Occupation: I am retired from the Exxon Corporation where I was a marketing representative, and also from Prudential where I was an insurance agent. Most recently, I helped my son out with his painting business. I’ve also been part owner of Winemakers Distributors. From mid-‘67 to mid-‘68, I served in Vietnam. I was a captain in the Army.

Family: My wife, Corrine, is a reading teacher at Newtown Middle School. We have two sons, Aaron, who lives here in Newtown with his wife and new baby, and Bruce, who is a captain in the Air Force in Atlanta, Ga. Our two grandchildren are 13-month-old Lydia, and Bruce and his wife’s baby boy is Rohan, 4 months old.

Pets: We have a pet goose, Daisy, right now. We’ve had her for ten years. She has raised two babies that my son now has. Geese are not really friendly, but they are good watchdogs. We lost our dog and cat recently to old age.

How long have you lived in Newtown? I was born in Newtown, and went to Hawley School and to the middle and high school here when the high school was where the middle school now is. When I was in third grade Hawley had reached capacity, so the third graders went to school in a little house in Sandy Hook Center. I went to kindergarten at St Rose, because public school had no kindergarten at the time. I was away for a while, and have been back in Newtown since 1985.

What do you like to do in your free time? I’m the president of Cullen’s Youth Association, and have been for about 15 years. I’m also still involved with Boy Scout Troop 70 and have been the troop’s committee chair for the last four years. I’ve been a Scoutmaster three different times, and a Webelo den leader, too. I’ve also been involved with the Republican Party over the years and I’m a deacon at Bridgewater Congregational Church. Primarily for recreation I like to fish and I like to go to the beach. I do quite a little bit of reading, especially periodicals and at any time I’m reading at least one book.

What book are you reading now? The Forbidden Mountain, an historical fiction novel about Stonehenge. It’s about why Stonehenge was built and the tribe that built it, at least the author’s idea of that. I also read a lot of books about Native Americans. My mother was part Mohawk and my father was part Blackfoot Sioux.

Do you have a favorite vacation destination? Lake Champlain, for the fishing. It’s quiet, and not real crowded. It’s not so cold that you can’t swim in it, either. We go to North Hero, an island in Vermont that is part of the Lake Champlain isles. As a family we’ve gone to Point Judith in Rhode Island for eons.

What is the biggest change you’ve seen in Newtown? The population. It has increased tremendously, and the number of houses built has increased dramatically, including where the houses are built and the types of houses. Newtown used to be middle class with 2,000-square-foot houses and now they don’t even build them that small. This has detrimentally affected the environment and the wetlands here.

What is the best thing about Newtown? I do appreciate Troop 70 still being in existence and being able to help them and help Cullen’s. And I appreciate the many people in town who do a lot of work in town. I don’t think they get acknowledged as often as they should. I think we have a fairly decent school system. We have done a pretty good job keeping the standards up even with the growth in town.

Do you have a personal philosophy? I try to live by the religious principles of my church and as a Scout I try to live by Scout laws. I try to do good by the people I deal with. My overall desire is to help young people get ready for adult life.

What is the most important lesson you have learned? You will get a lot more out of something if you are doing it because you feel it is right to do so. There are many people that do the right thing, but for the wrong reason; they are trying to get something out of it for themselves. That bothers me.