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Bird, Sam

May 29, 2022 /

Samuel (Sam) Bird, Jr. was born in Stevens Pont, Wisconsin in 1937 and was raised in Dallas and New Orleans. He attended high school and college in Wisconsin, graduating from Marquette University in 1957 with a bachelor of mechanical engineering degree. He then received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966. Before graduating, he served for two years in the U.S. Army in Germany.

Early in his career Sam worked for IBM as a Systems Engineer, as a management consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, as a security analyst for Laird and Company, and as President of United Systems, a computer services firm. In 1980 he founded Bird Automotive, a designer and manufacturer of automotive accessories, headquartered in California and now in Connecticut. He continues the business on a reduced basis. Sam has served on the boards of San Francisco University High School, Wayfarer Church Foundation and Hadco Corporation.

Sam was married in 1987 to Cynthia Danieson Bird, who retired from teaching at Middlesex School in Darien in 2000. The Birds then moved to California for 11 years, returning to Connecticut in 2021. They have four sons, seven grandchildren, and attend St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien.

Lew, Daniel

May 29, 2022 /

Daniel Lew was born in the Bronx, N.Y. in 1963 and is a first generation Chinese American. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1981, from Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science with a B.S. degree in computer science engineering in 1985 and from New York University School Stern School of Business with an MBA in finance in 1989. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1997.

Dan enjoyed a 30-year career in investments working at Equitable in NYC, Rogers Casey in Darien, William M. Mercer in NYC, Strong Funds in NYC, Citizens Advisers in Portsmouth, American International Group in Jersey City, and John Hsu Capital in NYC. He had a myriad of roles including portfolio analysis computer programming, performance measurement, client servicing, asset allocation, institutional investment consulting, security analysis, and portfolio management.

After leaving the Wall Street world in 2015, Dan decided to became a Main Street entrepreneur and was the first Connecticut franchisee for uBreakiFix, now the largest consumer electronics repair franchise in Fairfield County. In 2018, he sold the business and decided to “retire”.  Dan and his wife Fiona, a hemodialysis senior nurse clinician at NYU Langone, have lived in Darien since getting married in 1991 and have three daughters.  Dan is oftentimes found at the Darien YMCA swimming laps, playing pickle ball or in boxing fitness class. He is a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Stamford flotilla, and continues to be an active public and private equity investor. He enjoys cooking, fishing, golf, and playing craps.

Luciana, Gene

May 25, 2022 /

Eugene (Gene) Luciana was born in 1941 and grew up in Steubenville, Ohio. He graduated from Franciscan University in 1963 with a B.S. degree in finance and accounting. He joined the Deloitte accounting firm and upon attaining his CPA certificate, he taught accounting at Franciscan University as well as at Kent State University. Gene subsequently became the chief financial officer and a Board member of Heritage industries in Chattanooga, Tenn. Through an acquisition, he became executive vice president, chief financial officer and a Board member of Chase Paper and Packaging in Greenwich, CT. After sale of the company to International Paper, he became the executive vice president, chief financial officer of Sunbelt Beverage Company, a leading wine and spirits distributor, which took him to Baltimore. 3 Mergers and acquisitions transactions were the main driver of Gene’s career. His most recent transactions involved the wine and spirits companies of the Wirtz family of Chicago, Illinois, creating Breakthru Beverage. He retired in 2021 as executive vice president, chief financial officer of Breakthru but remains on the Board of its majority owner.

Gene and his wife Betty Ann have lived in New Canaan as well as Darien for 35 years. They have six children. His interests include politics, the stock market, St. Thomas More Church, the New York Yankees, the NFL and Notre Dame football.

Wandering Grant’s Tomb, Thursday, May 26, 2022

May 10, 2022 /

On Thursday May 26, the Happy Wanderers will travel on Metro-North to the upper west side of Manhattan. We will visit Grant’s Tomb where Mamundi Subhas (who spoke to the DMA two months ago) will be our guide. We will also visit the site of the 1776 Revolutionary War battle of Harlem Heights. Nearby is The Riverside Church built by the Rockefellers and also the Columbia University campus. Time permitting, we will walk down to The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. We will then take the bus across 125th Street and return to Darien on Metro-North. During our wandering we will eat lunch at the appropriate time. Since this outing will likely be popular among DMA members, we will ask anyone interested to reserve a space with Joe Spain or David Mace. If we have openings closer to our time of departure, we will open participation to spouses and friends.

