Mark teaches history at Norwalk Community College for  the Lifetime Learners Institute, four courses:  1)  The  Turning Points of World War II; 2)  The Great Patriotic  War:  The Titanic Clash Between Nazi Germany and the  Soviet Union; 3)  World War I and 4) Iraq:  A History.

In May 2005, Mark was presented with a General Assembly  Citation by both houses of Congress in Hartford, for his efforts in  commemorating the centennial of battleship Connecticut.  He is an avid speaker on a variety of historical topics.

Nov 22

Thanksgiving week – no meeting

Nov 29

Arlo Ellison 

Minutes of Ellison

Arlo Ellison is  a Westport resident and native of Colorado,  is President and CEO of Reliable Silver Corporation in Waterbury. His career in engineering has included assignments in Australia, Asia, and Africa. He was the President of the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club and currently serves on the Board of Directors of: the Connecticut Development Authority; the Connecticut Brownfield’s Redevelopment Authority; the Isaiah 61-1 prisoner reentry program; and the Westport/Weston Family Y.  He has been active in Westport youth sports leagues and the Saugatuck Congregational Church. His presentation will be a fascinating story about manufacturing in our Nutmeg State, his own business growth here,  and some personal observations about our wonderful community.

Dec 6

Charles Grodin

Minutes of Grodin

Charles Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski‘s Rosemary’s Baby in 1968. In the 1970s he moved into film acting, including playing the lead in The Heartbreak Kid and a supporting role in Catch-22. He became a familiar face as a supporting actor in many 1980s Hollywood comedies, including Midnight Run, Taking Care of Business, Seems Like Old Times, The Great Muppet Caper, The Woman in Red, The Lonely Guy, Ishtar and The Couch Trip. He is probably best known for his role as George Newton in the 1990s John Hughes comedy franchiseBeethoven.

Grodin has won several acting awards, including American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for 1993’s Dave, Best Actor at the 1988 Valladolid International Film Festival (for Midnight Run). He was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Heartbreak Kid in 1972. He also shared a 1978 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for his work on The Paul Simon Special.

In the mid 1990s, Grodin became a talk show host on CNBC and in 2000 a political commentator for 60 Minutes II. He has written several autobiographical and acting related works, including 1990’s It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here: My Journey Through Show Business and 1994’s We’re Ready for You, Mr. Grodin.

Dec 13

Ed Silverman

Minutes of Silverman

Ed Silverman not only has been there, he’s DONE it! In this memoir of his unparalleled career, he shares the sights and sounds of a walk through broadcasting history.

— Dave Kindred, author of “Sound and Fury,” a dual biography of Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell

Dec 20

Santa Claus*

*Santa will actually be appearing at our Annual Holiday Party which will be held the

night before,  Wednesday December 19. Santa requested this special appearance due to his heavy workload at this time of year.

Therefore there will be no meeting on either Thursday December 20 or 27.

Dec 27

Christmas week – no meeting 

Jan, 3 

Jonathan Fanton

Minutes of Fanton 

Fuchs on Fanton

Jonathan Fanton is a Franklin D. Roosevelt Visiting Fellow at Hunter College and was President of The MacArthur Foundation from 1999-2009.  Mr. Fanton holds a Ph.D in American History from Yale University where he taught and was Chief of Staff to President Kingman Brewster.  He was Vice President of Planning at The University of Chicago and for 17 years was President of The New School for Social Research.

He is author of Foundations and Civil Society, Volume I and II (2008), and The University and Civil Society, Volume I and II (1995, 2002).

Dr. Fanton currently serves as Interim Director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College which is dedicated to innovative approaches to teaching, research, and public programming. Located in the heart of New York City, the Institute provides a platform from which high quality scholarship effectively informs and influences public debate and public life. The mission of Roosevelt House is three-fold: to educate students in public policy and human rights, to support faculty research, and to foster creative dialogue

Jan. 10 

Alan H. Nevas

Minutes of Nevas

Alan H Nevas, our fellow Y’s Man, is a retired Senior United States District Court Judge, who serves as an arbitrator and mediator in a broad range of commercial disputes. He also counsels clients on complex litigation and pre-litigation strategy issues.

