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Rawden, Lou

Lou Rawden grew up in Cheshire, Conn.  He graduated with a B.S. degree from Bryant University in 1978 and an MS degree from the University of Hartford in 1980.  Lou started his career as a CPA with Deloitte and Touche in Stamford, Conn and over the years transitioned to banking .  In March of 2022 Lou retired from Apple Bank in New York City after a 30 year career  where he last served as Chief Financial Officer.  

Lou lives in Darien with his wife Kathy.   They moved to Darien in 1985.  Their two children Katie and Lou Jr. were educated in the public school system.   Lou was active with Darien Little League serving as a coach, commissioner and in the initial fund raising for the McGuane baseball fields and over the years has held several Board positions at the Middlesex Club.     Lou and Kathy are long time members of the Middlesex Club and enjoy racquet sports, biking, hiking and golf.

Book Club: The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf, April 10, 2024

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, whether climbing the highest volcanoes in the world or racing through anthrax-infested Siberia. He came up with a radical vision of nature, that it was a complex and interconnected global force and did not exist for man’s use alone. Ironically, his ideas have become so accepted and widespread that he has been nearly forgotten.

Now Andrea Wulf brings the man and his achievements back into focus: his investigation of wild environments around the world; his discoveries of similarities between climate zones on different continents; his prediction of human-induced climate change; his remarkable ability to fashion poetic narrative out of scientific observation; and his relationships with iconic figures such as Simón Bolívar and Thomas Jefferson. Wulf examines how his writings inspired other naturalists and poets such as Wordsworth, Darwin, and Goethe, and she makes the compelling case that it was Humboldt’s influence on John Muir that led him to his ideas of preservation and that shaped Thoreau’s Walden.

Humboldt was the most interdisciplinary of scientists and is the forgotten father of environmentalism. With this brilliantly researched and compellingly written audiobook, she makes clear the myriad, fundamental ways that Humboldt created our understanding of the natural world.

Book Club: Chip War by Chris Miller, March 13, 2024

“An epic account of the decades-long battle to control what has emerged as the world’s most critical resource–microchip technology–with the United States and China increasingly in conflict. You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil–the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything–from missiles to microwaves, smartphones to the stock market–runs on chips. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America’s edge is slipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America’s military superiority and economic prosperity. Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the U.S. become dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America’s victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. But here, too, China is catching up, with its chip-building ambitions and military modernization going hand in hand. America has let key components of the chip-building process slip out of its grasp, contributing not only to a worldwide chip shortage but also a new Cold War with a superpower adversary that is desperate to bridge the gap. Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips”–Amazon.

Bullitt, Rick

Rick Bullitt has a wife (Georgia), two children (Stockton and Ellie), and two grandchildren (Emmy and Beau — endless pictures available on request). He was born in Philadelphia in 1956 and attended Yale, then to the University of Virginia for a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a law degree from Cal. He spent thirty years as a patent attorney in various law firms and corporations and retired from Bayer Healthcare. In the summer of 1976, he worked at Disney World driving a steam locomotive. Rick plays squash and tennis with an equal lack of skill.

Farley, Frank

Frank Farley received an A.B. from Boston College in 1975 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in
1979. After practicing law for a couple of years, Frank changed careers and joined The First
Boston Corporation as an associate in the public finance department in 1982. As Managing
Director and group manager, he financed countless large infrastructure projects around the
country before retiring in May, 2015.
Frank and his wife Pam moved to Darien in 1990 and all three of their children were educated
in the public school system. Frank is a longstanding member of The Tokeneke Club and the
Harvard Club of New York City.

Milewski, Martin

I was born and raised in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and I’m the son of a World War II veteran. I am married, my wife’s name is Anu and we have two children, Francesca who is 28 and my son Alexander who is 25. My daughter lives in Miami and my son lives in Atlanta. My past and current work history is refining operations for Gulf Oil and Sunoco, television production for Bloomberg, CBS, ESPN and did production work for ABC sports. Currently I am Executive Producer for a startup, ideamix coaching where I produce visual and audio content.
I’ve dabbled in model railroading and welcome others to click on the link below to view our current train platform.
Also I am passionate about music. I play guitar (60 years) and I sing. I am always looking for others to play with.
I also enjoy photography. Some of my work hangs in the Darien Museum and another photo hangs in the back of Uncle’s Deli, it’s Uncle’s Deli on a snowy night.
I have also produced a song for a Nashville artist Doug Allen who was originally a resident of Darien. There is another artist from Barbados whom I recorded in my studio. (See links below)
I was a member at the Friars Club in New York City and produced nights there.
We’ve resided in Darien since 1994 and I look forward to meeting many within the membership.
Oh! I love racquetball, paddle, pickleball, bowling, ping pong and maybe we start a dart league?
( American or English?)