Sept. 7, 2022. Jonathan Olmsted, “Two Hundred Years of Frederick Law Olmsted

May 9, 2022 /

Jonathan Olmsted will speak to us about the life and work of Frederick Law Olmsted (1822 – 1903). This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man known as the “Father of American Landscape Architecture.”  He and his family firm were arguably the most influential landscape architects in the United States with over 500 commissions that included 100 public parks, 200 private estates, and 40 campuses for colleges and secondary schools.  These include Central Park in New York (1857), the Buffalo Park System (1868), the Boston Park System (1870), the United States Capitol (1874), the Chicago World’s Fair (1893) and the Biltmore Estate (1895) in Asheville, North Carolina.

Jonathan was born in Boston, educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Stanford University.  Frederick and Jonathan are cousins, both descended from James Olmsted who voyaged to America from England in 1632 and was one of the Founders of Hartford, Connecticut in 1636. Jonathan and his wife Janet lived in New York, London and San Francisco before moving to Darien 45 years ago.

Video Presentation 

Arranged by Ed Barksdale

 

DMA Memorial Day Parade – May 30, 2022

April 30, 2022 /

2022 Memorial Day Parade in Darien.

For those who would like to participate in the Memorial Day Parade in Darien on Monday, May 30, please plan on gathering between 9:00 am and 9:30 am at Goodwives Shopping Center. Preferred attire is khakis and a blue shirt. For detailed information on parking and other logistics, click on the following link: Memorial Day Parade Instructions 2022. Also, please be advised that several wives will be gathering near Upper Crust Bagels and Calvary Baptist Church (980 Post Road) to watch the parade if your wife or other family members would like to join them.

David Lindsay

April 22, 2022 /

David Dean Lindsay, 75, longtime resident of Norwalk, CT, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully in his sleep during his favored afternoon nap on April 12th, 2022.
He unknowingly spent his final days doing the things he loved – visiting with dear friends, watching the Masters with his family, volunteering at Person to Person and doing Sudoku in the sunshine with his trusty sidekick, Millie.
David was born and raised in Greenwich CT, son of the late Gordon and Mary Stewart Lindsay. He attended Trinity Pawling School, class of 1964, and St Lawrence University, class of 1968, where he enjoyed lacrosse and razzing SAE pledges.
While not long enough, David lived many lifetimes in his 75 years. He spent his early days teaching skiing at Stratton, working at Olin Ski Company, helping to build Snowbird Ski Resort and ripping it up in a few Warren Miller films. He then returned to his lifelong passion for sailing as Vice President of UK Sailmakers for 15 years. His storied sailing career brought him all over the world – 27,000 miles aboard the Ondine, winning every major ocean race in the Atlantic in 1968, and he would continue on to race in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference and the Bermuda Race 10 times in the next 10 years. When he decided to become an adult he joined his brother-in-law’s company, Rand Insurance, as VP of Sales and Marketing in their New Canaan office where he spent the next 32 years until he retired in 2020.
David was an avid outdoorsman, loving nothing more than a day hunting at Ten Mile River Preserve, shooting (the breeze) at Weston Gun Club or his retirement “job” dog handling at Clove Valley with Millie at his side. Hunting and fishing trips with his buddies to Mexico, Costa Rica, Wales, Columbia and Argentina were never discussed in detail when he returned home. In the summer he enjoyed golfing at Silvermine Golf Club, finally getting a much deserved hole-in-one just last year; and he was so excited when his longtime Noroton Yacht Club finally built a real bar so they could mix up his signature DL specials.
David was also a dedicated volunteer, fundraising for organizations dear to his heart for decades, notably WGC Community Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, CT State Golf Association, and most recently, volunteering at the Open Door Shelter and Person to Person.
David was a man with many nicknames, countless amazing friends and a fabulous mustache, but most importantly, his world revolved around his family. His sweet and patient wife of 43 years, Teal; his loving daughter, Adare; his son-in-law and dear friend, Patrick Kiely; and the light of his life, and perhaps his proudest accomplishment, his beautiful grandchildren, Spencer (6) and Griffin (3). He is also survived by his sister, Barbara Whittaker; and his sister-in-law Suzanne Rand; and their beloved families. He was predeceased by his brother, Gordon Lindsay.
“Davey” will be greatly missed by so many who loved him dearly.
A memorial service will be held later this spring. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Person to Person in Darien or Open Door Shelter in Norwalk.

