WHS Auction Raises $18,000

The evening of November 18^th was frosty and clear, but inside Central Street Antiques, which had donated space for Windsor Historical Society’s auction, it was warm and cozy. Displayed on tables throughout were beautiful baskets, jewelry, toys, collectibles, certificates to vacation homes, beautiful artwork and crafts, and much more donated by Windsor Historical Society members, friends, and Windsor businesses. Local restaurants and package stores had donated wine and food platters. Eight volunteers from Windsor Federal waited at the registration desks and seven student volunteers from Windsor High School’s Key Club were poised to pass platters of delicious hot and cold hors d’oeuvres to auction attendees. We were ready!

Ticket sales had been slow, and staff and auction committee members were worried. Workers were still grabbing sustenance when the first auction goers started to arrive. A steady stream of people started circulating, bidding on silent auction items, and enjoying the food and the wine. Volunteer auctioneers Frank and John Carmon were amazed at the level of bids on silent auction items. The momentum continued as the live auction began, with friendly bidding wars driving prices up. At one point, our auctioneers asked people to donate $90 for school buses to bring Windsor school children to the Society; Sterling Viets, owner of Windsor’s Rainbow Bus Lines had offered to donate a free bus for every bus sponsored at the auction. Imagine the exhilaration when twenty bidders raised their cards to sponsor buses! The Society will certainly be busy with school groups over the coming year.

In the end, we exceeded our monetary goal. We raised $18,300, the most money that has ever come in from a Society fundraiser. Thanks to all the committee members, staff, volunteers, Society members, community business people, and bidders who worked so hard to make Windsor Historical Society’s auction such a success. For a full list of supporters, check the Society’s website: www.windsorhistoricalsociety.org.

The Society is located at 96 Palisado Avenue (Route 159) and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. General admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and free to children under 12 and WHS members. Call (860) 688-3813 or visit www.windsorhistoricalsociety.org for directions to the Society and more information about programs. To receive e-reminders for public programs, please send your e-mail address to JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING .

Easter Seals today announced a new partnership with the Comcast Foundation

Easter Seals today announced a new partnership with the Comcast Foundation that will expand assistive technology services at Easter Seals affiliates from Boston to Houston. The $250,000 Comcast Assistive Technology Grant Fund at Easter Seals will build on successful programs for people with disabilities and special needs by providing assessment, training and support designed to address their long-term technology needs.

The Comcast Foundation’s interest in strengthening communities, fostering diversity and opportunity, and creating a lasting impact aligns with the mission of Easter Seals to offer help and hope to people with disabilities and to the families who love them. The partnership created a competitive grant process that was open to select Easter Seals affiliates, seven of which were chosen to receive support from the Comcast fund.

“As the country’s largest provider of Internet services and a leader in efforts to close the digital divide, Comcast is dedicated to strengthening the path toward equality and full access for people with disabilities,” said Charisse R. Lillie, President of the Comcast Foundation. “We are happy to support Easter Seals on this new initiative.”

The Easter Seals local affiliate selected to receive the funds and their plans for the grants is:

• Easter Seals Capital Region, Hartford, CT, will establish a Mobility Development Lab. The lab will use high tech assistive technology to fulfill the dreams of individuals who have mobility- or paralysis- related disability. The technology will seek to restore or strengthen the ability to walk independently using functional electrical stimulation.

“We thank the Comcast Foundation for investing in assistive technology solutions for consumers with disabilities living in their communities,” says James E. Williams, Jr., president and chief executive officer, Easter Seals. “This new grant fund makes it possible for Easter Seals to build on our long history of providing expertise and technology support for children and adults with disabilities who want to be more actively involved in school, in the workplace and with their families.”

About Easter Seals
Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs. For more than 90 years, we have been offering help, hope, and answers to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play in their communities. For more information visit www.easterseals.com

About the Comcast Foundation

The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities – promoting community service, expanding digital literacy and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $90 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/neighborhood. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.

Windsor Police Cadets Achieve at Law Enforcement Stations Day

The Windsor Police Department would like to recognize members of the Windsor Police Cadets for their outstanding achievements at Law Enforcement Stations Day, a competition held at the Municipal Police Academy in Meriden, CT on Saturday, May 5, 2012.

This year, the Windsor Police Cadets were awarded “3^rd Best Overall Post.” Approximately thirty-five posts from Connecticut and New York attended this year’s competition.

Individual and team awards received were as follows:

1^st Place

MOUNTAIN BIKING

SENIOR CADET KAYLA FACEY

1^st Place

ROBBERY RESPONSE

Cadet ACTING LIEUTENANT AARON TAPLIN

CADET SERGEANT PATRICK DOWD

2^ND PLACE

D.U.I.