Hike Norwalk River Valley Trail, Feb 22, 2024, 10:00

URBAN HIKE

NORWALK RIVER VALLEY TRAIL

      NORWALK, CT

    FEBRUARY 22, 2024

  10:00 AM

 

The Norwalk River Valley Trail will eventually run from Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk to Danbury. We hiked one finished section in Wilton last November. The trail is either paved or packed stone, is well marked and has limited ups and downs. The section of the trail we will be hiking on 2/15 runs for 3 miles north from the Maritime Museum in South Norwalk. This is an out and back hike so, depending on the weather and how we feel, we can turn around at any point and return to the start. We will probably hike for 4-5 miles in total which should take us 2 hours or less.

From the start at the front door of the Maritime Museum the trail takes us along the Norwalk River behind the SONO Mall, along the Metro North tracks, past the Norwalk Transfer Station and into the Pine Island Cemetery which dates from 1708 where the oldest surviving headstone dates from 1723. On north past the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, through Union Park and along the river again up past Riverside Cemetery to the end at Kellogg Pond. On the return we will pass through Oyster Shell Park which has a commanding view over the river out to the sound. We will have an optional lunch at Mamma Bella Cucina near the museum.

DIRECTIONS: Park in the Maritime Center Garage on N. Water Street which is directly across from the Center. The restaurant is in the garage building. Bring friends and family and dogs on a leash are allowed.

CONTACT: Dave McCollum

 

Recap:

A group of 22 DMA hikers and friends braved a chilly but pleasant day traversing a completed section of the future trail from Norwalk to Danbury that begins at the Maritime Aquarium and runs north for 3 miles to Broad Street. Our group only went up as far as Riverside Cemetery, a distance of 2.2 miles, before returning back along the same path to the Aquarium. We were joined by Tanner Thompson, a Norwalk resident who is planning a new trail from Norwalk to Greenwich. Tanner is also involved in Norwalk affairs and was able to provide interesting commentary on many aspects of the history and state of the NRVT.

This section of the NRVT runs along the Norwalk River and passes through Pine Island Cemetery, which dates from 1708, past the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion and on up past Union Park to Riverside Cemetery.

Because it was an out and back hike, some hikers turned around at various points and headed back to the Aquarium, tailoring their hike to the distance that was comfortable for them. Fourteen of us made the entire trip and eight stopped for lunch on the way back at The Norwalk Art Space Café at 455 West Avenue for lunch. We were joined by one non-hiker who came to lunch. The Art Space is in a repurposed church and features local art in addition to delicious food. After lunch, we resumed our hike back to the Aquarium. 

This trail is an amazing amenity for all of Fairfield County to enjoy.

Dave McCollum

Robert Plunkett

 

Bridges, Sam

I was born in 1953 in Massachusetts.  My family lived in Carlisle and I spent summers with my grandparents in Marion. In 1972, I graduated from St. Mark’s School and made a beeline to Colorado to go to college and ski.  I received my BS in Finance in 1976 and my MBA in 1977, both from the University of Denver. 

I was a commercial banker for 44 years.  My first job, starting in 1977, was in Los Angeles with Crocker National Bank.  I then joined First Chicago in 1983 and spent the next 20 years working for them in Los Angeles, Chicago, and NY.  For the last 16 years, until retirement in 2022, I worked for Helaba (Landesbank Hessen) in NY.  Since 1992, I focused on serving the needs of clients in the insurance industry in the US, Canada, and Bermuda.

In 1980, my wife Joanna and I were married in San Diego.  Our two kids were born in the next few years in Long Beach.  Leaving Los Angeles in 1988, we lived in Chicago for 3 ½ years before a transfer to New York in 1991 brought us to Darien.  We are long time members of St Luke’s Parish and Noroton Yacht Club.  Our daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren live in Darien and our son lives in Brooklyn.  I’ve enjoyed volunteering in the communities where we’ve lived.  Among my interests are gardening and landscaping, being on the water, skiing, and traveling, with the most frequent destination being St. Croix where my wife was raised.

Morant, Ueli

Ueli Morant was born (1950), educated and raised in Switzerland and moved to the US in his early twenties and he became a proud US Citizen in 1984. 

