Darienites

YWCA Darien/Norwalk Invites Your Nominations for Women of Distinction Awards

TV79 to Broadcast ‘The Rebound,’ an Interview Show by Veteran Journalist Reena Ninan of Darien

George Reilly of Darien Elected President of Norwalk Community College Foundation

Darien Was Home To the Man Who Ran the Manhattan Project, Building the First Atomic Bombs

Susan Marks Named a 2020 Woman of Distinction by YWCA of Darien/Norwalk, Event This Fall

CNN Commentator, Hedge Fund Founder, Business CEO in Latest ‘Darien Neighbor’s, Global Players’ Speaker Series

Trump Nominates Darien Resident for Federal Judge Seat in New York

Darien Artist Rachel Peterson Selected as a New Exhibiting Member of Rowayton Arts Center

Dariens’ Carol Wilder-Tamme Gives a Backstage View of Preparing a Tournament of Roses Parade Float

Darienite Carol Wilder-Tamme Will Be on Mayflower Float in Rose Parade

Marc Thorne Passes Away, Weeks After Ending His Term as a Selectman

The Late Navy Veteran Richard Costello to be Honored With Street Sign at 12 Noon, Sunday

This Year’s Darien Old Timer’s Athletic Association Dinner Honors Several on Nov 11

The Late Richard Costello, a Navy Veteran, to be Honored With Street Sign

New Drug Treatment Building in Bridgeport Named After Sallyan and Steve Pelletier of Darien

Community Organizations

By DARIENITE.COM | March 17, 2021

Darien TV79 2020

By DARIENITE.COM | December 7, 2020

Darienites

By DARIENITE.COM | October 16, 2020

Darien History

By David Gurliacci | August 23, 2020

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By DARIENITE.COM | April 15, 2020

Darien Community Association

By DARIENITE.COM | February 27, 2020

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By David Gurliacci | February 26, 2020

Arts & Entertainment

By DARIENITE.COM | February 21, 2020

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By DARIENITE.COM | December 30, 2019

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By DARIENITE.COM | December 24, 2019

Darienites

By David Gurliacci | December 17, 2019

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By DARIENITE.COM | November 2, 2019

Community Organizations

By DARIENITE.COM | October 14, 2019

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By DARIENITE.COM | September 26, 2019

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By DARIENITE.COM | September 18, 2019

wide Women of Distinction YWCA Darien/Norwalk

The YWCA Darien/Norwalk is seeking nominations for women who epitomize leadership in the areas of racial equity, social justice, and have worked to strengthen our community during this pandemic for their 12th Annual Women of Distinction Awards. — an announcement from YWCA Darien/Norwalk

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to hold last year’s Women of Distinction Award Ceremony to formally honor the six phenomenal women selected. During the 2021 event, the YWCA will honor those six women, in addition to at least one additional woman and one young woman of distinction. The event will be held in early June and will be an intimate in-person event coupled with a live stream. The 2020 honorees were, Kim Dickinson, Susie Flaherty, Shieva Ghofrany, Susan Marks and Shelly Skoglund along with Young Women of Distinction Lily Genovese.

The Rebound video Reena Ninan Zack Skow 2020

On Friday night, Darien TV79 will start broadcasting a local TV journalist’s new show, “The Rebound,” a short interview program celebrating the resilience of people who have excelled at overcoming terrible setbacks. Reena Ninan, a Darien resident, has been an award-winning broadcast journalist on major networks, including four years at CBS News, which followed her time at Fox News, ABC News and the Washington Post. Darien TV79 is the first broadcast station to air her latest project, “The Rebound,” a series of programs that Ninan started putting on Youtube in October. The episodes last about 15 minutes and new ones will appear at 8 p.m. on Friday nights, starting this Friday, Dec. 11.

