Month: May 2025 (Page 3 of 3)

Sep 30, 2025
Ned Lamont & Sean Scanlon, Governor and Comptroller
“2025–A Busy Year for Connecticut”

Sean Scanlon began his term as Comptroller in 2023, succeeding Natalie Braswell.

The son of a police officer and small business owner, Sean attended Guilford public schools and worked his way through high school and Boston College. After graduating, Sean returned to Connecticut with the goal of helping others. He began working as an aide for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy where he helped the Senator fight for gun safety and better health care, as well as addressing constituent concerns. In Guilford, he worked with neighbors to organize successful grassroots campaigns to build a new high school and institute a full-day kindergarten.

In 2014, Sean was elected State Representative for Connecticut’s 98th District. In the House, Sean became a champion for health care reform, a passion rooted in his own life experiences coming from a family that was often uninsured or underinsured.

As chairman of the legislature’s Insurance Committee, Sean wrote and passed legislation protecting people with pre-existing conditions from insurance discrimination, established the lowest monthly co-pay cap for insulin in the nation at $25, prevented insurance companies from covering mental health differently than physical health, required health insurance plans to cover ten “Essential Health Benefits,” and created Connecticut’s first prescription drug price transparency law.

During his fourth and final term, Sean served as Chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee where he led the fight to create tax relief for working families like the one he grew up in and worked with Governor Lamont to pass the largest tax cut in state history.

Outside of the legislature, Sean previously served as Executive Director of Tweed-New Haven Airport, where he secured a $100 million public-private investment deal, brought in a new air carrier, and created over 100 new community jobs.

Sean lives in Guilford with his wife Meghan, who is the President & CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, their two young sons Jack and Declan.

 

Ned Lamont was sworn into office as the 89th governor of Connecticut on January 9, 2019. He began his second term on January 4, 2023.

Lamont got involved in public service shortly after college, founding a weekly newspaper in a town hit by the loss of its largest employer. Covering town meetings and the Board of Selectmen, he helped to bring voice and transparency to a community working to recover from job losses and reinvent itself. Later, as a member of both the Greenwich Board of Selectmen and the Board of Estimate and Taxation, Lamont worked in a bipartisan effort to safeguard a multimillion-dollar budget and deliver results for constituents. For four years, Lamont also served as Chairman of the State Investment Advisory Council, overseeing a multibillion-dollar state pension fund.

Lamont started his own company, taking on the large and established giants of the telecom industry. Under his vision and stewardship, the company grew to serve over 400 of America’s largest college campuses and 1 million college students across the nation.

As a volunteer teacher, Lamont sought to give back to his community by volunteering at Harding High School in Bridgeport. In an effort to spark entrepreneurship, Lamont taught students about the inner-workings of small businesses, bringing in local businesspeople to share their own experiences, and helping to place students in local internships. Lamont is on the faculty of Central Connecticut State University as an adjunct professor of political science and philosophy, where he also helped to found a popular business start-up competition. In early 2009, he helped lead an initiative to bring together Connecticut leaders from across the business, nonprofit, and labor sectors to unite in a strategy to create new jobs in the state.

As a candidate for United States Senate in 2006, he stood up for his convictions and challenged the political establishment. Taking on long-time incumbent Joe Lieberman for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate, Lamont campaigned on the platform that wars in the Middle East were draining resources and attention that could be better focused on pressing domestic issues like the economy, education, and healthcare. As a private citizen, he fought for the issues in which he believes, serving on the boards of Mercy Corps and the Conservation Services Group, non-profits which seek to make a difference in the humanitarian and renewable energy fields, respectively.

Lamont was born on January 3, 1954, in Washington, D.C. to Camille Helene and Edward Miner Lamont. The eldest of three children, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and served as president of the student newspaper, The Exonian. After graduating Phillips Exeter in 1972, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Harvard College in 1976 and a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management in 1980.

Lamont married his wife Annie on September 10, 1983. They have three children: Emily, Lindsay, and Teddy.

Video of presentation

Sep 16, 2025
Terry & Judy Schmitt
“Biking is a Great Way to see a New Country”

Note— You are encouraged to invite your partner to this meeting.  Even better – ride your bike!

You, too, can bike all over the world!

Join Judy and Terry Schmitt as they seek to convince you that, no matter how old you are, you can enjoy an amazing vacation in wonderful places all over the world.

