The Resident’s most popular columnist, Bryan Golden, tells us on page 16 that, “Persistence is the key to successes. There may be those examples of instant successes, but they are few and far between. The one guaranteed route to failure is to give up.” Not giving up is a characteristic of a CHAMPION.
Meet our local champion Angela Arnold, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT’s 59th Citizen of the Year on page 7. Angela’s 32-year involvement in the community is greatly appreciated among community members and business partners. Come join in honoring Angela on May 5th.
UCONN Women are the Champions, again! Yes! Coverage on page 23.
It was Champion Delvin Rodriguez retaining his USBA Welterweight Title in the ring at Mohegan Sun after edging Shamone Alvarez. See coverage on page 23 by Resident boxing reporter Alex Pierpaoli.
Community Champions include CorePlus Credit Union on page 5; ShopRite gets ready for Earth Day on page 16; Students participate in National Nursing Home Week by reading to their pen pals on page 10; Old Saybrook Fire Department receives a grant from FEMA on page 9; Enjoy fish ‘n chips at the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society, Stonington Borough during Lent on page 15.
Finally, see what the local media, including the Resident has to say about ‘Change in the Media’ on page 17.
Thanks for reading the Resident, the Good News that Rocks! Please remember to patronize our advertisers as they’re helping to make the “good news” happen.
P.S. See you at the Mystic St. Patty’s Parade on March 22nd. Smile for the camera!
The CT Dugout Club was host to two baseball legends, Walt Hriniak, renowned hitting coach and Bill “The Spaceman” Lee, Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame inductee, at the Groton Inn & Suites. Walt is known for working with many of the great hitters, including: Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Dwight Evens, Wade Boggs and Frank Thomas.
Walt advises, “You don’t always have to hold onto the bat with both hands during the end of the swing.” “Dwight Evens, in the eighties, ended his swing with one arm and because of that he was able to rack up more offensive numbers.”
Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski was an average player. His two strong characteristics that helped make him a great player included never giving up and always hustling. The mistake that coaches make is that they pay too much attention to their star players and not enough attention to other players.”
Walt talked about Roger Lafrancios, Old Lyme resident and former Boston Red Sox catcher, as being one of those players with a great deal of talent. With a little more attention, he could have had a longer career.
Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, in an interview about Walt, “I can’t express what Walt has meant to me and my baseball career, but I’ll say that I’ve got so much from Walt that I can’t give back. Certainly, my winning batting titles are a reflection on him.”
Bill “The Spaceman” Lee took the stage and gave the audience of players, coaches and fans his humorous but accurate philosophies on baseball and how it should be improved. When asked about Jim Rice, Red Sox legend and recent inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame, “The Spaceman” replied, “The press is too critical to many of the ball players. The day they announced Jim Rice’s nomination, I said it’s about time!”
Bill ended his speech by giving great advice to the youth, Don’t focus yourself on one career. If you want to play ball, it’s great but find other things you like to do so that you can expand yourself.”
On Wednesday, March 4, Warren Scholl, CEO, CorePlus Federal Credit Union, presented a check in the amount of $4,212.92 to Keith Fontaine, VP of Corporate Communications, The William W. Backus Hospital, for the Breast Cancer Awareness Fund, during the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT Business After Hours.
“Credit unions are about people helping people,” said Warren. “Two years ago we asked what causes we should get involved in and the answer was Backus Breast Cancer Awareness.”
“Tonight we celebrate the importance of community,” said Keith. “We have a community champion in Angela Arnold [2009 Citizen of the Year and Director of Marketing and Business Development, CorePlus] and more recently a community champion in CorePlus. They are an absolutely fabulous partner in banking, but also in the fight against breast cancer and support as a comprehensive community center.”
After the presentation of the check, Donna Palumbo and Barbara Chiangi, co-chairs, Breast Cancer Survivor Committee, gave Warren a “pink hug” – a pink scarf. “I’m pretty in pink,” announced Warren.
On Sunday March 22nd, the 6th Annual Mystic St. Patrick’s Parade will kick off at 1:00 PM sharp. Over 100 marching units and twenty two marching bands will perform along the parade route from Mystic Seaport Museum to the Mystic Art Association. This year’s parade will be the host to no less than 12 Pipe Bands, more than any other parade in the state! This year were proud to host 3 local high school marching bands from Groton, Stonington and Westerly. In addition to these excellent musicians, we’re expecting 1,300 plus marchers including Irish Step Dancers, Fife & Drum Units, Military Drill Teams, Honor Guard Units from several local organizations and Drum & Bugle Corps. In addition to the musical units, the parade will also feature Classic Antique Cars, High-Tech Firefighting Equipment, Police Units, Scout Troops, and colorful floats designed and fabricated by area businesses. The Grand Marshal this year will be Edward Murphy, a local resident and businessman who is well known throughout the community. The Mystic Irish Parade Foundation would like to honor a very special man of Irish descent, Rev. Theodore J. Klein, with the title of Honorary Grand Marshall 2009.
The parade is funded by proceeds from events organized by the Mystic Irish Parade Foundation, the generosity of local business sponsorships and individual sale of raffle tickets. Surplus funds are donated to local charities. Last years donations included the Southeastern CT Women’s Center, Mystic Flag Pole Committee, Boy Scouts of America, Groton and Stonington Police Benevolent Associations, Centro de la Communidad of New London, Groton Parks and Rec., Mystic YMCA and Society of St. Edmund’s Retreat Center.
Major event sponsors for the 6th Annual Mystic St. Patrick’s Parade include Levine Distributors, F&F Distributors, 106.5 WBMW and Jammin’ 107.7. For more information, or to become a volunteer, please visit our website at www.mysticirishparade.org.
The Resident’s most popular columnist, Bryan Golden, tells us on page 16 that, “Persistence is the key to successes. There may be those examples of instant successes, but they are few and far between. The one guaranteed route to failure is to give up.” Not giving up is a characteristic of a CHAMPION.