He was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut by President Reagan in 1985. He held that position until retiring in 2009.  During his years on the bench, Judge Nevas presided over a wide range of civil cases, both jury and non jury. He also presided over numerous major criminal trials involving white collar offenses, organized crime, public corruption, and large scale drug distribution rings.  He will speak about three trials he presided over that were particularly interesting jury trials.

During his tenure on the bench, Judge Nevas served as a member of the Board of Directors and then as President of the Federal Judges Association; a member of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the United States Judicial Conference; and a member of the Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

From 1971 to 1977, Judge Nevas served as the elected State Representative from Westport in the Connecticut General Assembly, and in his second and third terms served in turn as Deputy House Majority and Deputy House Minority Leader. In 1976, he was named one of the Ten Most Outstanding Members of the Connecticut General Assembly in a poll of the Assembly’s membership conducted by Connecticut Magazine.

From 1981 to 1985, Judge Nevas served as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Prior to his appointment as a federal prosecutor, he was engaged in the private practice of law.

He is a Life Fellow of the American and Connecticut Bar Foundations and an Honoree of the Connecticut Branch of the Federal Bar Council of New York and Connecticut.

Jan. 17 

Marty Yellin 

Minutes of Yellin

Decades later, a Cold War secret is revealed: HEXAGON

For over 30 years, Marty Yellin was a engineer at Perkin-Elmer. Starting in 1965, he helped design key elements of  a top secret program called Hexagon — a reconnaissance spacecraft that, one NASA official says, “helped prevent World War III.” For over 45 years, Yellin was forbidden to talk about any aspect of his work. Finally in October 2011, 25 years after the last mission ended Hexagon was finally declassified.  It was dubbed “Big Bird” and it was considered the most successful space spy satellite program of the Cold War era. From 1971 to 1986 a total of 20 satellites were launched, each containing 60 miles of film and sophisticated cameras that orbited the earth snapping vast, panoramic photographs of the Soviet Union, China and other potential foes. The film was shot back through the earth’s atmosphere in buckets that parachuted over the Pacific Ocean, where C-130 Air Force planes snagged them with grappling hooks. The scale, ambition and sheer ingenuity of Hexagon KH-9 was breathtaking. The fact that 19 out of 20 launches were successful (the final mission blew up because the booster rockets failed) is astonishing.

“We were like the guys who worked on the first atom bomb,” said Yellin. We had been entrusted with the security of the country. Even wives couldn’t contact their husbands or know of their whereabouts when they were traveling, and for the most part accepted the secrecy. They knew the jobs were Top Secret. They knew not to ask questions.

Jan. 24 

Dr. Michael Carius

Minutes of Carius

“Dr. Carius serves as chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at
Norwalk Hospital, a community hospital in Connecticut. He practices
clinically in the emergency department and is an assistant clinical
professor in the Department of Traumatology and Emergency Medicine at the
University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
He is board certified in emergency medicine and family practice. He has
served as an oral examiner for the American Board ofEmergency Medicine for
many years and was elected the ABEM Board of Directors in 2009.
Before being elected president of the American College of Emergency
Physicians in 2001, he served on the ACEP Board of Directors as
secretary-treasurer and as vice president. In 2012 he was awarded the
national ACEP Wiegenstein Leadership Award.  In addition to his leadership
role at the national level, Dr. Carius is an active member of the
Connecticut Chapter of ACEP. He has served in many offices including
chapter president, and in 1999 was awarded the Connecticut College of
Emergency Physicians Phil Stent Award for Outstanding Contributions to
Emergency Medicine.”

Jan. 31

 Mark Mathias

Minutes of Mathias

The Westport Mini Maker Faire.

