Born and raised in Teaticket, Massachusetts as the grandson of Portuguese immigrants David T. Vieira has dedicated his life to public service. David graduated as the Roll of Honor student from Falmouth High School. He attended The American University in Washington, DC and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government with a minor in Public Administration. He was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society upon graduation.
During spring break of his senior year, David returned to Falmouth to pull nomination papers for town meeting. He was elected a town meeting member the week he graduated. David, an Eagle Scout, attended his first Falmouth Town Meeting at the age of 12 to write a Boy Scout report for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge. That night he asked his father what it takes to be moderator. One year after returning from college he was elected the youngest town moderator in Falmouth's history and reportedly the second youngest in the history of the Commonwealth. David also serves as the Falmouth Town Crier.
Upon taking office, David appointed the first Town Meeting Rules & Procedures Committee and launched the first Town Meeting Member Orientation program. David rose to the position of director of the Massachusetts Moderators' Association a year later where he served two terms before having to step down due to term limits. David was again elected by his peers to serve another 6 years as director of the Association. As director David served on numerous panels and committees working to preserve the town meeting form of government, and also trained many new moderators across the Commonwealth.
David went on to earn a Masters of Public Administration from Suffolk University in Boston and was inducted into the Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration. During his tenure at Suffolk, David attended policy seminars on economics, government, and politics at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic; the oldest institution of higher education in Eastern Europe.
In 1999, David began working for Barnstable County Sheriff James M. Cummings as Special Assistant to the Sheriff developing and implementing various youth programs at the Sheriff's Youth Ranch and launching the senior citizen crime prevention & safety program know as Triad. As the Triad program began to spread across Cape Cod, David assumed the position of Director of Senior Programs. In this capacity he facilitated the implementation of the File of Life program, Alzheimer's Safe Return program, and comprehensive house numbering program to name a few. He received the 2005 Safe Return Award from the Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association for "exceptional public service on behalf of Massachusetts residents with Alzheimer's Disease."
Sheriff Cummings appointed David Vieira as Director of Intergovernmental Relations & Citizen Corps following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Shortly thereafter he was appointed to the newly established National Neighborhood Watch Advisory Council and the US Department of Justice's Terrorism Awareness and Prevention Program working group.
In this new role David started the first Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) on Cape Cod. He also trained and coordinated involvement of CERT teams in the Town of Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich. David served as a representative to the Falmouth Local Emergency Planning Committee in addition to his involvement with the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee. David was the founding chairman of the Cape Cod Citizen Corps Council, a group dedicated to preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. Citizen Corps partners and affiliates utilize volunteers in all phases of emergency management.
2004 was the largest hurricane season in US history. FEMA had experienced a shortfall in disaster assistance employees after the landfall of Hurricane Frances. David, along with a half dozen of his trained CERT members, volunteered to assist FEMA with disaster recovery operations in Florida. David left Cape Cod to work two weeks in Florida, however upon arriving in Atlanta, GA for his deployment Hurricane Ivan made landfall and moved across the state of Georgia. David ended up being promoted to deputy state coordinator of community relations for Federal Coordinating Officer James Russo. In this capacity David oversaw 100 disaster assistance field officers working on preliminary damage assessments, disaster recovery centers, community relations, and individual assistance. David returned to Falmouth two days before the November 2004 Falmouth Annual Town Meeting, having lengthened his stay from two weeks to over two months. His tenure with FEMA earned him an appointed to the US Department of Homeland Security's Citizen Corps deployment working group.
David's experience with FEMA in 2004 was valuable to the Cape after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when then Governor Mitt Romney accepted hurricane evacuees at the Massachusetts Military Reservation. David coordinated the response of the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office CERT and oversaw the processing of, and then managed, over 300 spontaneous volunteers who worked the shelters and warehouse operations for two months. The Adjutant General of the Commonwealth appointed Vieira as the civilian access coordinator for the MMR for the term of Operation Helping Hand.
David currently serves as:
- Director, MA Legislators Association
- Director Emeritus, Friends of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge, Inc.
Current Memberships
- American Society of Public Administration - Massachusetts Chapter
- Massachusetts Moderators' Association
- Massachusetts Legislators Association
- Otis Civilian Advisory Council
- Falmouth Historical Society
- Boy Scouts of America
- Girl Scouts of America
- 300 Committee Land Trust
- PALCUS - Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States
- Portuguese-American Association of Falmouth
- Friends of the Falmouth Public Library
- Friends of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge
- Falmouth Community Television - FCTV13
- Appalachian Mountain Club
- National Eagle Scout Association
- Golden Key National Honor Society
- Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society
- Pi Alpha Alpha National Public Administration Honor Society
- American Radio Relay League - FCC Call Sign: KB1QND
- Baker River Watershed Association
A few of the honors and awards David has received for his community leadership include:
- 2022 Above & Beyond for Children Award - Children's Cove, Cape & Islands Child Advocacy Center
- 2020 Legislator of the Year Award - Worcester County League of Sportsmen's Clubs
- 2019 Distinguished Legislator Award CONNECT - SE Mass Public Higher Education Partnership
- 2013 Massachusetts Legislator of the Year Award - Massachusetts Sportsmen's Council
- 2005 Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association Public Safety Award
- 2004 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Portuguese Heritage Award, General Court of Massachusetts' Portuguese-American Legislative Caucus
- 2000 Mothers Against Drunk Driving Award for Community Service
- 1999 Massachusetts Correctional Officer of the Year Award for Community Service
- Arthur S. Flemming Award, The American University School of Public Affairs
- District Award of Merit, Banneker District - National Capital Area Council, BSA
- David T. Vieira Day (July 17, 1993), Proclaimed by Board of Selectmen of Falmouth, MA
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America
David has volunteered his time serving the Cape Cod community over many years in the following positions:
- Director, Falmouth Historical Society
- President, Falmouth Military Tattoo, Inc.
- Advisory Board, National Neighborhood Watch Advisory Committee
- Director, Community Leadership Institute of Cape Cod & Islands
- Vice President of District Operations, Cape Cod & Islands Council, Inc (BSA)
- Founding Trustee and Vice Chairman, Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter Public School
- Trustee, Living Independently ForEver, Inc (LIFE) - serving adults with learning disabilities
- Chairman, Upper Cape Youth Wellness Coalition - Falmouth Hospital
- Advisory Board, Cape Cod Senior Corps / RSVP
- Member, The Falmouth Fund Advisory Committee of the Cape Cod Foundation
- Member, Community Benefits Advisory Council - Cape Cod HealthCare
- Member, Superintendent Search Committee - Falmouth Public Schools
- Citizen Representative, Community Assistance Panel at Mass Military Reservation
- Mentor, Project Inquire- a student mentoring program of Falmouth Volunteers in Public Schools
- Trustee, Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter Public School
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