PEMBROKE - May 26, 2026 - Following the town’s recent annual election, the Pembroke Select Board officially reorganized its leadership, electing a new chair and adjusting its officer lineup. In a split roll-call vote, the board selected John Brown to serve as chair for the upcoming term. The board also advanced multiple special event approvals, including a highly anticipated operational update from Big Y Foods Inc. ahead of its approaching grand opening next month.
The Full Story
The meeting opened with a standard call to order and announcement section, including condolences sent out for long-time resident and VFW fixture Dan Sullivan, who passed away at the age of 97.
The board then shifted immediately to its annual board reorganization. Nominations for the position of chair brought forward two candidates: newly elected Steve Ciciotti and returning member John Brown. A roll-call vote on Ciciotti failed to achieve a majority, drawing “yes” votes from Tracy Marino and Ciciotti himself, while Brown, Dan Trabucco and Sean Keegan voted “no”. A subsequent roll call for John Brown secured the position, gaining support from Brown, Trabucco, and Keegan. Leadership changes continued as Sean Keegan was unanimously voted in as vice chair, and Tracy Marino took over as clerk after Trabucco declined a nomination for the role.
Following leadership adjustments, the board welcomed Steve Gorman, store director for the incoming Big Y supermarket at 24 Mattakeesett Street. Gorman outlined the timeline for filling the town’s recent supermarket vacancy, stating that the store has successfully hired nearly 100 employees from the area. He detailed a two-tiered opening plan: a “soft opening” scheduled for June 4th to allow staff to familiarize themselves with the building and equipment, followed by a full grand opening celebration on June 18th featuring food trucks and DJs. The board unanimously approved Big Y’s Common Victualler license pending a final health inspection.
“We are soft opening on June 4th... it just kind of lets everybody settle in and be comfortable, and then what we’ll do for June 18th, that’ll be our grand opening celebration.” [11:51] — Steve Gorman, Big Y Store Director
