Occupation: I’m retired now, but I was president of Alcoa Aluminum for years, which was originally our family business, Baker’s Choice Products. We made consumer paper products, including 22 million paper baking cups a day for cupcakes.

Family: My wife is Debbie, and we’ve been married for 31 years. We have four children, Jeffrey, who is a consultant in Greenwich, Jackie, who is a hair stylist at Salon Michele, Rick, a physical education teacher in Virginia, and Carolyn, who is a manager for Christmas Tree Shops.

Pets: We have Jackie’s Italian greyhound, Blitzen, with us. We just lost our German shepherd, Kazan. He was 11 years old and I really miss him.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We have been here for 31 years. We came to Newtown right after we got married. We lived on Flat Swamp Road for 13 years, and then moved to Bridge End Farm on Lake Zoar.

What do you like to do in your free time? When I retired, I thought I’d have a lot of free time, but then I got involved in a lot of things. I’m the financial chairperson for the United Methodist Church, and treasurer for FISH. I drive for FISH and for Meals on Wheels. I’m in the Lions Club, and until recently I was on the board for Wesley Learning Center. My wife chairs the annual church craft fair, so I help with that. When the weather is good, I like to take our pontoon boat out with friends on the water. I always have a book I’m reading, and I enjoy watching funny movies, like the old Peter Sellers movies.

What are you reading now? I’m just starting Michael Connelly’s latest book, Nine Dragons. He’s a mystery writer. I used to like Tom Clancy’s earlier books. One of my favorites is his novel, Without Remorse.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? Anywhere along a coast, with a beach. We’ve gone to Maine, Cape Cod, the Outer Banks, the east coast of Florida, and we like the Caribbean. One year we drove from Oregon up into Vancouver, Canada. We just meandered up the coast. That was a terrific trip.

What is the best thing about Newtown? There are two things: the people and the town itself. You can’t have one without the other. The flagpole, the scenery, and Main Street are beautiful. But then you go to somewhere like Relay For Life and see all of the people. People always seem to step up when someone is in need.

What are some of the changes you have seen in town? When we moved here the population was something like 19,000. Now it’s 27,000. You see the changes that go with population growth. Traffic on Main Street at rush hour — that’s the biggest change.

If you could spend the day with anyone, who would you choose? Probably my great-grandfather on my father’s side. I had only one grandmother living when I was growing up. My father always talked about spending time with his grandfather. He taught my father how to fish, and apparently was a real character around town. I would love to spend some time with him.

Do you have a personal philosophy? The Golden Rule, of course. If people really treated others the way they wanted to be treated, the world would be a better place. But also, you can replace most of the things you have except time. It’s important to make every day count, however you can.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? My wife’s chocolate chip cookies. Her cookies are crisp and never soggy, and just delicious.