George Reilly square thumbnail NCC Foundation 10-16-20

The Norwalk Community College Foundation is pleased to announce the election of George A. Reilly of Darien, an attorney with the Rucci Law Group, as president. — an announcement from Norwalk Community College Foundation

Reilly is now also a member of Darien’s Planning & Zoning Commission and Blight Review Board. He has been involved in a number of public service organizations, especially involving education. He was a trustee of his high school alma mater, King School in Stamford, and served as president of its board for seven years. He was a member of Darien’s Board of Education for eleven years, and he has served on the NCC Foundation for eight years.

After Albert Einstein convinced President Franklin Roosevelt that an atomic bomb could and should be built during World War II, the government turned to Gen. Leslie Groves, a brash, brusque and brilliant army officer to get it done. He succeeded in organizing and administering the project that built the two deadliest weapons ever used by mankind, resulting in the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But the same personality and tactics that helped him burst through bureaucratic obstacles to get the job done during the war proved fatal to his own post-war career in the Army. After Dwight Eisenhower gave him the results of a devastating job evaluation, Groves was out the door in February 1948. That’s when he took a job heading up research for one of the earliest computer companies, Remington Rand, and bought a newly built house that still stands today at 9 Dellwood Road in Darien, a short commute to the site of his research division in Rowayton.

Susan Marks 2020 Women of Distinction Woman of Distinction

Recent Darien Selectman Susan Marks, a Laurel House board director, former Laurel House “Town Champion,” will be honored by the YWCA of Darien/Norwalk for their 2020 Women of Distinction Award in the fall. — an announcement from Resources to Recover, Laurel House and the YWCA of Darien/Norwalk

Susan is a model for engagement in the community for strengthening families and advancing opportunity for women and girls. She has not only promoted the causes of family wellness and women’s mental and physical health, but engages others in the causes she promotes with her energetic and personable approach. Susan’s work on the Laurel House Board of Directors includes increasing access to mental health services to individuals in Darien and to their families. She has actively promoted events in Darien, which give visibility to expert mental health service and encourages families to talk about mental health as a cause that affects every family.

The latest “Darien Neighbors, Global Players” speaker series includes SE Cupp, a commentator with a show on CNN; Steve Mandel, the founder of the Lone Pine Capital Investing hedge fund; and Ian Murray, founder and CEO of Vineyard Vines. The three-lecture series starts on March 31 and concludes on April 28 at the Darien Community Association. Tickets are on sale now. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association

Darien Community Association’s executive speaker series highly-acclaimed series returns with leaders and innovators who call (or have called) Darien their home. You may know them as friends and neighbors — but they are also some of the most successful leaders and innovators in their respective fields.

Jennifer H. Rearden Darien nominated for federal judgeship

Darien resident Jennifer H. Rearden, a New York City attorney with experience litigating complex commercial cases, was nominated earlier this month by President Trump for a seat in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Her nomination must be approved by the U.S. Senate before being seated as a judge in the district, which covers all New York state counties from Manhattan and the Bronx in the south to Dutchess, Orange and Sullivan counties in the north. Rearden, 49, is a partner in the litigation and crisis management practice groups at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP in New York, according to the White House announcement on Feb. 12. In her past cases with Gibson Dunn, according to the law firm’s website, Rearden has represented “clients in complex commercial litigation, including major fraud and contract cases, large sales tax matters, and disputes with states and municipalities, as well as internal investigations.

The Rowayton Arts Center announces the selection of a new exhibiting member, Rachel Peterson of Darien, who was juried in last January. — an announcement from Rowayton Arts Center
To become an exhibiting member, an artist submits works to be reviewed by the Artist Selection Committee, which meets three times a year, in January, May and September. Artists who are selected for three of the six RAC juried exhibits within a two-year period are also eligible for exhibiting member status. There are currently almost 200 exhibiting members. About Rowayton Arts Center
RAC celebrates the study, creation and appreciation of the arts through classes, exhibitions and events open to all in the community.

