February 7, 2020 by Greenwich Sentinel

FRIDAY, February 7, 2020

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Sarah Peng, a Greenwich High School Junior and Girl Scout has finished her Gold Award pr oje c t for c onc u s sion awareness and stunting safety for the North Mianus Bull Dog Cheerleading Team in the Fall of 2019. E a c h G o l d Aw a r d project solves a community issue and improves lives wh i le g i rl s bu i ld t hei r personal leadership skills and inspire others to community action. In order to earn the Gold Award, Senior and Ambassador scouts in grades 9 to 12 spend at least 80 hours researching issues, assessing their community’s needs and resources, building a team and making a sustainable impact through their project.

Saying Goodbye to Greenwich Icon and Friend, David Ogilvy By Anne W. Semmes On Monday, the Town of Greenwich lost one its most notable citizens, David Ogilvy, a realtor with an international reach, with a lifelong commitment to his community. He died at age 77 from his off-again-on-again battle with Multiple Myeloma, surrounded by his family. Ogilv y grew up with a name synonymous with advertising – his father David was founder of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, but young David's expertise would be in buying and selling some of Greenwich’s most beautiful residences. Founding David Ogilvy & Associates in 1985 that became the exclusive aff iliate for Christie's International Real Estate, he recently sold his firm to Sotheby’s International Realty in 2019. “I started in real estate at age 24,” he once told, “and have loved it ever since.” “Dav id was the consummate ge nt l e m a n a nd a pu r veyor o f a l l things real estate,” said Pam Pagnani, Sotheby’s senior vice president and Greenwich brokerage manager. “His name is synonymous with Greenwich real estate, and his legend will live on. We all thought of David as a trusted and talented colleague. He is what every agent aspired to be. He will be missed greatly, and we will proudly carry on his legacy.” Once asked during his tenure with David Ogilvy Associates, how he would approach selling a $10 million house versus a $1 million house,” he replied, “Everybody’s house is their castle. We always mention that. The $1 million house is as important to that owner as it is to the $10 million house owner. I hope that everybody who buys a house loves the house. That’s why we’re in the business. As a company we work very hard finding the right house for the right person, so it is a love affair.” Ogilvy was also proud of his town

JLG Thirty-six local third grade girls attended the Junior Leag ue of Greenwich (JLG) program Posit ivelyMe! over t he weekend. PositivelyMe! w a s d e ve l o p e d b y t h e JLG to provide 8 & 9 year old girls with the skills to be conf ident, make good decisions, be assertive, express themselves and to cope with peer pressure and bullying. The fun-filled weekend has one key message for the girls “You are strong in mind and body, be kind, follow your passion and always be Positively Me!”. This message is reinforced t h r ou g h f u n a c t i v it i e s such as karate, where girls break boards symbolizing break ing throug h their fears, and yoga where they learn the strength of mind and body. Two more sessions are planned for this year: March 6/7 and Apr. 3/4. For more information on how to be added to the waiting list, or to be notified about next year’s sessions visit: www. jlgreenwich.org.

IMPACT FFC Impact Fairfield County (Impact FFC) held the 3rd of its Impactful Conversation series this morning at HAYVN in Darien to discuss Meaningful Philanthropy with a panel of 4 philanthropic leaders in our community. Impact FFC, now in its 5th year of grant giving, began Impactful Conversations a year ago as an opportunity for members to take a deeper dive into the issues they are af fecting w ith their g rant giving. Drawing over 70 Impact FFC members from ever y corner of Fairf ield County, the event brought its growing membership together to both learn from and meet with fellow philanthropists. The topic of meaningful philanthropy is particularly timely as Impact FFC embarks on a 5 Ye a r A n n iver s a r y Grant to pilot a new grant stream supporting a Core Mission Grant to expand or strengthen existing programs of local nonprofits. Currently, Impact’s $100,000 Impact Grants support new programs or the significant expansion of existing programs. This $50,000 Anniversary Grant provides an opportunity for the 7 previous Impact FFC finalists who did not receive a $100,000 Impact Grant to apply for restricted funds.

