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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Ed Myers, former president and chief executive officer of Transworld Airlines Inc. (TWA), was described “… as a man who, above anything else, knows a thing or two about money and about running an airline” in an article published by The New York Times in 1985. Ed’s talk will focus on his years with TWA, from 1968 until his retirement in 1985. An event that left a significant impression on him was meeting Pope John Paul II when TWA provided air service to the Pope during his visit to the United States in 1979. The title of Ed’s talk is “The Pope and Me.” Ed began his career in 1953 with the hotel accounting firm of Harris, Kerr, Forster & Co. In 1968, he went to work for Eastern Airlines as assistant treasurer and in 1968 joined TWA in the same position, becoming senior vice president for finance in 1971. He then was named president and chief executive officer of the airline in 1975, retiring in 1985. From there, he went to Hilton International Hotels as president and chief executive officer until 1988. In addition to his business career, Ed served as a board member and trustee of a number of organizations, including the Air Transportation Association, National Public Radio, Rollins College and Bradley International Airport. He served on the Reagan Presidential Transportation Transition Team in 1981. In Darien, he served on the Library board and the Red Cross and was a member of the Literacy Volunteers. He is an avid golfer and is a member of the Union League Club and the Sky Club in New York City. He also enjoys playing bridge. During the Korean War, he was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery.

Arranged by Alex Garnett

Video: https://youtu.be/rxomdjCli5s

Sadly, Ed passed away shortly after his talk.

Carl Edwin Meyer Jr. died peacefully on November 4th in Norwalk Hospital, with his wife Ruth by his side. He was 89-years-old and lived in New Canaan, CT.

Born in Flushing, NY on August 6, 1928, he was the son of the late Carl E. and Eunice Taylor Meyer.

He graduated from Amherst College in 1950 with a major in history. Following college, he served in the U.S. Army Reserves as a First Lieutenant, Field Artillery from 1950 to 1952.

He began his professional career at Harris, Kerr Foster & Co. in 1953 and attended New York University night school earning an MBA in 1957. He was a certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. In 1965 he joined Eastern Airlines as Assistant Treasurer. In 1968 he joined Trans World Airlines (TWA) as Assistant Treasurer and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance in 1971. In 1975 he was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of TWA and he skillfully guided the airlines for the next 10 years. Under his leadership, TWA was granted the honor to serve as the U.S. Carrier for Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to America in 1979. From 1980 thru 1984, he set the example for the airline industry with the institution of a 50% airfare discount program for military service personnel traveling at their own expense while on leave or pass. This discount earned the airline the Outstanding Civilian Service Award from the Department of the Army. In 1985 he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton International serving until his retirement in 1988. Throughout his career he served on numerous corporate, government, and public boards. Notable among these were B.F. Goodrich, the Regan Presidential Transportation Transitional Team, the National and International Airline Transportation Association and National Public Radio of Washington D.C.

In retirement, he served on a number of local organizations, including as a trustee of the Darien Public Library, President of the Darien Red Cross, Board member of Literacy Volunteers, and as a volunteer at Greenwich Hospital.

His greatest passion in life was spending time with his family, his friends, and many pets at home in New Canaan, CT or Southold, NY. He was a warm, compassionate, and loving father and grandfather who was always available to listen and offer advice. Throughout life he loved golf and was an avid bridge player, a member of the Senior Men’s Club of New Canaan and the Congregational Church of New Canaan.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, the former Ruth Leslie Oddy, two sons and their wives, Jeffrey S. and Lois Meyer of Darien, CT and William D. and Amy Meyer of White Heath, IL, two brothers, John D. Meyer of Dataw Island SC and James S. Meyer of East Haddam, CT, and four granddaughters, Caroline K. Meyer, Allison S. Meyer, Mallory M. Meyer and Kendall A.L. Meyer of Darien, CT.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the North Fork Animal Welfare League, PO Box 297, Southold, NY, 11971 and Strays & Others, PO Box 473, New Canaan, CT 06820 or any animal shelters of your personal choosing.

