Honoring Former FFH Chairman

Fairfield Hills Authority members and town officials past and present, plus former authority Chairman Bob Geckle’s family and friends, gathered at the Newtown Meeting House October 28 to thank Mr Geckle for his many years on the authority.

Current authority Chairman John Reed, First Selectman Pat Llodra, former authority member Don Studley, and past first selectman Herb Rosenthal made speeches. Mr Reed presented a plaque that will be placed on a small boulder near the entrance to the campus.

Mr Geckle resigned from the authority in May 2010. He had said, “I have always contributed and believe in giving to the community in which I live.” He spent nearly ten years with the authority, which began as an ad hoc committee after the town made the decision to purchase the roughly 180 acres of former state hospital grounds and buildings in 2001.

He had also worked at the campus as a youth, where his father was employed. Mr Geckle’s Queen Street home overlooks the campus and former agricultural fields used by the facility.