This is a launching pad for many interesting topics about making, including 3D printing, stuff that flies, robotics, local, national and global initiatives and more.

In many ways, “making” is about creativity, innovation, global competitiveness and 21st century skills. Many people  grew up with “shop” classes such as woodworking, metal shop, print shop, drafting, electronics and more. These have mostly been dropped from school curriculums, but are finding their way back as we find other countries are starting to do this better than we are.

Feb. 7

Rob Reeves
Minutes of Reeves

Tueday this week is the groundbreaking for our new Family Y home.

Rob, CEO Westport Weston Family Y, will tell us all about our new Y facility and WWFY  plans along with some very informative video and pictures.

 Feb. 14

Kristen Cusato

Minutes of Cusato

Fuchs’ Article

                                 A World Without Alzheimer’s

Kristen Cusato Will  present an  overview of dementia and talk about the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s, what to look out for in your friends, family, neighbors. Right now, there are 70 thousand people in CT with dementia. Awareness is our hope.

Kristen is the Southwestern Regional Director for the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter Kristen received her B.A in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and has 22 years working in the television industry.   Her career path began at Cable 6 TV in Middletown, NY. She went on to KCBD in Lubbock, Texas and then spent 9 years at WTNH as an anchor/reporter.

After spending 4 years in San Diego working at KUSI-TV, Kristen returned to Connecticut in 2009, to help take care of her mother and best friend who had just been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Kristen went back to her job as the Co-Anchor of Good Morning Connecticut on WTNH News 8. She has Emcee’d the Walk to End Alzheimer’s for the past two years in New Haven, and late in 2011 left News 8 to join the CT Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

In her role as the Southwestern Regional Director, Kristen coordinates and implements all Chapter services and programs for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, families, professionals, and the general public.  She is working towards the mission of a World Without Alzheimer’s, so that other families don’t have to lose loved ones to this mind-robbing disease.

 Feb. 21

Susan Granger

Minutes of Granger 

Roy Fuchs’ on Granger

Susan Granger, Westport News film critic, will analyze the nominees for the upcoming Academy Awards and offer her predictions.  The 85th Academy Awards will be televised on Sunday, February 24.

For more than 25 years, movie and drama critic Susan Granger has been an on-air television and radio commentator and entertainment critic. Her commentaries, reviews, and interviews are distributed around the world by SSG Syndicate.  

Feb. 28 

James Naughton

Minutes of Naughton

James Naughton graduated from Brown University and Yale Drama School. His acting career began when he appeared in a series of Broadwaydramas and musicals. He has since become an accomplished actor in both starring and supporting film and television roles.[3]

His largest fame and first love has been the legitimate theater. He won the Theatre World Award for his performance in Long Day’s Journey Into Night in 1971. He went on to star with Geneviève Bujold in Antigone which was later made into a film in 1974. He starred in the musical I Love My Wife in 1977 and in the drama Whose Life is it Anyway? opposite Mary Tyler Moore in 1980. He won his first Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1990 for City of Angels. In 1997 he won a second Tony Award with his portrayal of lawyer Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago. He created the lead role of Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany, in the highly acclaimed drama Democracy in 2004.

His films include The Paper Chase and The First Wives Club. In 2006, he appeared in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, opposite Meryl Streep. In 2006, he played the part of Edie Sedgwick’s father, Fuzzy Sedgwick in Factory Girl.

James Naughton and his wife, Pam, have two actor children: Keira Naughton and Greg Naughton. His son is married to Kelli O’Hara. He started singing during his years at Conard High School “with the high school band and at parties.”[5]

His brother David Naughton is also an actor

Mar. 7

John Krubski
Minutes of Krubski

Cracking the America Code; A Plan for Getting US Back on Track By John krubski, Published 8/1/2012 This book began as a marketing exercise to better understand why people make the decisions they make and how they value what they value. It ended up as a fresh take on what makes America America and Americans Americans. Writing the book has crystallized a great many facets of the work I have been doing in consumer insights, marketing and strategic planning for more than thirty-five years. It is also an excellent new platform for communicating with, persuadong, and motivating Americans on their terms.

