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Huge Crowd Enjoys Traditional Easter Egg Hunt

A real time, honored tradition returned to Concord on March 26 as the state family came together for the governor's Easter egg hunt.

A huge crowd estimated at 1,500 SEA members, family and friends turned out to enjoy a surprisingly bright, sunny day on the Saturday morning before Easter. The event was held on the campus of New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI).

Gov. John Lynch greets part of the crowd gathered for the traditional Easter egg hunt on March 26.

Once Gov. John Lynch gave the signal, swarms of youngsters quickly gathered roughly 3,000 candy-filled plastic eggs.

It was a joint effort by the governor's staff and the SEA Social Activities Committee. Volunteers organized by the committee, including the children of several members, filled the eggs and then hid them in areas marked for different age groups.

 Best Ever

In introducing the governor, SEA President Gary Smith recalled Lynch's promise, made during the SEA Council meeting in December 2004, to host the "best Easter egg hunt in New Hampshire."

The consensus was that he had succeeded. Attendance smashed all previous records.

Kids waited patiently in the face of major temptation as the start was delayed for about 10 minutes while the crowd filed in. The line snaked down a long hallway and stretched to the parking lot. The turnout evoked memories of the highly successful governor's breakfast for state employees on Lynch's inauguration day.

 It Rocks
 
"Great. Wonderful. Absolutely terrific," said David Wilson, of the Bureau of Turnpikes in Hampton, in describing the event. His comments were echoed by many in the crowd.

"It rocks," his son chimed in.

Betsy Trott, a youth counselor, is a new SEA member.

"I think this is wonderful," she said. "I was surprised to hear the union did it, so I was quite impressed. So I was glad I was a union member now."

"It was a great turnout. Good weather, really big," is how Eric Hewson of NHTI described the hunt. "I met the governor and his wife. Shook everybody's hands. That was nice too - real friendly."

 Better Than Virtual

Tom Hardiman of the Department of Labor donned the Easter Bunny suit in April 2004 when SEA stepped in to sponsor the egg hunt as an alternative to the "virtual" hunt on the state's Web site.

"I think this is a tremendous success," he said. "Obviously the people wanted to come out for this."

Tom O'Neil, another member from the Labor Department, said, "What a wonderful day. You can really see a change in the whole attitude, with the new leadership. It's great for the kids; it's great for state employees. It's a happy day."