He began his career in NYC as an advertising executive serving global brands and moved to the client side later to become a marketing expert. He worked for both IBM in Europe and Philips Electronics worldwide where his responsibilities included marketing, communications and product development. In these roles he also became an expat for seven years, living with his family in both Paris and Amsterdam before returning home to Darien.

Ueli also co-founded Nano Terra, a nano technology development company in Boston, in partnership with Harvard University. The firm employed its own scientists who were deployed on projects for major US companies, when that technology was still in its infancy.

Ueli spent his last ten professional years as head of an M&A firm representing German automotive parts companies to establish and expand their US presence.

Ueli retired in 2023 and now focuses on woodworking, where he designs and builds mostly chairs and tables. He and his former wife Mary Morant have three grown children and three grand-children.

 

Hough, Gordon

Gordon was raised in Darien and attended the Darien public schools graduating in 1975.  He went on to Washington and Lee University earning a degree in economics which he took with him upon graduation to Sun Valley, Idaho to secure bartending and dishwashing jobs as a ski bum.  Reality set in and Gordon commenced a 40-year career in finance in New York City.  During his career he worked for a number of major international banks and several boutiques focused on advising and arranging trade and project finance in the developing world.  He worked across many different industries as well as different geographies which resulted in an interesting and dynamic career for him.  The business took him to roughly 40 different countries around the world, though not as glamorous as it might sound.  The markets he was active in were developing economies i.e. those where you didn’t drink the water.  Gordon retired in 2022.

Gordon married a Darien classmate, Holly Orr in 1987 and moved from New York to Rowayton for 5 years prior to migrating across Five Mile River to Darien.  They raised two children in Darien and enjoy racquet sports, golf, skiing and hiking.  They are long time members of The Tokeneke Club, and more recently picking up golf, Silvermine Golf Club.  Gordon and Holly are ADK-46ers, having climbed all 46 peaks in the Adirondacks exceeding 4000 feet.    

 

Drummond-Hay, Peter

Peter grew up in the UK and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from Trinity College, Cambridge University. He and Bettina, a former school teacher, moved from London in 1981 to Darien and in 1984 to Rowayton, where they raised their four children and where Bettina was for many years deeply involved with Shakespeare on the Sound, including as an actor in the first production.  They have five grandchildren, three of whom they are lucky enough to have living nearby in Rowayton, plus two in Newburyport, Massachusetts and there is another on the way in Brooklyn. They now spend part of the time in Scotland, where they have a home near St Andrews. Inspired by this proximity to the home of golf, Peter has recently taken up the game on the grounds that it’s never too late. 

Peter retired in 2017 after 35 years at Russell Reynolds Associates, based in New York and, for the last five years, in Singapore. In addition to his work in leadership consulting and executive search for clients, he was involved globally over many years in the management of the firm. Earlier he was with the merchant bank Arbuthnot Latham in London and New York and with Balfour Williamson, a subsidiary of Lloyds Bank International. He is Chair of the American Patrons of the National Library and Galleries of Scotland, was formerly Chair of the University of St Andrews American Foundation and of Restless Development USA, and was a board member of British American Business and the New Canaan Country School.

 

Govoni, Steve

Steve Govoni was born in Manhattan and raised in Rye, close to the Playland Ice Casino, but playing hockey in a junior league founded by New York Rangers General Manager Emile Francis meant shlepping to rinks all over the metropolitan area. After graduating from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, Steve wrote 50 articles for true-crime magazines edited by his father and started his newspaper career at the Stamford Advocate as a reporter-photographer. At the Bergen Record, he won a Deadline Award for an investigative series on the fraudulent demise of several trucking companies in New York and New Jersey. He also won a year-long Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University, which led to positions at Financial World and The New York Times magazines.

As imminent parenthood approached, Steve joined Morgan Stanley’s global equity research department as a supervisory analyst and was eventually recruited away by SBC Warburg, which moved to Stamford in 1997 and morphed into what is now UBS.

After his wife Kate died from a botched allergy shot in a doctor’s office with her son nearby, Steve became the founding president of the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety, a grassroots organization devoted to putting a human face on preventable medical error.

He also served on the board of the New York Financial Writers Association. In 2006, Steve moved to the “buy side” of financial services, first with the marketing department of Lord Abbett, then Virtus Investment Partners, where he retired in September 2023.

After 25 years in Rowayton, he sold his house to a 31-year-old cryptocurrency executive (in dollars). He and his wife Bobbi Arnold, a financial manager with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, now live in Silvermine. In addition to hockey, Steve’s interests include golf (with a sense of humor), soccer, photography, theater, film, and art, all of which help explain why he sold the boat he moored at the Norwalk Yacht Club.

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