Month: October 2020 (Page 2 of 2)

Dr. Frank Nothaft is chief economist for CoreLogic, America’s largest provider of advanced property and ownership information, analytics and data-enabled services. He leads the economics team responsible for analysis, commentary and forecasting in global real estate, insurance and mortgage markets. Before joining CoreLogic Frank served in a variety of leadership positions at Freddie Mac. Prior to Freddie Mac, Frank was an economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the mortgage and consumer finance section and served as assistant to Governor Henry C. Wallich.

Frank has served as president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, Board member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and the Financial Management Association, Advisory Board member of the Real Estate Research Institute, Editorial Board member of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and is a Weimer School Fellow of the Homer Hoyt Institute.  He received the NABE Outlook Award for having the most accurate macroeconomic forecast for 2018.

Frank graduated from New York University with a B.A. in mathematics and computer science, and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University.

Arranged by Geoff Rezek

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Dr. Frank Nothaft, the chief economist at CoreLogic, a business-to-business firm specializing in providing analysis and solutions for the property market, reviewed the events of the past pandemic year and forecast the upcoming economic outlook for the country.

He noted that 2020 at a negative 3.5% saw the largest drop in GDP since 1946, a time when the country was adjusting from a wartime economic standing back toward peacetime operations. The current $1.9 trillion recovery bill should help boost growth in 2021 to around 4.8%, the biggest gain since 1984. Along with this growth should come a recovery from unemployment, which stood at 6.2% in February. The Federal Reserve is mandated by Congress to maximize employment and maintain price stability, and a return to a “full employment” level of 4.0 to 4.5% unemployment is considered feasible by the fourth quarter of 2022. While the stimulus package is also provoking concerns about inflation, Dr. Nothaft stressed that the central bank is looking at an inflation rate that has averaged only 1.8% since 2000, and the current target of 2% is achievable by fourth quarter 2022 given the intention to maintain the federal funds rate between zero and 0.25%.

Mortgage rates averaged 4.1% from 2010 through 2019, and currently stand at 3.0%, with growth to 3.5% predicted for 2022. Dr. Nothaft suggested that anyone with a rate above 4% should move to refinance. In terms of market demand for houses, He noted that the largest population demographic is in the 28-30 year old millenniums; with 33 the median age for first time house buyers there is impetus developing for increased demand. Millennials and the following generation Z are forecast to increase household formations in the US by over 12 million between 2018 and 2023, offsetting the decline in older age groups for a total increase of 6.3 million over the period. The situation in Connecticut for these younger groups is very different however: the millennial population is down by 30,000 over the past ten years. Housing demand is high and prices are, too, deterring all but the wealthier part of that generation from buying in-state. In terms of home sales overall in the US, 2020 was the best year since 2006 , and 2021 is looking to be better. This has been driven by low rates for the younger generation and a move to more space for the older generation X as the work from home movement developed over the year. The demand should be maintained even as the pandemic recedes with as many as 25% of workers remaining home-based. That will impact home equity, which increased an average of 4.8% from 2010 to 2020 in the country, but only 0.7% in Fairfield County: the forecast is for US growth of 7.9% in 2021 and 3.2% in 2022, but a greater rate of 9.7% and 4.4% for Fairfield County.

The slide pack and a video of Dr. Nothaft’s presentation can be accessed via the links below:

Presentation video: https://youtu.be/bDdY3cObbKw

Presentation slides: Darien Mens Assn 3-10-21 Nothaft

Scott Kuhner will be taking up from the point where he left off in his presentation on February 3rd – somewhere in Indonesia, relating the tale of how he and Kitty, his wife, completed their first circumnavigation of the globe in four years after setting off in 1971.

