www.towntimes.com
Volume 26, Number 14
Friday, July 3, 2020
CEO recalls lessons learned at CRHS By Bronwyn Commins Special to Town Times
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a cute game which reminds us that our lives are all connected. If you are lucky, you might find yourself connected to ‘80s notquite-Brat-Packy star Kevin Bacon. If you are even luckier, you are connected to Lisa Larsen, subject of my previous article. Why is it better to be in the latter group rather than the former? Because a sense of confidence that arises from working with a talented teacher is the catalyst to success in any field, and much better – sorry Kevin – than a connection with the star of Footloose. Proof of that is found in the accomplishments of RSD13 alum Garrett Sheehan, a former chorus student, who is now the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce in New Haven. Sheehan and I discussed his work via a phone call in June. Sheehan endeavors to do for New Haven County what the Economic Development Commission is doing for our community: supporting businesses in a fervent desire to achieve economic growth that is “so needed now.”
Not only is Sheehan’s work the same in objective, but it also makes him our neighbor in a sense, Sheehan working in a 15-town area that extends to Wallingford. Take a short ride down Route 68, and you are now in Garrett Sheehan territory. Sheehan grew up in Middlefield, and received an education that he said “set me up to do well.” Doing well is an understatement. Not only is Sheehan a CEO, he also served as president of the Connecticut Economic Development Association, overseeing a full-time staff, and has worked on the governor’s reopening council. Critical thinking, as Sheehan revealed, is integral to most occupations, and that’s just one of the skills he recalled having acquired in Regional District 13. Sports reporting was another, a passion that he pursued at Syracuse University, but nurtured at Coginchaug, where he worked at basketball games and broadcasted the morning announcements. This is See CEO, A11
10 honored by fair association The Durham Agricultural Fair Association would like to congratulate its 2020 Scholarship Award recipients. Due to the pandemic, the association held its award ceremony on the fairgrounds on Wednesday, June 24. Each year, the association receives applications and the committee votes on scholarship awards, making them available to Durham, Middlefield or Rockfall graduating seniors who will be attending institutions of higher learning as a freshman in the fall. The scholarship fund is derived from student ticket sales at the fair.
This year, the committee received 21 applications from students attending Coginchaug Regional High School, Mercy High School, Xavier High School, Middletown High School, Vinal Technical Criteria for these awards High School and Choate is based on community Rosemary Hall. Ten of the applicants were selected to spirit and involvement, receive scholarships: Eight demonstrated willingness to work to self help, from Coginchaug, one from scholastic ability and fi- Mercy and one from Xavier. nancial need.
The scholarship recipients are: Sara DePonte, Micala Fontanella, Julia Kosienski, Justin Penny, Timothy Rinaldi, Nathan Strang, Kerry Turecek, Lynna Vo, Molly Yale and Anna Ysuza. The Durham Agricultural Fair Association wishes the 2020 scholarship recipients the best of luck in their future endeavors. — Press Release
Durham voters go with incumbents in BOE election Durham residents came out to vote at Korn School to elect three members to the Regional School District 13 Board of Education on Tuesday, June 30.
Robert Moore, Christine Geraci and Norm Hicks were looking to keep their seats on the 10-person board, and they did so. The unofficial results show that Moore was
the top vote-getter with 523, followed by Geraci with 475 and Hicks 419. The three incumbents touted their experience in the
lead-up to last week’s election. Moore is BOE chairman, Hicks is secretary and Geraci serves as the board treasurer.
BOE candidates Kirstin Olszewski (394 votes), Phil Augur (320) and Jason Stone (312) did not earn a spot on the board. See BOE, A8