Occupation: I sell electrical supplies. I work at Electrical Wholesalers, which was Dent Electric, started by my parents, until it was sold in 2001. I’m also actively involved with Trinity Church for 30 years and I’ve held nearly every office there, including warden. It’s a wonderful, warm, and welcoming place and is a great antidote for civilization that helps keep your values in perspective.

Family: My wife Amy and I have two daughters. Christina is 27 and lives in Greenwich. She works for Starwood, a hotel chain. Marissa is 30 and just graduated from Harvard with an MBA. She works for Bain Consulting in England. She is engaged to be married in April.

Pets: We had two Portuguese water dogs that died, and we haven’t replaced them. But we baby-sit Christina’s Shih Tzu, named Oolong. That’s the closest we get to a pet now.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We have lived here for 30 years. We moved in when Marissa was five days old.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love music of all kinds. I spend a lot of time in the car because of my job, so I listen to music and I listen to college courses on tape. I enjoy the outdoors. I’ve golfed all of my life, and I like to hike, as well.

Do you have a favorite golf course? I went to Ireland in September with seven other guys and we played seven courses in seven days. There was one course, Old Head in Southwest Ireland, County Kerry, that was incredible.

Do you have a favorite musician? Isaac Stern. I love the sound of the violin.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? That’s tough. We love to go a lot of places. Italy is great. We’ve been there five or six times. Three years ago we spent 19 days in Turkey and it was very exotic. We’ve been fortunate. We’ve been to Europe a number of times and even within the region there is so much to do. Of course, my favorite place is always the next place.

Do you have a hero? That would be my wife. She’s a three-time cancer survivor, but she continues to give back to the community. She was on the Board of Education for ten years, on the Legislative Council, and is on the Fairfield Hills Commission now. She remains optimistic and is always thinking of helping others.

Do you have a personal philosophy? St Benedict in the 6th Century created rules to live by for layman. It was a simple balance of life between work, play, prayer, rest, and recreation and I think he nailed it pretty well. If you keep all those in balance, you’re in pretty good shape. In modern terms, I guess you could say, “A little song, a little dance, a little ice cubes in your pants.” I think that was Garrison Keillor. 

Do you have a guilty pleasure? Ice cream. I love Dr Mike’s Rich Chocolate flavor. I indulge in it too often.