Six weeks after Scott met Kitty in the late 1960s, he proposed, and four months later they were married. She was up for adventure, so they took their honeymoon on a 22ft sailboat with a Porta Potty and sailed her from Westport to Martha’s Vineyard and back. Scott talked Kitty into buying a 30ft Allied Seawind Ketch, and two years later they quit their jobs and went sailing around the world. Scott was a securities analyst for EF Hutton and his boss could not believe he was going to leave his well-paying job.

They returned to Rowayton, bought a house and started a family. When their two sons were 9 and 11, Scott and Kitty decided to show them there is more to the world than just Connecticut. They bought a Valiant 40, named her Tamure, took the boys out of school, loaded them on the boat, and spent another four years sailing around the world. The boys were home-schooled, and when they got back, went into their normal class at Brian McMahon in Norwalk. Both graduated in the top 5% of their class and went on to an Ivy League college.

After each world tour, Scott was immediately offered great jobs back on Wall Street. Two years after he returned from the second trip, he was offered the position of running the New York office of a Brazilian Investment Bank, and spent the first six months living in Sao Paulo. Soon after he turned 60 the bank was bought out by a European company, Scott was awarded a big bonus, and retired.

Arranged by Bryan Hooper

Bryan’s notes on the talk:

Scott Kuhner, together with his wife Kitty, resumed the tale of their first sailing global navigation some 50 years ago from where they left us at the end of February’s talk – on the beautiful island of Bali. Leaving behind the rice paddies, the Hindu temples and the incredibly friendly and curious children they encountered, they then sailed to Christmas Island and on to Cocos Keeling Islands, an Australian Territory, before setting off across the Indian Ocean for Mauritius.

There were ten other boats about to sail across the ocean at that time, and the Kuhners had come to know their crews as friends in their travels. They became close to one  couple in particular whom they had first encountered in St. Thomas, and who were now on the last leg of their journey back home to South Africa. After battling mostly strong winds for the 17 days and 2400 miles to Mauritius the Kuhners spent time relaxing there, enabling Kitty to indulge in some horse-riding on the beach and solo sailing for the first time ever, before setting off for Durban, taking another 14 days and covering 1600 miles. Keeping radio contact with their South African friends, they learnt of bad weather and managed to prepare for the oncoming storm with winds blowing at up to 70 mph. It seems that despite what nature threw at them, Scott and Kitty also managed to find good time to recuperate and to explore the better part of nature through visiting local areas of interest – in Durban this was a game reserve with zebra, giraffes and monkeys.

Their onward journey involved stops in Cape Town, St. Helena in the South Atlantic, Fernando Island off Brazil, and finally to complete the circumnavigation, St. Thomas. And this is where the story really begins! On their journey back home toward New York they evaded the hazards of a waterspout before succumbing to the perils of a hurricane. Falling off the crest of a wave they hit the trough, went upside down and righted, but blew off the main hatch and took on tremendous quantities of water. Fortunately for Scott he had available what he described as “the most efficient bilge pump in the world: a frightened woman with a bucket.” Having recovered from the fright, they reached New York harbor and thus ended the voyage of the Bebinka.

That, incidentally, is the name of the book written by Scott and Kitty about their four years traveling the world. You can learn more from the book, and can watch the two parts of the talk on the links listed below:

Part I : https://youtu.be/USvhGtHrEE8

Part II : https://youtu.be/-xydPlMgrKk.

John Hamilton will speak on the field of addiction treatment and prevention. He is nationally recognized as an expert in this field. He brings three decades of experience to his role as president and CEO of Liberation Programs and also chairs the Advisory Board for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and serves on the Governor’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Council. Previously, John was chief clinical outreach officer at Mountainside Treatment Center, a nationally acclaimed drug rehabilitation center with locations in New York and Connecticut. He served as CIO of Recovery Network of Programs, a nonprofit behavioral health agency serving the Greater Bridgeport Community. John is past chair of the Dissemination Committee for the National Institute for Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network, past chair of the Community Treatment Providers Caucus, past president of the Southwest Connecticut Mental Health Board, past president of the New England Association of Drug Court Professionals and co-founder of the Greenwich Father’s Forum. In 2013, John was a recipient of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence Nyswander-Dole Award for his contributions to the field of addiction treatment.