Services will be held at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, 23 Park Street on Saturday, November 25, 2017, at 11:00 A.M.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

David L. Levinson, Ph.D., president, Norwalk Community College (NCC), will talk about activities at the school since 2004, when he was named to his present position. During his presidency, NCC completed a successful capital campaign for a new Science, Health and Wellness Center, became an Achieving the Dream Leader College, and was selected by MDC, Inc. as one of 15 community colleges nationwide to receive funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a developmental education project. NCC is a recipient of Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2010 Community Engagement Classification based on the college’s commitment to serving the community. Dr. Levinson serves as vice president for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities at the Board of Regents for Higher Education and is general editor of “Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia” and is author of “Community Colleges: A Reference Handbook.” He is an elected commissioner on the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and co-chairs the American Sociological Association’s Task Force on Community College Faculty. He also is on the board of directors of the Connecticut Campus Compact; Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce; Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk; Norwalk Children’s Foundation; U Thant Institute; and the Workplace, Inc., southwestern Connecticut’s Workforce Investment Board. A recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he taught at Bergen Community College; Merrimack College; Norwalk Community College; Teachers College, Columbia University; and Tufts University. Dr. Levinson holds a B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at New Paltz and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Arranged by Erik Rambusch

Video: https://youtu.be/XjlrTgDJdQs
 

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Greg Palmer, co-owner of his family’s business called Palmer’s Market, will talk about “Noroton Heights: Past, Present and Future.” He is president of the Noroton Heights Shopping Center, where he and his brother Jim are spearheading the redevelopment of the center. Greg is a true philanthropist who gives freely and generously of his time and resources. Personally and through his business, he supports local organizations, schools, sports teams and fundraisers. Greg’s commitment to serve others is evident in the many organizations to which he has dedicated his time. He is a past board member of the Darien Chamber of Commerce and served as sidewalk sales chair. He received its Volunteer of the Year award in 2002. He also served on the board of the Community Fund of Darien as Business Committee chairman. Greg has been a part of the Allocations Committee and the CARE campaign and received the Volunteer of the Year award in 2009. He represented Darien on the Coastal Fairfield County Tourism board in the early ‘90s. He has been a First County

Bank Incorporator since 2008 and a member on the Spring Grove Cemetery board since 2009. He is a member of the Kiwanis and the Darien Old Timers Athletic Association, where he was president. He also is a member of the Country Club of Darien and the Campfire Club of America. Greg graduated from Darien High School in 1979. He graduated cum laude from Southern New Hampshire University in 1983 and was a member of the National Honor Society. He is a father of three, a dedicated family man and a lifelong Darien resident. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys fly fishing, boating, hiking, skiing, golf, and trap and skeet shooting.

Arranged by Tom Lom

Video: https://youtu.be/vAqdMuaQIY4
 

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Dominic Rocca, M.D., Ph.D., will talk about “What You Should Know about Sleep” that will provide an overview of the basics of sleep, including the different stages of sleep and sleep requirements. Dr. Rocca will discuss insomnia and sleep apnea, the two most common sleep disorders. He also will talk about the dangers of sleep deprivation and how to use naps and caffeine to deal with it. Dr. Rocca is a member of the Pulmonary Associates of Stamford. Before that, he was director of the Connecticut Center for Sleep Medicine. He formerly was awarded a sleep fellowship with Boston University and Beth Israel Hospitals. He also had fellowships in Pulmonary & Critical Care and Allergy and Immunology at Boston University. He served a three-year residency in internal medicine at New York University. Dr. Rocca has received numerous honors and awards, including Top Connecticut Doctor Award and Specialist of the Year Award at Stamford Hospital. He is a member of a number of medical associations such as the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American Medical Association. Dr. Rocca’s board certifications include internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care.

Arranged by Jack Fitzgibbons

Video: https://youtu.be/dV4jQELUCxs

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Ute Wartenberg Kagan, J.D., executive director, American Numismatic Society, will present a fascinating account of arguably the most valuable coin in the world – the 1933 $20 gold Double Eagle, which last sold in 2002 at a Sotheby’s auction for $7.6 million. This bizarre and mysterious saga begins in 1933 with the Gold Confiscation Act and ends in April 2017 at the U.S. Supreme Court. The intriguing tale includes alleged smuggling from the U.S. Mint, King Farouk of Egypt, shady coin dealers, government agents conducting a “sting operation” and, of course, a few lawyers. Dr. Wartenberg Kagan’s primary research focus is on ancient Greek coinage, and she has spent most of her academic career in the museum world. From 1991 through 1998, she worked as the curator of Greek coins in the British Museum in London. Since 1999, she has been the executive director of the American Numismatic Society in New York. Educated in Saarbrucken, Germany, Dr. Wartenberg Kagan was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where she received her doctorate in papyrology. She has published more than 50 books and articles on numismatics and papyrology, is a recognized public speaker, and is frequently interviewed for newspapers, radio and television. In connection with her active interest in current U.S. coinage, Dr. Wartenberg Kagan has testified about coin design before the Senate Banking Committee and has been appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury to various coin advisory committees.