 Mar. 14

 Jay Dirnberger
Minutes of Dirnberger

Fuchs on Dirnberer

 Jay Dirnberger will present “The Rise of the Drones” a documentary on the history and future  of unmanned aerial warfare.  Jay served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and was witness to what was llikely the first use of an unmanned aircraft in combat.  Thiis subject has many dimensions and is an important issue in our present national dialog.  

 Mar. 21

Jane E. Ferreira

Minutes of Ferreira

In 2002, Jane E. Ferreira became the President and CEO of Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport, Inc. Believing that each person can make a difference in their life if given access to education, Ms. Ferreira quickly endorsed Mercy Learning Center’s motto: “Educate a woman…Educate a family.” The Center has grown exponentially in the past 11 years, creating increased opportunity for educational advancement and positive life change. Under Ms. Ferreira’s direction, in 2003, programs once consisting of instruction to bring women to an 8th grade reading and math levels expanded to include the opportunity to earn a high school diploma.  . Since 2003, 149 women have received their high school equivalency and more than half of them are now enrolled in a community college.  Ms. Ferreira’s ability to build a team of 41 paid staff and 500 volunteers has been remarkable in the Center’s ability to educate and empower women in the community.

 Programs are currently serving more than 750 women and 150 children annually. With an estimated 37,000 functionally illiterate women in the city of Bridgeport, the Center is actively responding to the great need for adult education for low income women. 

 Ms. Ferreira has had a lifelong commitment to those most marginalized in our society. Every woman who walks through the doors of Mercy Learning Center has the opportunity to improve her own life and the lives of her children. Ms. Ferreira believes that education is key to ending the cycle of poverty. 

 Mar. 28

Bob Steele

Minutes of Steele

Fuchs on Steele

Former Congressman Bob Steele will discuss the background to his new novel, The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town (Levellers Press, Amherst, MA). The story is set against the explosion of casino gambling in Connecticut during the 1990s, when two Indian tribes emerged to build the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state. WNPR/ Connecticut Public Radio’s John Dankosky calls the novel “fascinating” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.” 

The book comes at a time when Connecticut’s casinos face the prospect of heavy new competition from New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and there is growing political pressure to legalize Internet gambling. 

Steele is vice chairman of an international retail marketing agency and has been a director of the New York Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, and the American Stock Exchange. A graduate of Amherst and Columbia, he served in the CIA prior to Congress and was a candidate for governor of Connecticut. He lives with his wife in Essex. 

April 4

US Senator Chris Murphy 

Minutes of Murphy

Christopher Scott “Chris” Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is the junior United States Senator from Connecticut and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Connecticut’s 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Before being elected to Congress, Murphy was a member of both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly, serving in the Connecticut House of Representatives (1999-2003) and the Connecticut Senate (2003-2007).

After four-term incumbent Joe Lieberman decided to retire, Murphy announced his candidacy for the 2012 U.S. Senate election. He defeated former Connecticut secretary of state Susan Bysiewicz in the Democratic primary, and subsequently defeated Republican candidate Linda McMahon in the general election. At age 39, he is the youngest current Senator.

April 11

Jim Francek

Minutes of Francek

Jim Francek, ACSW,  lived in Westport from 1981-96. He has worked in three major companies Kelsey Hayes, Ford, and Exxon in their medical departments in charge of the mental health and substance abuse programs. He has spent decades of his professional life creating individual and group interventions to address the sense of loss incurred within tragic events, loss of loved ones, violence and organizational change destroy a sense of balance in person’s lives. He also was a designer and faciliStator of the custom leadership programs with the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs for some eleven years. His background also includes being an ordained minister and recently a chaplain. He now resides with his wife Pat in Huntington, CT where they provide individual coaching and retreats in their company TAVA Full Circle

April 18

Sandhya Dhruvakumar M.D.

