Vincent Donald Hersam Jr., a prominent figure in Fairfield County”™s media industry and a longtime civic leader in New Canaan, passed away on Aug. 31 at the age of 92.
Hersam was born in New Canaan on Nov. 27, 1930, and attended the University of Connecticut before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1951. Following his discharge in 1955, he returned to his birthplace and began working at the New Canaan Advertiser, a newspaper founded by his grandfather. He took over his family”™s business, the Hersam Publishing Co., in 1966 following his father”™s death.
Hersam Publishing merged with the Acorn Press in 1997 and became Hersam Acorn Newspapers. The company had grown into eight weekly Fairfield County newspapers before it was acquired by Hearst Connecticut Media Group in 2018. Hersam was active in media industry trade organizations, serving on the boards of the New England Press Association, Suburban Newspapers of America and the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Outside of the media industry, Hersam was elected New Canaan Town Treasurer in 1965 and held that position until he stepped down in 2013. He was also a member of New Canaan Fire Company No. 1 since 1950 and served as its chief from 1967-69. He also served on the board of directors for the New Canaan Savings Bank and for New Canaan”™s Chamber of Commerce and Historical Society.