Arranged by Tom Haack

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf-oEnR0k4Q&feature=em-upload_owner

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

George Ubogy, M.D., will talk about appreciating music, which is basically understanding how differing emotions are captured and exemplified in music. He will illustrate his talk by playing excerpts by Schubert, Wagner, Rossini and Brahms. He also will discuss the role of the performer’s interpretation of music, the physics of musical sounds and the neurobiology of hearing music. Dr. Ubogy attended the Juilliard Preparatory Division during childhood and adolescence and continues to play the piano for pleasure. At Cornell University, he learned to play the chimes (a small carillon) and continues to make and submit musical arrangements of classical and popular music for that instrument. A retired physician, he was an internist and section head at Greenwich Hospital.

Arranged by Sunil Saksena

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5sYRbc4ur4&feature=em-upload_owner

Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Chandra Bozelko often is called the new “Orange Is the New Black.” As a graduate of Princeton University who was in the middle of postgraduate study when she was arrested, she was an unlikely inmate. “Orange Is the New Black” is a TV series about a woman who struggles to adapt to life in prison. Chandra served more than six years at the York Correctional Institution, Connecticut’s only women’s prison, for several non-violent crimes that remain on appeal. While she was incarcerated, she published a book of poetry, Up the River: An Anthology. Chandra was the first inmate to write a newspaper column from behind bars, called “Prison Diaries.” The column is now is a blog that updates weekly with a new “diary” entry. “Prison Diaries” was honored by the Webby Awards and won first place in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ annual contest in 2016. While she was incarcerated and since her release, Chandra has established herself as a thought leader on issues related to criminal justice reform. Her written commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, USA Today, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, Quartz, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Hartford Courant, The Baltimore Sun and several other publications. In January 2017, Chandra was granted a John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship to work on indigent defense under the new presidential administration. Chandra lives in Connecticut.
Arranged by David Mace

You can read her blog at:
 Prison-Diaries.com

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i45PMdSyeM4&feature=em-upload_owner

Lennie Grimaldi is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, TV Guide, Yankee Magazine and Connecticut Magazine.
He is the author of Connecticut Characters: Personalities Spicing Up The Nutmeg State, Bow Tie Banker , a biography of David Carson, the retired CEO of People’s Bank, and Chased, the life of mob infiltrator Billy Chase. He is also the author of Connecticut Whistle Stops: Greenwich to New Haven and Only In Bridgeport, An Illustrated History of the Park City.

He has won awards for journalistic excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists, Connecticut Chapter and United Press International.

Grimaldi has also written dozens of radio campaigns and corporate-crafted history programs for companies such as Louis Rich, HBO, Tropicana, Excedrin, Nivea, SNET, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Campbell Soup and Apple.

Grimaldi also brings a wide array of corporate communications and public relations experience. His clients have included Wal-Mart Stores and Donald Trump. For Wal-Mart Grimaldi directed a community and media relations campaign for the conversion of an EPA cleanup site in Stratford, CT into a new Wal-Mart retail outlet. For Trump, he handled communications during the hotly debated casino expansion issue before the Connecticut Legislature.

Keeping roots close to home he is the founder and host of the webzine Only In Bridgeport, devoted to government and politics in Connecticut’s largest city.

Contact Lennie Grimaldi, 203-913-2368

lenniegrimaldi@onlyinbridgeport.com

Connecticut Characters: Personalities Spicing Up The Nutmeg State

Lennie Grimaldi’s new book chronicles 40 years of spicy personalities from political chili peppers such as John Rowland and Joe Ganim, to pop culture cloves Linda Blair and Ed and Lorraine Warren to habanero Hells Angels and mobsters; a journey into the underbelly of cities to the wooded terrain of wilderness warriors. The FBI and Donald Trump too.

When 19-year-old Lennie Grimaldi tried to land an exclusive interview with 18-year-old actress Linda Blair following her arrest on drug charges he camped out near the women’s bathroom at a Westport bar. The Exorcist star gave him the interview. When Grimaldi needed color for a Connecticut Magazine profile of mobster Frank Piccolo, he crashed his wake. When Bridgeport’s sweet-and-sour Police Chief Joe Walsh refused an interview request, Grimaldi sent him a singing telegram. He got the interview.

These stories and more are chronicled in Grimaldi’s new book that captures a 40-year writing career covering some of Connecticut’s intriguing characters.

Grimaldi is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, TV Guide, Yankee Magazine and Connecticut Magazine. He also served as a media consultant to Donald Trump in the mid-/late 1990s. He is the founder and host of the webzine Only In Bridgeport, devoted to government and politics in Connecticut’s most populous city.

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