Cadet ACTING LIEUTENANT AARON TAPLIN

CADET SERGEANT PATRICK DOWD

2^ND PLACE

FELONY STOPS

Cadet CAPTAIN NICK DILLON

CADET JELISA HARVEY

2^nd Place

OBSTACLE COURSE (FEMALE)

CADET AMBER FLAGG

(continued on back…)

2^ND PLACE

REPORTED ASSAULT

Cadet ACTING LIEUTENANT AARON TAPLIN

CADET SERGEANT PATRICK DOWD

2^ND PLACE

UNKNOWN RESPONSE (DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE)

SENIOR CADET KAYLA FACEY

CADET SERGEANT PATRICK DOWD

Also competing were SENIOR CADET JONATHAN ZAZZARO, CADET ACTING LIEUTENANT MIKE DECASPERIS, Cadet Acting SERGEANT Gabriel BAEZ, CADET JUSTIN MANN, and Cadet MATTHEW RIVERA.

2012 Windsor Shad Derby Parade & Green Festivities

Windsor, CT.  On Saturday, May 19th 2012, the Annual Shad Derby Parade and Festivities sponsored by the Windsor Jaycees since 1971, will take place in Windsor Center on the Town Green.   If you haven’t been to the Shad Derby in recent years, this is the year to return.  The Windsor Jaycees are celebrating the 40^th Anniversary of their involvement and it promises to be great day for all.

The Festival on the Green kicks off at 9:00 AM and runs until 4:00 PM.  These festivities include games, crafts, food and drink for all ages.  There is so much fun packed onto the Green that is easy to understand why thousands gather in Windsor every year for the Shad Derby.

The Shad Derby Parade will promptly start at 12:30 PM at Windsor High School.  The parade will conclude at the heart of the festivities at the Town Green approximately at 1:00 p.m.

ProFlowers to Contribute $10 to Easter Seals for Floral and Gift Purchases this Mother’s Day

Windsor, April 30, 2012– This Mother’s Day, make Mom smile with the gift of beautiful flowers while also making a difference in the life of a young child in Eastern Connecticut. From now through all of 2012, ProFlowers will make a $10 contribution to Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut for every purchase made online at www.easterseals.com/flowers. Funds raised through this partnership will support Easter Seals services for children with autism and other disabilities.  A wide variety of merchandise is available through the promotion, like fresh bouquets, tasty cake pops and sweet spring berries.

“As we celebrate moms everywhere and the good they do, ProFlowers.com and our parent company, Provide Commerce, are privileged to partner with Easter Seals to support the important work it is doing to help young children and families across the country,” says Provide Commerce Affiliate Marketing Manager Jeff DeBo. 

The online promotion will continue throughout 2012 to impact Easter Seals’ Make the First Five Count® initiative, designed to provide critical early intervention services to young children from birth to age five at risk of autism, developmental delays or other disabilities so they can start school on par with their peers, assuring the foundation they need for a lifetime of learning.  

As the nation’s leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs, Easter Seals knows that getting the right services at the earliest stage in life helps a child gain the skills he or she needs to be successful. 

“Every year, we as a nation fail to identify 1.5 million children under the age of five with autism, developmental delays or other disabilities” says Allen S. Gouse Ph. D, Executive Director, Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut.  “Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut is working to change that!  Our partnership with ProFlowers promises to generate valuable support to ensure children in the greater Hartford area and Eastern Connecticut are identified and provided the early intervention services they need through our Make the First Five Count® initiative.”

To order a Mother’s Day bouquet or other special treat and generate a $10 contribution from ProFlowers to Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut, visit www.easterseals.com/flowers. Orders can be placed through Saturday, May 12 for delivery on Mother’s Day. To learn more about Easter Seals’ commitment to families living with disabilities near you, visit www.hartford.easterseals.com.

About Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut

Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut is this region’s only outpatient provider of comprehensive rehabilitation services, integrating medical rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation and educational services within a single delivery system. Approximately 2,000 patients are served each year. With accreditation of our programs through CARF, the recognized accrediting body for rehabilitation providers, we provide services to children and adults with acquired, physical, developmental and/or mental disabilities. Our mission is to provide comprehensive medical and vocational services to people with physical, cognitive, developmental, and psychological disabilities in order to maximize their independence and self-sufficiency.

About ProFlowers®
ProFlowers, a Provide Commerce brand, launched its marketplace in 1998 to sell and deliver fresh cut flowers for everyday and special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, birthdays and anniversary events, through its website, www.ProFlowers.com. The company’s platform combines an online storefront, proprietary supply chain management technology and established supplier relationships to create a market platform that bypasses traditional floral supply chains of wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

About Provide Commerce®
Provide Commerce is a leading online provider of high quality gifts backed by superior customer service. The Provide Commerce family of brands offers fresh flowers, fruit and sweets from ProFlowers®, www.ProFlowers.com, Cherry Moon Farms®,www.CherryMoonFarms.com, Secret Spoon®, www.SecretSpoon.com and Shari’s Berries™, www.Berries.com. Most recently, Provide Commerce added RedEnvelope®,www.RedEnvelope.com, the place for unique and customizable gifts, to its family of brands.