Float flowers Rose Parade Mayflower 2020 Carol Wilder-Tamme

Carol Wilder-Tamme is on an adventure, and appearing in the Tournament of Roses Parade this Wednesday, Jan. 1, in Pasadena, California is just one part of it. She’s been posting pictures and descriptions about the preparations of the large Mayflower replica float being created by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants that she’ll be riding on, and you can follow along here. Wilder-Tamme has been posting pictures and messages on her “Stayin’ Alive” blog and gave Darienite.com permission to republish them. The work is sometimes difficult, may have a little risk (at least enough to demand that the volunteers pay attention to safety) and is resulting in a striking float, decorated with flowers and seeds, that commemorates the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower, which took some of Wilder-Tamme’s ancestors to Plymouth.

Rose Parade Float mayflower descendants Carol Wilder-Tamme

If you watch the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1, you’ll see a replica of the Mayflower, a float from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and Carol Wilder-Tamme of Darien will be on it. The “The Voyage of Hope~1620” float in the Pasadena, California parade will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower. “I’ve been selected to be a 17th century attired Mayflower passenger on the float,” Wilder-Tamme said. She sent in an eight-page application, which was accepted by the organizers.

Marc Thorne, who just ended his term as a member of the Board of Selectmen, passed away Monday morning, a day after suffering a severe stroke. His obituary: Marc Thorne, 81, Selectman, Volunteer, Brought ‘Enthusiasm, Kindness and a Gentle Spirit’ (Dec. 17)
“We are all still shocked at the news of Marc’s passing,” First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said. “There are certain people whose warm presence you can always count on and Marc and Barbara Thorne are two of those people. “They care so deeply for our community and each other and have been an inspiration and role model for so many.

The Monuments and Ceremonies Commission of Darien invites the public to a street sign unveiling to honor World War II and Korean War veteran Richard F. Costello at 12 noon on Sunday Nov. 3, 2019 at the corner of West Avenue and Moore Street. “People of all ages are welcome to celebrate our hometown wartime veteran and the Costello Family,” the commission said in a news release. “Consider a carpool, walk or ride to help with parking space.” “Darien is proud to honor the Costello family for their involvement in the town of Darien and for their service to country,” the Monuments and Ceremonies Commission said in an announcement.

Honorees at this year’s Darien Old Timers Athletic Association dinner on Monday, Nov. 11 are Jay Chandler, Bryan Lindner, John Miceli, Matthew Criscuolo, Lisa Lindsey, and David Ott. The dinner, which celebrates “excellence and character, not just for a day — but always,” the group’s announcement said, will take place Monday, Nov. 11 at 6:15 p.m. at The Water’s Edge at Giovanni’s, 2748 Post Road, Darien. From the announcement:

“The purpose of this very popular dinner is to recognize the accomplishments of Darien athletes, coaches, and other individuals who support the opportunity for athletics to be part of the educational and community experience in Darien.

The Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission is happy to announce that the late Richard F. Costello, longtime resident of Darien, has been recognized as the next recipient of Darien’s Wartime Veteran Street Sign honor. — an announcement from the Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission

Costello’s name will be added to an existing street sign in time for Veteran’s Day, 2019. A ceremony and street sign unveiling will be held starting at 12 noon on Sunday Nov. 3 on Moore Street at its the intersection with West Avenue. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

« August 2022 »

A new, state-of-the-art outpatient treatment center for people recovering from substance abuse and mental health problems will be named after a Darien couple who volunteered and contributed to get it built.

Liberation Programs, in recognition of their contributions to the recovery community, is naming the new Pelletier Wellness Center in Bridgeport for Darienites Sallyan and Steve Pelletier at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 19. “The 11,000-square-foot center will increase access to treatment and support at a time when it is urgently needed, providing expanded and enhanced services and treatment for substance use and mental health disorders under one roof,” the drug-treatment organization said in a news release. “The Pelletier Wellness Center is a state-of-the art outpatient treatment center providing medication-assisted recovery, individual and family therapeutic counseling and support services to people seeking treatment for substance use and mental health disorders in Fairfield County,” the news release said. Nearly all — 98 percent — of Liberation Programs’ 750 clients in Bridgeport participate in medication-assisted recovery related to opioids, according to the organization.