Fonda helps Family Centers
Oscar-winning actress, activist and fitness expert Jane Fonda will speak at a benefit luncheon to support Greenwich-based Family Centers (also with offices in Stamford, Darien and New Canaan) Wednesday, March 5, noon to 2 p.m., at the Greenwich Hyatt Regency.
Fonda will discuss the many challenges today”™s teens face. All proceeds will benefit Family Centers”™ programs that offer counseling, support and education to thousands of Fairfield County children and adolescents.
Family Centers is a private, nonprofit organization offering education, health and human services to children, adults and families in Fairfield County. More than 2,200 professionals and trained volunteers work together to provide a wide range of responsive, innovative programs. Through three Centers of Excellence, children, adults, families and communities receive the care, encouragement and resources needed to thrive. The service network includes 14 licensed facilities, along with 10 other sites throughout lower Fairfield County. Each year, Family Centers serves more than 25,000 children, families and adults.
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New chairman at Waveny
Tom Lewis has been elected to succeed Jay Twombly as chairman of the board of directors for New Canaan-based Waveny LifeCare Network. Under Twombly, Lewis served as vice chairman and was an active member of Waveny”™s executive, finance, inn and compensation committees. Todd Lampert and John Zaro have been elected board vice chairman and treasurer, respectively, while Kelley Franco remains the board”™s secretary.
“With its relentless focus on quality, it is a privilege to serve such a forward-thinking and well-respected continuum of care like Waveny in this capacity,” said Lewis. “I look forward to working alongside our talented CEO, capable leadership team and strong board of directors to continue to meet the changing needs and preferences of seniors in New Canaan and the surrounding communities.”
“I am delighted to have Tom with us as Waveny”™s board chairman,” said Bill Piper, CEO of Waveny LifeCare Network. “He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and perspective, as well as a mission-driven sensibility to his position ”“ always with Waveny”™s best interests in mind.”
Lewis is a member of the major gifts fundraising committee for The Village, Waveny”™s assisted living residence for seniors with memory impairment that opened in 2001, a supporter of the capital fund that underpinned the YMCA of New Canaan”™s remake and a former president of the board of trustees for the New Canaan Nature Center. He serves on the New Canaan Conservation Commission and is both a trustee and finance committee member for the Maritime Aquarium of Norwalk.
First County opens nonprofit grant process
Stamford-based The First County Bank Foundation announced the availability of its 2014 grant application for nonprofits in lower Fairfield County. The deadline for submitting standard grant applications is March 31.
To be eligible, organizations must have nonprofit tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and serve the communities of Stamford, Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk or Westport.
Applicant organizations must support community and economic development, increase the availability of affordable housing or support quality of life and educational enrichment for families and children. Since the First County Bank Foundation was formed in 2001, it has awarded close to 900 individual grants exceeding $5.8 million. Grant applications are available on the bank”™s website at: firstcountybank.com/application-process.
“As we enter a new year, we look forward to receiving and evaluating applicants and awarding grants we know will help towards the betterment of our community,” said Katherine Harris, vice president of the First County Bank Foundation and president and COO of First County Bank. “As the needs of our local community continue to increase, so does our commitment to find nonprofit organizations that are first-time grant applicants.”
As a mutual bank with no shareholders, First County Bank considers contributions made by the foundation a means of paying dividends back to the local communities it serves.
First County Bank has 15 branches in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk and Westport. It employs more than 220 and maintains assets in excess of $1.3 billion.
Osterberg expands with Big Apple office
Stamford-based law firm Osterberg L.L.C. has added an office in New York City at 112 West 34th St.
Founder Eric Osterberg said, “I am very pleased to have secured space in New York. I have many clients in the city so it is nice to have a place to meet with them or work for the day when I have a client meeting or court date.”
Osterberg handles the full range of commercial litigation, but focuses primarily on IP litigation.
Osterberg also serves as “outside general counsel” to startups and assists a variety of businesses by handling projects in-house counsel is too busy to manage. He helps companies identify which of their legal challenges and opportunities require immediate attention and which can be addressed later. Osterberg is licensed in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.
Bruce salutes giant among shutterbugs
Bringing new light to the work of a pioneering news photographer, a new show titled “Ed Clark: American Photojournalist” features images from the golden age of print media. The show runs Feb. 1 to June 1 at the Bruce Museum”™s 1 Museum Drive mansion. This shot of him is from The Nashville Tennessean newspaper.
From politics to the rhythms of small town life, from movie stars to the working class, the show includes more than 40 photos from the Clark collection, part of the Meserve-Kunhardt Foundation in Pleasantville, N.Y. The exhibition is underwritten by The Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund. Support also came from the Meserve-Kunhardt Foundation and Brown Brothers Harriman.
Wordsmith joins PR firm
Former Journalist Gerald “Jerry” McKinstry has joined Thompson & Bender, a regional public relations, advertising, marketing and social media firm in Briarcliff Manor as senior account executive.
McKinstry, a Fairfield County resident, served as political correspondent for The Journal News/Lohud.com in Westchester County, N.Y., with a focus on county government and as a columnist and editorial board member at Newsday. An award-winning writer, he is known as an astute political analyst working with regional print and electronic news outlets. He currently hosts a weekly radio program focusing on government and politics and has taught college-level journalism.
A leap from banking to insurance
Shelton-based DiMatteo Group, which dates to 1960, recently hired Christine Libby, of Ansonia as a commercial lines assistant. In her new position, she provides assistance to DiMatteo Group”™s commercial lines support staff. Among her responsibilities, she maintains the group”™s incoming commercial lines insurance policies; prepares certificates of insurance; and reaches out to insurance companies regarding open insurance claims.
Prior to joining DiMatteo Group, Libby has some 10 years”™ experience in the banking industry, during which she worked as a mortgage specialist at First Niagara Bank in New Haven and as a loan processor at Wachovia in Shelton.
Cancer surgeon takes reins at SVSH
Stuart G. Marcus, a specialist in gastrointestinal cancer surgery, was recently named president and CEO of St. Vincent”™s Health Services (SVHS) in Bridgeport, including the 391-bed St. Vincent”™s Medical Center there.
SVHS is a member of Ascension Health, the nation”™s largest Catholic and largest nonprofit healthcare system.
In addition to the hospital in Bridgeport, the St. Vincent”™s umbrella consists of St. Vincent”™s College, St. Vincent”™s Special Needs Services and St. Vincent”™s Medical Center Foundation.
Marcus most recently served as president of St. Vincent”™s Medical Center and as executive vice president of SVHS. He led the development of the Elizabeth M. Pfriem Swim Center for Cancer Care at St. Vincent”™s, which opened in 2010.