Kiwanis Golf Tournament May 12

There is still time to take advantage of the early bird special and register for the Shad Derby Golf Tournament scheduled for May 12th at Traditions Golf Club in Windsor. The cost of regular registration is $140 but golfers registering before May 1st can do so for $125. This fee provides for 18 holes of golf with a cart, hole in one prizes, closest to the pin contest, box lunch, dinner, awards and goodie bag prizes for all participants. More details and registration form are available at www.WindsorKiwanis.org . For questions, please contact Jon Neagle at 860-683-0370 or via eMail at: JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING   Submitted by: Jim ParkerKiwanis Club of Windsor 860-688-0837                          

Windsor Chamber Cares a Success!

It was a magical evening at the Windsor Chamber Cares auction at Maneely's Banquet Facility last Friday.  A fun crowd, scrumptious hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and lots of exciting auction items made it a memorable experience. 
A new feature this year "You Want It, You Got It," similar to eBay's "Buy It Now," allowed auction-goers to buy a silent auction item outright by bidding 25% over the value.  It was a time-saver for those who really wanted a special item and didn't want to hover over the card.

The live auction was eventful with lively bidding on several of the 60 items including a two night stay at the Topside Inn at Boothbay Harbor in Maine.  The action was pleasantly paused for a few special items like the Arthur Murray Dance Lessons. Auctioneer Jerry Wistrom and his wife Maria, and Windsor Chamber president Paul Vagnini and his wife Maureen, graced the crowd with their dancing skills, learned at Arthur Murray.  Then the professionals got in the act with a swing dance that amazed the crowd.


"The annual Chamber auction is a great place to bring friends, neighbors, and business associates to share in the fun," says Bill Gombert Auction Committee Chair, "and to support our local non-profit organizations." Next year's auction is set for April 5, 2013. Mark your calendars now.  For more information call 860-688-5165 or go to www.WindsorCC.org

“98TH Anniversary PHI BETA SIGMA CONFERENCE

The GREATER HARTFORD CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU (GHCVB) welcomes 1,000 members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity to Hartford for a major conference and free public events. Sigma members – including International President Jimmy Hammock of Tennessee – are coming from 13 East Coast states and will stay in the Marriott Hartford Downtown, the Hilton Hartford, and the Residence Inn Downtown Hartford.

This is first time in 30 years that the Fraternity has held a major conference in NewEngland – the last time was in Hartford in 1982. The Sigma Men – college alumni and current college students alike -- will attend a wide variety of workshops and business meetings focusing on the Fraternity’s primary initiatives of social action, education, and bigger and better business.

Special programming will be offered for their spouses, and for the Sigma Beta Club youth auxiliary group -- in 1950, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity became the first Greek organization to develop a youth auxiliary group.

►►►CONVENTION PHOTO OPS INCLUDE:

THURS., APRIL 12: Official Welcomes from Gov. Malloy, State Treasurer Nappier, Hartford Mayor Segarra

6:30 p.m. in the Marriott Ballroom (members’ dinner begins at 6 p.m.)

SAT., APRIL 14:

Free Public Event: “Restoring our Purpose in the Community” - a Socially Conscious Call to Action

9:30 a.m. Phi Beta Sigma brothers and Sigma Beta Club will depart the Marriott and march to City Hall.

10 a.m. Inside City Hall, the Sigmas will be joined by community partners including Boys & Girls Clubs and the United House of Prayer to hear speakers on education, violence, and the role of men in the community, including broadcaster Ray Baker of Washington D.C., and the socially conscious poetry group Pitch Slap. Event is part of Fraternity’s social action and national initiative called “Conversation Among Brothers.”

SATURDAY, APRIL 14: Free Public Event: Small Business Expo & Market Place in the Marriott’s Ballroom

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Public invited as small minority-owned businesses introduce their products and services.

• Fraternity’s current Regional Director is Leonard Lockhart of Windsor, a Hartford native. – He is the
  first ever Regional Director from Connecticut;

• Conference Chair is Kelvin Ayala of Meriden; and

• Conference Community Liaison is George Jones of Windsor.

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND:

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, an international organization comprised of 150,000 college-educated men, focuses on issues that impact the youth and our communities. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders wanted to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.

For more information about the Convention including the Event Schedule, visit www.pbs2012erc.org