and spent considerable time working to conserve its historic houses and properties. He served on the Advisory Council of the Greenwich Historical Society, and was former president of the Greenwich Land Trust, and a longtime supporter of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy. His efforts were also instrumental in conserving the Pomera nce -Tuch ma n prop er t y i n Cos Cob nex t to t he Mont gomer y Pinetum, and in the town’s acquisition of the Laddins Rock Preserve in Old Greenwich. He was f irst recipient of Audubon’s Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award. W it h h i s p r o f i l e o f g ra c e a n d generosity in his service to his community Ogilvy was honored as one of only two recipients ever to receive the Boys & Girls Club National Medallion award. The list of his non-profit support goes on and on, but one has to add his being chosen Harpoon Club Honoree. He was actively involved in supporting t h e M u l t i p l e M ye l o m a R e s e a r c h Foundation. Whatever organization he loved, he left it in a better place. A graduate of Brunswick School, Ogilvy had attended Greenwich Country Day School that would honor him with their Distinguished Alumni Award. With a love of sailing, he would serve as Commodore of the Belle Haven Yacht Club. He leaves behind his devoted wife Anne, daughters Melinda Fairf ield Ogilvy, and Charlotte and Wells Poler. In addition, he is sur v ived by his stepchildren from his first marriage, Fridolf, William, Stillman and Christopher Hanson. David Ogilvy will be remembered tomorrow, Saturday, at 3 p.m. at a memorial service at Christ Church Greenwich, 254 East Putnam Avenue. His obituary can be found on page 8.

At top: David dancing with his beloved daughter Field. Bottom left: David and wife Anne sharing a familiar pastime of skiing. Bottom right: A phenomenal fundraiser, David Ogilvy helped raise $11.5 million in 100 days for the Tree Tops Project to save the the Mianus River park.

Column: On My Watch

The Proof Positive Power of AA in Our Town

Bandaged in a Wheelchair

By Anne W. Semmes Seeing the outstanding HD performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” in downtown Greenwich, was a treat - and a caution. There are themes that opera addresses, based on a book written nearly a century ago, still with us, poverty, blackwhite inequality, and addiction. It’s the last ill that resonates. It is so heartbreaking seeing a beautiful and beloved girl in her thirties making all the wrong choices for herself, because of her addiction. For sure, there are families in this town that struggle with someone addicted, and many of those addicted are seeking help. I often see the parking lot filling up at Christ Church Greenwich for one of a dozen 12-Step meetings occurring of which 10 are Alcoholic A n o ny m o u s (A A) m e e t i n g s . Add seven other churches in tow n fou nd l isted on t he A A meeting schedule (https://ct-aa. org): Greenwich Baptist Church, Diamond Hill United Methodist Chu r ch, St. Pau l’s Episcopa l Church, Saint Saviour’s Episcopal Church, First United Methodist

By Jill S. Woolworth, LMFT

AA and Al-Anon co-founders Bill and Lois Wilson in the back garden of their home, “Stepping Stones.” Photo credit: Bill & Lois Wilson at Stepping Stones. ©Stepping Stones Foundation Archives, Katonah, NY, www.steppingstones. org. Used with permission. Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church, St. Catherine’s Church, and one at Greenwich Hospital. (And note, there’s an Addiction Recovery Center at Greenwich Hospital.) A A most certainly has a significant imprint in our town. I learned recently that one of the very earliest AA meetings was

held at Christ Church, and then came the discovery of a pioneering alcoholics treatment at Blythewood Sanitarium in Cos Cob, but that comes later. The critical fact is alcoholism is on the rise around the world. According to a recent study cited by

continued on page 5

Visualizing difficult people in our lives as “injured” can often help us cope, because they truly are “injured” insofar as they relate to us. Of course, they don’t know this, and we have learned that telling them so doesn’t help either of us. Visualizing difficult people in humorous ways can also work. Imagining a boss as a petulant four-year-old with pigtails, a demanding parent as a mummy in a wheelchair, or an annoying relative as a hippo bellowing in the mud can help us smile instead of scream. Both approaches take away the power of the difficult person and calm our fearful brains. We can also limit our exposure to these people, showing only common courtesy unless the toxic relationship changes. We can pray for them from an emotional distance, and for ourselves as we seek wisdom to understand our own part in the dynamic of the relationship, the only part we can change. Christina pictured her controlling mother in a straitjacket. Jonathan pictured his angry father on a hospital bed with his leg in traction. Laura and Gabe pictured Gabe’s intrusive mother as a monkey banging two cymbals. These images kept them all from taking other people’s difficult behavior personally. Greenwich resident Jill Woolworth is the author of the book, The Waterwheel available locally at Diane's Books and Dogwood or at Amazon.

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