Judy and Terry have gone on three recent bike trips: in New Zealand, in Maine, and in the Netherlands.  These trips were all arranged through one company, Vermont Bicycle Tours (or, VBT, for short), but there are several companies out there that do the same thing:  create a wonderful vacation that combines some physical activity (biking) with a great deal of comfort, exploration, and wonderful food.

Even if you haven’t bicycled in decades, you can still consider a trip like this.  You do not have to be a “hard core” bicyclist to go.

Terry and Judy will show you some pictures from their recent trips, but mostly will try to convince you that, if you like the outdoors and you love to travel, this kind of trip might just be for you!

Video of presentation

Sep 9, 2025
Rick Ledwith, Vernon Riddick: W Htfd Town Manager & Police Chief
“Working with and Helping Neighboring Communities”

West Hartford Town Manager: Rick Ledwith

Rick Ledwith is the Town Manager of West Hartford, Connecticut, a full service municipality with a population of 64,083. West Hartford is an award-winning community known for its diversity, excellent schools and municipal services, and great quality of life. West Hartford has operated under the Council-Manager form of government since 1919, the first municipality in Connecticut and one of the first in the country to adopt this form of government.Rick has worked for the Town of West Hartford since 2001 in several capacities. Prior to being appointed Town Manager, he served as the Executive Director of Human Resources, where he has worked extensively with every municipal department as well as the West Hartford Public Schools.

Rick and his wife Tara have lived in West Hartford for 27 years and are proud to have raised three children in town.

West Hartford Police Chief:  Vernon Riddick

Vernon L. Riddick Jr. is the Police Chief of West Hartford since 2018 and has been in public safety for 29 years.  Prior to joining the West Hartford Police Department he served 24 years in the City of Waterbury, CT Police Department where he spent his last five years as Chief.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Tufts University and his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Post University.

Currently, Vernon is Vice-President of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and is a member of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council that oversees training and certification for police officers in the State of Connecticut. Chief Riddick is the President of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and an Adjunct Instructor at the University of New Haven.

Video of presentation

Memorial Day Parade 2025

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE INSTRUCTIONS

We are looking forward to your participation in the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 26, 2025.

For the most up-to-date information, visit the parade website: www.WestHartfordCT/MemorialDayParade.

If you have any questions on the parade day, look for our parade volunteers wearing green CERT shirts and yellow vests to guide you.

Please share these instructions with each member of your contingent.

The parade begins at 10:00 a.m. Participants should be in place NO LATER than 9:30 a.m.

You are DIVISION 2 – Assemble on Farmington Avenue west of Four Mile Rd. See map on page 3.

PARKING: On Memorial Day, free parking is available at all municipal parking lots and garages. The easiest lots to access are located on Brace Road and Town Hall. The lots on LaSalle Road/Arapahoe and Farmington Avenue may be difficult to access before the parade.

In preparation for the Memorial Day parade, starting at Midnight on Monday, May 26, the Town will implement a parking ban along the parade route. On-street parking will be prohibited on the west side of Pleasant St. from Whitman Ave. to Farmington Ave.; on Farmington Ave., both sides, from Walden St. to Raymond Rd.; and on North Main St. and South Main St., both sides, from Brace Rd. to Burr St.

The Town will lift the parking ban after the parade. Parking fees will resume on Tuesday, May 27, at 6 AM. For more information, go to www.westhartfordct.gov/Parking.

PARADE LENGTH: The parade is 0.69 miles long. It begins on Farmington Avenue at Woodrow Street and ends at Town Hall, 50 South Main St. Buses may pick up their groups at Town Hall.

WEAR/BRING: Wear comfortable shoes, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Bring water and your patriotic spirit. Bring a banner that identifies your group, if available.

RESTROOMS: There are no public restrooms in the five-division line-up areas. However, coffee shops and restaurants on Farmington Ave., South Main St., and LaSalle Rd. will be open.

You Are On TV: West Hartford Community TV will broadcast the parade live from the Veterans Memorial, located at the corner of South Main St. and Farmington Ave. Wave to the camera!

WEATHER: Information will be posted on the parade webpage if the parade is canceled due to inclement weather. Go to www.westhartfordct.gov/MemorialDayParade. There is no rain date.

QUESTIONS: Call Renée McCue at (860) 913-5149.

Line of March: From the intersection of Woodrow Street and Farmington Avenue, the parade shall march east on Farmington Avenue to South Main Street.  The parade shall turn south and march on the east side of Unity Green on South Main Street.  The parade shall turn left into the Town Hall parking lot to be dismissed by Leaders.

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