Arranged by John Bassler

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

 John Hamilton spoke to us about developments in the drug business which have exacerbated the already tragic number of deaths by overdose, and of the way his programs are helping addicts to recover and re-integrate themselves into a more stable and productive life.

Last year in Connecticut there was an increase of at least 13% in deaths by overdose confirmed, and that could rise to 17% once all cases under investigation are resolved; that number is comparable to the previous year-on-year increase. There was a change in the drug of choice three years ago from oxycontin and similar products toward heroin as the latter became increasingly purer – 91% vs. 10% thirty years ago – but alternative more powerful opioids, such as fentanyl, have been growing in use over the past two years, and this is the epidemic we are now facing. A further concerning development has been the introduction of xylazine, used originally as a veterinary product, being combined with fentanyl to produce an even more powerful drug. Deaths involving fentanyl now comprise at least 85% of the annual total.

John went into an analysis of the reasons for doing drugs, and indicated that research showed many use drugs to make them feel good, and to share those feelings and sensations and to connect; but, this behavior does not tend to end in addiction. Those who become addicted take drugs essentially to feel better, to help overcome anxiety, worry or depression, and to withdraw from others and become disconnected. In the past year the advent of the pandemic has resulted in more separation for the majority of people and this in turn has increased the pressures on those already under stress.

Treatment therefore involves efforts to reconnect addicts to society with behavioral therapies and recovery support services, in conjunction with providing medication and detoxification programs.

John described the operations of Liberty Programs to provide this assistance: the agency has sites in Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport and served more than 2,400 individuals in their last fiscal year. You can learn more about the organization by visiting their website at liberationprograms.org, and you can watch the video of John Hamilton’s presentation at: https://youtu.be/2XGrhb6Bke0.

Robin Hayes is chief executive officer of JetBlue Airways Corp., which encompasses JetBlue – New York’s Hometown Airline^® – as well as subsidiaries JetBlue Technology Ventures and JetBlue Travel Products. He joined JetBlue in 2008 and served as the company’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer until becoming president of the airline in January 2014. In February 2015 he was appointed as JetBlue’s third chief executive officer.

Prior to joining JetBlue, Robin was executive vice president for the Americas at British Airways. Over the span of a wide-ranging 19-year career with BA, he also served as area general manager for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

He serves on the board of governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Wings Club as well as the board of directors at Airlines for America (A4A) and Make-A-Wish Connecticut.

Robin is a graduate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. He received a BSc and Master’s in Engineering from the university.

Arranged by Bert von Stuelpnagel

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue Airways Corporation, spoke to us via Zoom from Key West in sunny Florida, where he had flown following the recent inauguration of JetBlue flights to that airport from New York. He recounted how almost a year ago during a meeting in London with their major aircraft supplier, Airbus, they spoke about the problem of a virus coming from China, and a week later began to feel the impact of Covid-19 on their bookings. By early April last year, 95% of bookings had been canceled and talks had been held at the White House to discuss aid for the airline industry to face the consequences of the spread of the virus. JetBlue resolved there were two main areas to focus on in meeting the challenges posed by Covid-19. Their priority was to ensure safe operations for the benefit of crew and passengers by applying appropriate precautions, such as insisting on passengers wearing masks, and using ultraviolet cleaning machines to thoroughly cleanse and disinfect the cabins. The second area of concentration was to secure financing capability to provide sufficient cashflow to weather the effects of the pandemic. Currently, the airline is flying with a sharply reduced number of flights and a lower load factor, resulting in a reduction of 60-65% from normal. During the subsequent session taking questions from the audience, Robin covered a wide variety of subjects, including plans for buying more airplanes from Airbus, including the A220-300 to replace their existing fleet of Embraer 190 aircraft, and the extended range A321 series of planes for transatlantic routes. It will be interesting to hear from Robin again next year to receive an update on the recovery from the effects of the virus on the airline industry.