Minutes of Dr. D

Dr. Dhruvakumar of Stamford Hospital is a specialist in Cardiac Electrophysiology, which deals specifically with heart rhythms.  She will explain the electrical system of the heart, with specific focus on some of the more common disturbances, and the cutting edge medical advances to address them.

April 25

 Howard Saffan

Minutes of Saffan

Westonite Howard Saffan, is the  President of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers hockey team. 

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers is the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders. Its main (and in-state) rival is the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers — the main rival of the Islanders. 

Mr. Saffan joined the Bridgeport Sound Tigers as its president in 2011. He oversees all aspects of the operation of the team with a focus on community involvement and creating a more family-friendly environment.

“Sound Tigers hockey is a fun, interactive and exciting product that can be shared by everyone in the region,” said Mr. Saffan. “From families and individuals to community groups and businesses, we will reach out to everyone and invite them to be part of our team.”

Since 1999, Mr. Saffan has owned and operated the SportsCenter of Connecticut in Shelton, a recreational venue that features mini-golf and a driving range, fitness and rehabilitation facilities, laser tag, and the world’s only double-decker skating rinks. 

May 2

 James H. Canton

Minutes of Canton

Fuchs on Canton

 James H. Canton, Chief Executive Officer, has a long record with The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp since it began in 1988. During that time he has been a counselor, unit leader, Assistant Director and for eight years, Camp Director. He was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in the Spring of 2002. As Camp Director, Mr. Canton led the development of various programs to extend the healing touch of Camp throughout the year.  What began as a summer camp in 1988 serving 288 children has grown, under Mr. Canton’s leadership, to a year-round center serving more than 20,000 children and family members annually. 

May 9

Thomas C.  Foley

Minutes of Foley

“You don’t have to be crazy to get into politics, but it definitely helps.”

Thomas Coleman “Tom” Foley  is a former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Connecticut businessman, and was the Republican candidate in the 2010 gubernatorial election in Connecticut.

 May 16

 Lt. Col. Tom Armas, Combat Veteran of Iraq War and Former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent

Minutes of Armas

Lt. Col. Tom Armas graduated Northeastern University in 1992 and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.

In 1994 he received his commission and attended Officer Basic training and Infantry Officers training in Quantico, Va.

He currently is a Criminal Investigator for the Office of the Inspector General and works out of New Haven, CT.

In 1995 he joined 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. There he served as a rifle platoon commander, company executive officer, heavy weapons platoon commander, and Aide de Camp to the Commanding General Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

In 1998 he left active duty and joined the United States Marine Corps Reserves, Fox Company 1Bn 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine division Albany, N.Y.  Tom currently commands the 3rd battalion, 25th Marines. 

From 1999 to 2008, Tom was a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service. He had assignments in the New York Field Office, New Haven Resident Office and President William Jefferson Clinton Protective Detail. 

Lt. Col. Armas’ combat tours include 2004 and 2005 to Iraq with the Joint Inter-Agency Coordination Group, conducting counter terrorism operations, inter-agency operations and hostage recovery operations. In 2008 he deployed for a third time to Iraq as Company Commander Fox company 1Bn 25th Marine Regiment II Marine Expeditionary Force in Al Anbar Province.

Lt. Col. Armas’ personal awards include Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal, Overseas Service, Sea Service Deployment, National Defense Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. He also has been awarded the United States Secret Service Medal of Valor.

Lt. Col. Armas currently resides in Fairfield, CT with his wife Danielle and their three children.

 May 23

 Picnic and Annual Meeting – music by Hare and Sternbach!

2011 – 2012

2010-2011

2009-2010

2008 -2009

2007-2008

2006 – 2007

2005 – 2006

2005 Through May

2004

Gordon Joseloff – December 2, 2004

Anne Keefe – December 9, 2004