Chamber, Rotary Event—

A Tribute To Businesses

That Give Back In A Big Way

By John Voket

At one time or another, virtually every local business is asked to help, or selflessly provides its products, services, or staff volunteers, to support the many charities and community causes that make it nicer to live in Newtown. But every year, the Newtown Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce go the extra mile for businesses that do the same.

March 25 marked the ninth Annual Business of the Year awards ceremony, and as one of the evening’s hosts put it, “The selection process was particularly difficult this year as there were many businesses that were very deserving of recognition for their outstanding efforts.”

While six contenders rose to the rank of finalists — three in the large and three in the small business categories — it was chiropractor Della Schmid and restaurateur Angleo Marini of Sal e Pepe who walked off with top honors for 2012.

Carrie and Tom Swan of Black Swan and Dental Associates were also finalists in the large business category, while Eunice Laverty of Bagel Delight and Jim Marcucilli from Berkshire Motors were finalists in the small business class.

Although it took just a few seconds to recognize each eventual honoree, the real essence of what the Business of the Year event is all about came during the nearly 30 minutes it took the four presenters to rattle off just some of the ways the six finalists gave back to the community in the past year.

Rotarian Larry Gardner of The Alternative Board, Tim Haas of the Haas Insurance Agency and president of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce, Rotarian Ken Harper of Booth Financial Associates, and Sharon Maynard of the Savings Bank of Danbury each took their turns at the podium trying to sum up a year’s worth of community service in just a few moments.

Willing To Help

In describing small business class finalist Bagel Delight, Mr Harper said, “As sure as the flag on our flagpole flies, Eunice Laverty and her team at Bagel Delight are just as important as the flagpole in defining where we live and more importantly the type of people that we are and can be.”

Answering his own rhetorical question, “Why is Eunice so special?,” Mr Harper continued, “Because Eunice cares about you. She loves to give. Silently. Selflessly. This is what makes her a model of all that is good about Newtown.

“Eunice and Bagel Delight are champions,” Mr Harper continued, “Not because they win an award or a nomination, but because they teach us how to become better givers and better friends.”

Describing the community spirit of Mr Marcucilli, Mr Gardner said “Jim does his best to sponsor and donate to anyone who needs help, mostly charitable organizations, local churches, and the chamber.”

In 2011 alone Mr Marcucilli supported 30 different organizations in Newtown.

“Jim is located across from the high school and has always allowed them to hold car washes in his parking lot. In addition, he also offers free jump starts to cars parked at the high school,” Mr Gardner told the crowd. “Jim also mentors those students who want to choose a career in the auto repair field and allows them to come into his shop so he can show them the ropes.”

When Mr Marcucilli found it difficult over the years to volunteer a lot of time away from his shop and family, he also partnered with several other organizations in town collecting food for WIN during the Thanksgiving season and helping the Newtown Parent Connection to arrange various car wash fundraisers.

Dr Schmid Honored

Ms Maynard had the honor of introducing Dr Schmid, who was instrumental as co-founder and co- chairperson of Newtown Health & Safety Fair. 

 “She has volunteered on the Newtown Public Schools Wellness Committee since 2008 and the Newtown Health District Walk Around Newtown 2009 Committee,” Ms Maynard said. “She also chaired the Newtown Health Walk from 2004 to 2006 to raise money for the Newtown Health & Wellness Fund and to promote walking for health.”

 From 1995 to 1998, Dr Schmid served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce, and in 1996 she was elected as co-president of the Newtown Business and Professional Women.

In addition, Ms Maynard said Dr Schmid has served as a volunteer emergency medical technician for seven years, and has provided financial support to organizations including Kevin’s Community Center, Friends of Cyrenius Booth Library, the Newtown Junior Women’s Club, the Newtown Parks and Recreation’s Rooster Run, the Newtown Youth & Family Services Holiday Festival and Road Race, the Newtown Women’s Club, St Rose Church, and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Moving on to the large business class finalists, Ms Maynard brought up Dr David Kessler, representing Dental Associates.

Ms Maynard then ticked off a massive list of programs the practice provides in the area of public service, including: conducting a blood drive where they collected 27 units of blood; providing a drop-off location to collect Toys For Tots, and donating dozens of gift baskets to local charities; and collecting valentines to support troops.

 The finalist also conducts a candy buyback program after Halloween in an effort to decrease dental decay in children, sent needed dental supplies to South America, volunteered at Mission of Mercy, a two-day clinic for underprivileged children, handing out 1,500 toothbrushes and dental supplies to St Rose, and donating hundreds of mouth guards to local sport teams to prevent dental trauma.

  

Swan Family Philanthropy

Summing up an equally impressive roster of philanthropy, Mr Haas turned his attention to the Swans.

“Last year, Black Swan supported the advertising programs of numerous Newtown High School programs, donated several thousand dollars worth of gift certificates in support of fundraising efforts by various Newtown church and social organizations, served as a drop-off location for the Bikes for Kids program, sponsored a team for the annual Rotary Golf Tournament, donated Pancake Day tickets to the families of the Newtown Police Department, donated a grill for a fundraiser in support of an injured Monroe police office, an additional grill to support the volunteers cooking at the Dorothy Day House, and sponsored a team in the Newtown Women’s Softball League,” Mr Haas related.

He also singled out Carrie Swan, who served as president of the Newtown Rotary Club for the 2010-2011 term, and who helped put together the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity — or SHOP — when Black Swan first opened there. He also pointed out that Tom Swan is active with the Knights of Columbus, and is involved with his church’s Government Affairs Committee to help facilitate the understanding of the uses of alternative energy and consumption, and is also involved in the alternative pellet fuel industry.

Mr Harper was designated to welcome Mr Marini, who was a three-time Business of the Year nominee.

“We typically receive multiple nominations for Angelo, something we feel is a reflection of the many people he has touched and helped here in Newtown,” Mr Harper said.

As a member of the chamber, Mr Marini was instrumental in the creation of the Newtown Bucks program, and has supported local school and athletic programs, The Newtown Scholarship Committee, local churches such as St Rose, and Kevin’s Community Center, to name just a few. And his “Give A Gift, Get A Gift” campaign for the benefit of The Rett Syndrome Research Foundation was created with his goal to personally raise more than $100,000.

“Angelo has promoted a culture of giving to the community within Sal e Pepe,” Mr Harper concluded. “It’s very clear that he and his staff truly enjoy helping whoever, wherever, and whenever they can.”