When Georgia Hunter was 15 years old, she discovered that she came from a family of Holocaust survivors. Years later, she embarked on a journey of intensive research, determined to unearth and record her family’s remarkable story. The result is the New York Times bestseller, We Were the Lucky Ones, a gripping saga that follows the Kurc family as brothers, sisters, parents, and children scatter across continents at the start of the Second World War, determined to survive, and to reunite. Georgia will present an illustrated backstory about her decade-long quest to put her family’s history to paper, revealing the extraordinary discoveries she made along the way—about her ancestors, her own identity, and the resilience of the human spirit.

We Were the Lucky Ones is Georgia’s first book and spent over four months on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been translated into 16 languages, and selected as a top pick by Harper’s Bazaar, the New York Post, People Magazine, and Audible. It won the fiction category for the 2018 Connecticut Book Award and has been optioned for a television limited series.

Georgia has loved to write since she was a child, growing up in rural Massachusetts. Her debut publication was an op-ed written at age 10 for the Attleboro Sun Chronicle. She graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia in 2000, and has lived in Atlanta and Seattle where she’s worked as a brand strategist and as a freelance copywriter in the field of adventure travel. She now lives in Rowayton, CT, with her husband and two sons.

Arranged by Bob McGroarty

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Georgia Hunter took us through her nine-year journey researching the history of her Polish-born grandfather and his five siblings who scattered around the world as WWII began. Her grandfather never talked about his experiences to Georgia, but after his death in 1995 she was sufficiently intrigued and curious to want to learn more from her grandmother about their story, and ultimately embarked on an exploratory journey to discover the fate of the dispersed Kurc family that culminated in the writing of her book, “We Were the Lucky Ones,” published in 2017.

There are no better words to describe Georgia’s quest than those she ascribed to the survivors themselves about their own lives, that the story is one of courage, perseverance and love. Her travels and the culmination of her efforts are better described in her book than these few brief notes, but you should watch the video of her presentation at: https://youtu.be/eLA0H-n8BnI. In particular, note the reminiscences of some of our own DMA family, and you will appreciate the emotions that Georgia’s talk evoked, and resolve to read the book to determine the ending.

Six weeks after Scott Kuhner met Kitty in the late 1960s, he proposed, and four months later they were married. She was up for adventure, so they took their honeymoon on a 22ft sailboat with a Porta Potty and sailed her from Westport to Martha’s Vineyard and back. Scott talked Kitty into buying a 30ft Allied Seawind Ketch, and two years later in 1971, they quit their jobs and spent 4 years sailing around the world. Scott was a securities analyst for EF Hutton and his boss could not believe he was going to leave his well-paying job.

They returned to Rowayton, bought a house and started a family. When their two sons were 9 and 11, Scott and Kitty decided to show them there is more to the world than just Connecticut. They bought a Valiant 40, named her Tamure, took the boys out of school, loaded them on the boat, and spent another four years sailing around the world. The boys were home-schooled, and when they got back, went into their normal class at Brian McMahon in Norwalk. Both graduated in the top 5% of their class and went on to an Ivy League college.

After each world tour, Scott was immediately offered great jobs back on Wall Street. Two years after he returned from the second trip, he was offered the position of running the New York office of a Brazilian Investment Bank, and spent the first six months living in Sao Paulo. Soon after he turned 60 the bank was bought out by a European company, Scott was awarded a big bonus, and retired.

Arranged by Bryan Hooper

Bryan’s notes on the talk:

 Scott Kuhner took us most of the way around the world when he described the time he and his wife, Kitty, embarked on their first circumnavigation 50 years ago. It turned out to be a tale of improvisation, adaptability, and a large dose of courage and perseverance. Some highlights follow:

• Scott persuaded Kitty to read Around the World in Wanderer III by the British sailor, Eric Hiscock, which recounts the Hiscocks’ first around the world sail in the 50s, so as to sow the seeds for the Kuhners’ trip later in 1971.

