.littlelocalconversations.com/episodes/gallery-stories-mini-march-2026.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Listen to the latest conversation with Tyler Cote, the Community Engagement Specialist for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV to discuss things that have happened during the past month in Watertown through key moments, success stories, and important numbers. 

See links for things mentioned in episode at www.littlelocalconversations.com/episodes/local-government-update-march-2026

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.