Wandering Flushing Queens, May 5, 2022

April 19, 2022 /

Happy Wanderers are planning a trek to Flushing, Queens on Thursday, May 5; the group will depart by carpool from the DCA parking lot at 9 am. Among its other distinctions, Flushing is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of New York City, with large Chinese, Korean and Indian populations. The early Quakers settled here and built the second oldest public high school in the country. Wanderers will have lunch at a local dim sum restaurant before returning to Darien. If you have questions, contact Joe Spain, David Mace or Sunil Saksena.

1) At the enormous Chinese market on Flushing’s Main Street, featuring vegetables of all kinds, meat cuts both familiar and unfamiliar, fish, etc.
2) The group in front of one of New York’s oldest houses, that of John Bowne (1661). Bowne was an English immigrant who moved to what was then New Netherland. He and fellow Quakers were persecuted, Bowne was banished back to The Netherlands, made his case for religious freedom, and returned to Flushing two years later
3) The group at the entrance to Flushing High School, a 2,000 student, architecturally impressive high school built in 1912 and set on a five-acre campus. (Hard to capture the size of the building, so we took a photo at the entrance).

Hike Greenwich Audubon Center, May 23, 2022, 10:00

April 15, 2022 /

HIKING GREENWICH AUDUBON CENTER

GREENWICH, CT
10 AM MONDAY MAY 23, 2022

Greenwich Audubon Center is a 285 acre sanctuary which opened its doors in 1943 as Audubon’s first nature education center in the country. Located on land donated by Eleanor Clovis Reese and H Hall Clovis the center includes over 7 miles of trails through a rich diversity of hardwood forest, meadows, lakes, streams and vernal ponds. Also on the property are an expansive Nature Education Center, an old apple orchard and original New England homestead buildings. We plan to meet in the main parking lot at 10 AM and hike for about two hours over varied terrain including one steep climb and several sections of rocky trail. We rate this as a hike of moderate plus difficulty. We hope to see migrating birds but our wildlife scorecard has not been
good! As always, guests and spouses welcome but NO DOGS. Probably no lunch but more later on that. The Center is located at 613 Riversville Road in Greenwich on the north side of the Merritt Parkway. Exit at Round Hill Road and use GPS to get you to the center.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum or Bob Plunkett

 

On a windy, but mild, morning 9 DMAers and 3 spouses hiked about 3 miles over varied terrain in just over 2 hours. The hike took a little longer than anticipated due to two navigation errors by the hike leaders. The first was due to a sign issue which seemed to direct us one way but meant the other. The second was a total lack of any signage at a fork in the trail. We, of course, took the fork but it turned out to loop us around onto a trail already hiked! Once we got that figured out, the rest of the hike went smoothly. One would think that the pre-hike we made two weeks ago would have ironed out any confusion but it did not! The conversation among hikers tends to distract navigation despite efforts to stay focused. 

On the plus side, the wildlife sightings were way above average. Birds, butterflies, frogs and deer tracks were seen but the best was near the end where a mother duck and her 8 tiny ducklings were swimming in a pond. 

This hike concludes the 2021-22 hiking season. Since September of 2021 we have gone on a hike every month for a total of 9. Thank you to all who participated. We will resume hiking in September.

 

Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

Person-to-Person Mail Carrier Food Drive, April 27, 2022, 12:30-2:00

April 13, 2022 /

Person-to-Person Mail Carrier Food Drive. We are still looking for additional volunteers to spend 1 to 1 ½ hours after our general meeting on April 27 to staple information flyers to shopping bags in support of this effort to generate food donations for the P2P Food Pantry. There will be a sign-up sheet at this week’s general meeting (if we meet in person at the DCA) or you can reach out directly to Frank DeLeo via email (frankdeleo@hotmail.com) if you’d like to help. Easy work for a good cause. We’re looking for 10+ volunteers.

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