• In the early ‘70s there was no GPS available for navigational use by civilians, and Scott was forced to rely on using a sextant together with an accurate timepiece (kudos to Rolex). After sailing for 12 days and 1400 miles toward the Virgin Islands he announced to Kitty in the middle of the ocean that they were about to arrive within a couple of hours at St. Thomas: land loomed up one hour later, amid much relief for Kitty that the captain was such an accurate navigator.

• Leaving the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador, they sailed 3000 miles in 22 days, putting a severe strain on their ability to keep clothes clean as they had to conserve water. The solution they came up with gave new meaning to the term “bareboating.”

• In Fiji they met up with Kitty’s parents, and lived a life of relative luxury for a week, bathing and eating dinner in the hotel. That came to a rude end with the arrival of an extremely powerful hurricane packing winds of almost 200 mph. Discretion being the better part of valor, they sailed to New Zealand to skirt the rest of the hurricane season.

• Maintenance was the key task there, and they took the opportunity to change the main mast, and accomplish various other chores: coincidentally, also moored at the port was Eric Hiscock – the original inspiration for the trip!

• After they explored New Zealand by hitchhiking their way on both islands, Kitty found a job in Sydney, Australia, leaving Scott to decide how he would find someone to help him sail to Australia. Fortunately, his father came to the rescue as crew mate and cook (which was not without its problems in rough seas encountered in the Tasman Sea!).

• Scott also worked as a financial analyst in Sydney before wanderlust took over again, and they sailed up Australia’s eastern coast and to Bali in Indonesia.

There was insufficient time to finish the presentation: we’re less than half-way around the world, and we intend to run a Part II on March 3rd. Scott and Kitty wrote a book chronicling their adventures, called The Voyage of Bebinka, where you can catch up on the details of the trip, and you can see the video recording of the presentation at: https://youtu.be/USvhGtHrEE8.

Leila graduated with a BA in International Politics from St. Lawrence University in 1986, and has worked for the past 30+ years in the field of nonprofit development, marketing and planning.  After careers at AFS Intercultural Programs and Lenox Hill Hospital, she started her own consulting firm for non-profits to provide fund-raising recommendations, strategic planning and Board development for organizations seeking to improve their financing results. In 2016 she became the Executive Director of the Darien Nature Center charged with increasing the visibility, relevance, and impact of the organization.  Leila will speak to us about the operations and programs of the Center, with emphasis on how they navigated 2020, and the changes necessary to meet the challenges for the new year.

Leila will be joined in her presentation by Emily Ciffone, Program Director at the Darien Nature Center. Emily received her undergraduate degree in biology from Binghamton University and her master’s degree in natural resources and environmental education from the University of Wisconsin. Her career in Nature Education started at the National Park Service, and she has also held roles at the University of Rhode Island Environmental Center and New Pond Farms. Emily  has been teaching and building the unique program curriculum at the Darien Nature Center since 2013.

Arranged by Chris Filmer

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Leila Wetmore, Executive Director of the Darien Nature Center, and Emily Ciffone, Program Director, led us through the founding of the center just over 40 years ago, the development of the project and current plans for further growth.

Leila pointed out that the majority of the nature centers in our area, such as those in New Canaan, Westport, Redding and Stamford, were established as a result of a piece of land bequeathed to the community for that purpose, but the Darien Nature Center (DNC) simply grew out of a group of interested, committed citizens with vision who were determined to “develop educational opportunities and increase public awareness of the unique natural resources of our town.” The true nature center would be regarded as the town of Darien itself.

That foundation occurred in 1980, and by 1982 the DNC had found a home at the closed-down, abandoned Cherry Lawn boarding school, where they opened the kitchen as the office for the new director in 1982. Interest in the DNC grew over the years, and in 2000 a successful capital campaign was mounted to raise $2.5 million to erect a new building designed for further growth, and it opened in 2002, with the Town of Darien charging the princely annual sum of $1 for lease of the land. Since then, the DNC has concentrated on encouraging curiosity about the environment by raising awareness of the problems faced, and increasing our interaction with nature. In 2020, during its 40th anniversary, DNC went through a strategic planning process to re-examine and revise its vision and mission statements. Their view is that the DNC “envisions a community that is deeply connected to nature and inspired to take action to preserve and protect it,” and their mission is “to inspire passion and respect for the natural world through nature education, hands-on experiences with nature, and environmental action and stewardship.”

DNC has local partnerships with companies and organizations in town, and co-sponsors environmental lectures and films in collaboration with the Darien Land Trust and the Darien Tree Conservancy, in addition to working closely with other agencies like the Darien Library to support and present nature-based programming throughout the year.

Where the DNC stands apart from other nature centers is the experience it can provide children and adults with an up-close and personal interaction with over 30 different animals, including Einstein the rabbit and Smokey the rat, both of whom played cameo roles during the presentation. As part of the implementation of their new strategic plan, the DNC designed and installed a pond ecosystem for their turtles; it proved so realistic that some turtles actually hibernated! Other planned exhibits include a naturalistic tree with nesting holes for the two screech owls in residence, along with a separate rodent habitat, plus exhibits for reptiles and other North American animals.

Finally, Leila paid tribute to the unstinting work of DMA member, Chris Filmer, for his incredible, committed service in putting action to the mission of supporting a healthy environment in Darien, and encouraging and involving others in that endeavor. To quote Chris: “It is in education that our hope lies.” The staff and supporters of Darien Nature Center are major contributors to realizing that hope.

Video recording of their presentation: https://youtu.be/2zUyaxsspAE

Captain Dave Adams, USN (ret.), is uniquely qualified to speak on the subject of naval rail guns. Captain Adams was class of 1990 at the University of Texas, Austin, and graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, followed by postgraduate work leading to a masters, with distinction, in strategic planning. In turn, this led to his becoming speechwriter for the Chief of Naval Operations – probably safer than his next tour in Afghanistan, where he commanded the Joint/Interagency Provincial Reconstruction Team. He returned to take command of SSN-763, USS Santa Fe, followed by command of SSGN USS Georgia, a ‘boomer.’ He became Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Naval Institute’s journal, “Proceedings,” where he made his reputation as a serious long-range geostrategic thinker as well as a critic of some of the Navy’s procedures and plans for future war-fighting.

Dave is currently Director — Navy Museums, Naval History and Heritage Command. He is responsible for the Navy’s ten museums, historic ships and aircraft maintenance.

Arranged by Dick Woods and John Hess

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Captain Dave Adams, USN (ret.) made a case that the US military needs to regain its ground as a leader by highlighting as an example the developmental program of the US Naval Rail Gun (NRG), and proposing future required action.

The rail gun is an electromagnetic powered device that accelerates its “bullet,” a sophisticated shell loaded with electronics, to exceptionally high speeds when fired. A chemically-powered gun has a maximum muzzle velocity of 2.1 kps (approximately 4,700 mph), but the potential speed of a projectile fired by a rail gun is up to 18 kps (around 40,000 mph), creating an incredibly destructive hypersonic weapon.

Historically, the rail gun was first worked on by the Norwegians in 1903 and progressed through both world wars up to 1977 when the Australians achieved a speed of 5.9 kps, just over 13,000 mph. Developments by the US took place through the ’80s as part of the SDI, the so-called “Star Wars” program. In the ’90s it became of interest to the Army as a weapons system to be used against Soviet heavily-armored tanks, but proved unworkable in combat situations due to the difficulty of supplying the needed electrical current in a practical way. The obvious platform for this type of weapon was clearly a ship, and the US Navy began their work on the NRG in 1997. Their success in Scotland in 2003 with a 1/8 scale model resulted in a speed of 2 kps (4,500 mph) and funding for further trial work, leading to a one-fourth scale trial that was also successful. Despite proving its cost-effectiveness per nautical mile relative to missiles, $250 vs. $25,000, funding was withheld from the NRG, and instead was concentrated on missile programs to meet Congressional priorities. Many of the missile developments failed despite the sums invested, and programs were canceled in 2008 and 2016. Captain Adams made the point that insufficient funds were spent on NRG to fund success.

His story continued through the trials undertaken by the US Navy from 2005 through 2012 to improve performance of the projectile, develop the pulsed power equipment and make the rails more rugged, and resulted in the experimental gun range being built in 2012, with plans being developed to test the system at sea; however, the program was canceled in 2017. China has subsequently taken the lead in the technology and carried out sea trials on a warship. This has now resulted in renewed interest from the Navy and reinvestment in the program is occurring with sea trials of the NRG system scheduled for later this year.

Captain Adams concluded by stating the fact that a lead we had in technology was squandered for lack of investment, and pleading his case that to regain our edge requires bold political and military decisions to be made across the board.

Video of Captain Adams’ presentation: https://youtu.be/SwJyiYBDOMs

Kiera Parrott became the Director of Darien Library in September 2020. Prior to that appointment, she was the Reviews and Production Director for Library Journal and School Library Journal, where she oversaw the publication of over 12,000 influential book and media reviews annually. Additionally, she launched and expanded numerous professional development events and training courses for library professionals nationwide. Kiera has been a proud library worker since her teen years, working as a page for the Queensborough Public Library in high school, as a reference assistant at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst during college, and as a senior librarian for the New York Public Library. She previously worked at Darien Library from 2008–2013 as a children’s/collection development librarian and as Head of Children’s Services. She lives in Norwalk with her husband (also a librarian) and their two cats.

Arranged by Min and Jan Selkowitz

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Kiera Parrott, Director of the Darien Library, spoke to us about the history of libraries, and related how the institutions adapted to the advent of digital sources, and where the future lies for this valuable resource for so many communities.

While many private libraries have existed over the past five thousand years, the growth of public libraries began in late 18^th century England, as the Liverpool Subscription Library was established in 1798. It not only supplied information to subscribers, but also included amenities such as a newsroom and a coffee house. As the industrial revolution developed so did the thirst of the working classes for more knowledge, and in 1850 the British passed a bill named the Public Libraries Act to encourage social good and be morally uplifting for the lower classes. (Coincidentally, the bill was supported by the temperance movement of the day in an effort to control rampant intoxication of the working classes.)

The growth of the public library movement in the US began with the founding of the taxpayer-supported library in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1833, grew with the opening of the Boston Library in 1854, and really burgeoned with the active support of Andrew Carnegie later in the century. He provided funds on the condition that the municipal authority also levy taxes annually to augment those funds to finance operations. In fact, in 1905 he offered Darien $5,000 on condition they levy $500 in annual support: the RTM turned him down! However, the Darien Library, originally established on the Post Road in 1894, managed to survive and expand, and opened its newest building – also on the Post Road – in 2009.

Over the years, libraries have faced and met challenges such as equal access rights in the 60s, up through the 90s and into today with the perceived mortal threat of digitalization. Darien Library has done so by applying its principles of adapting to meet customers’ needs and becoming a community center where people can learn, read, socialize, train, and attend special events – such as yoga classes. Additionally, it has embraced technology: as an early adapter of the iPad, they offered clients the ability to try the product. They have joined the so-called “maker movement” to provide advice on how to build and make things, e.g., radios or clothes. This reaction and action to change, to embrace the emergence of new technologies has sparked a renaissance for libraries and led to their development as information experts to provide advice to their users. They can even advise you on how to spot fake news: most people trust libraries to tell the truth.

There is a unique and productive partnership between the Town and Darien Library. Activities such as focusing on early literature aid for toddlers to encourage learning, and outreach at the other end of life to those using the senior center, professional development programs, writing the next great American novel, experimenting with Legos, holding events like May 4^th (be with you!).

The future for the Darien Library is set to meet the challenges of the community by being responsive, flexible, adaptable and resilient, and in answering the question of how to better serve their users to provide the crucial infrastructure to further our democracy. You can view the video of Kiera’s presentation at https://youtu.be/JOInCcH9TiY.

Pat Gentile is a member of the DMA, and will talk to us about his work helping less-privileged families and individuals to cope with and manage the tax-preparation process. Pat is presently the Executive Director of Virtual VITA, Inc. (VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.) He works directly in partnership with the IRS to assist low-income at-risk families and elderly households with free tax preparation, tax counseling and advocacy.  His group is the first within the State to receive IRS approval to provide clients with virtual online tax preparation utilizing a client’s cell phone. His team is the Lead Coalition Partner of the nationally approved virtual tax prep program called “Get Your Refund,” and is responsible for training other VITA Partners throughout CT and Rhode Island. Locally, he and his 60+ retired professional colleagues provide pro bono tax preparation throughout the inner cities and towns in Fairfield County serving over 8,000+ clients each year.

Pat is a retired CPA with over 30 years of experience in business and spent the majority of his career rising through the ranks of American Banknote Corporation, one of the world’s largest providers of secure transaction systems and solutions.  He retired in 2014 as the CFO and COO of global operations to spend some quiet time with his wife Terry. Pat and Terry are the proud parents of two Eagle Scouts and when not constrained by Covid they enjoy traveling and spending time with their friends in Darien.

Members wishing to find out more about Pat’s process prior to the presentation should click on the following link. You should be prepared to enter information and data to make the demo work for you: Virtual VITA 2020 Online Demo Tax Prep Link

Arranged by Charles Salmans

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

DMA member Pat Gentile talked to us about the single most critical anti-poverty tool in Connecticut – the volunteer income tax assistance program (VITA) for less-privileged families and individuals to cope with and manage the tax-preparation process, resulting in tax credits and refunds going rapidly to clients. Pat is the Executive Director of Virtual VITA and manages a team of around 100 volunteers out of 1500 in Connecticut, operating at 120 brick and mortar sites and helping complete 52,000 tax returns annually. Nationwide, the organization has 65,000 volunteers at 9,000 sites, helping clients file 3.5 million returns.

The key component driving their work is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that rewards low-income people for working, and can result in up to $10,000 in refunds going to a family with dependent children. Additionally, as a result of CARES legislation enacted during the Covid crisis, the team is working to aid clients to file tax returns to qualify for up to $1,200 per individual and $500 for each child: there are around 90,000 people needing help to file a return before they can receive the refunds they are due under CARES.

Overall, there are 213,000 households in Connecticut who filed tax returns in 2018 with an average adjusted gross income of $24,500; the EITC for those households was around $2,700, and those refunds contributed significantly to the local economy. However, despite the advantages to be gained, it is estimated that 21% of qualifying households do not claim the EITC, and Virtual VITA’s challenge is to overcome ignorance and fear to gain the confidence of those potential clients and help them take advantage of the system. The scale of the task facing Pat and his team is that 579,000 households qualify for their assistance: that is 42% of the population of the State of Connecticut.

Pat’s story of the efforts and the successes achieved during the rush to cope with returns in the lockdown situation engendered by Covid is one of patience and persistence, and a powerful testament to his ability to work with both the bureaucracy of governments and the oft-encountered hostility and suspicion of potential clients.

You can see the presentation at https://youtu.be/vrEVBhXfAWg, and view his slides on Virtual VITA Project – VirtualVITA Inc Executive Summary for DMA REVISED.