Holiday Store benefits Salvation Army

Farmington Bank's West Hartford branch office hosted the WTIC Holiday Store benefitting the Salvation Army.  
The live remote by WTIC-AM 1080 was one in a series of events that collected non-perishable food items, new unwrapped toys and monetary donations for the Southern New England Division of the Salvation Army.  
Shown at the Farmington Bank event are, from left: Major Brian Glasco, Salvation Army Greater Hartford Services; Ray Dunaway, host of Mornings with Ray Dunaway on WTIC-AM 1080; John Patrick, chairman, president & CEO of Farmington Bank, and Roshan Patel, vice president and branch manager of Farmington Bank's West Hartford office.

Hebrew Health Care’s top doctor wins prestigious award

WEST HARTFORD— Hebrew Health Care's Physician-In-Chief, Dr. Henry Schneiderman, will receive the 2014 Nurse Practitioner Advocate Award for Excellence for Connecticut from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). Dr. Schneiderman was honored for his dedication as an advocate for nurse practitioners (NPs) in Connecticut and has made significant contributions toward increasing awareness and acceptance of the NP's role.  He will be recognized for this achievement during the 2014 AANP National Conference, at the Salute the States Award Ceremony, in June 2014. 
Dr. Schneiderman provided written testimony to support proposed legislation that would do away with the requirement of a mandatory written Collaborative Practice Agreement whereby the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN, synonymous with NP) has been burdened with a clinically meaningless requirement that an MD nominally review the APRN's practice.  His Impact Statement about this matter led to his being asked to serve on the Scope of Practice Committee of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.  This Committee includes many people and organizations that favor a proposed change in legislation, and others that oppose it.  Dr. Schneiderman has spoken at two meetings held by the Committee, marshalling facts and the experience garnered by the many states that have preceded Connecticut on this path of eliminating the Collaborative Practice Agreement; the essence of his contribution is to help show the benefits of the proposed changes in terms of public access to health care, of quality, and of cost-saving for society and government.  He has also assumed a very activist role in the internal conversation among those of like mind on the Committee. 

Syd H. Conn MVP trophy awarded to Hartford brothers

HARTFORD>>The Syd H. Conn MVP trophy was awarded the Gordon brothers, twin members of the Hartford High School football team.

Jonathan Conn and father, Stuart L. Conn, of West Hartford, presented the trophy on Thanksgiving Day 2013.The awarded has been handed out by the Conn family for the past 60 years.

Mercy Community awarded $1,000 for homeless support program

WEST HARTFORD—The Mercy Community, a continuing care retirement community, recently accepted a $1,000 grant from Berkshire Bank.

The money will help support its "BRIDGES" program that helps formerly homeless individuals by providing them with safe shelter, nutritious meals, and supportive services within The Frances Warde Towers Apartments at Saint Mary Home on The Mercy Community campus.
The program also provides clothing; spiritual and psychological counseling; job training; educational services; and medical and dental care for those in need.
"We are so grateful for Berkshire Bank's generosity," said William J. Fiocchetta, president and CEO of The Mercy Community. "This grant will help us to expand our BRIDGES program and offer more services to those trying to get back on their feet in our community."
To learn more about Saint Mary Home, The McAuley, and the full scope of services available at The Mercy Community, please call 860.570.8400 or visit www.TheMercyCommunity.org. 

NWC student wins honors in architectural drawing competition

CHAMPAIGN, IL— Northwest Catholic student Kelsey Baker received an honorable mention in the Discover FAA High School Architectural Drawing Competition.

College of Fine + Applied Arts (FAA) and School of Architecture announced its list of winners:

First place Senior – Yuxi Lu, Hillwood High School, Nashville, TN
Second place - Aslinur Taskin

Honorable Mention:

Kelsey Baker, Honorable Mention, Northwest Catholic High School, West Hartford, CT
Mansi Periwal, Honorable Mention, Delhi Public School, Gurgaon, India
Kevin Savillon, Honorable Mention, Design and Architecture High School, Miami, FL
Jingyi Zhou, Honorable Mention, Experimental HS of Beijing Normal Univ., Beijing, China
Joanna Zou, Honorable Mention, Hickman High School, Columbia, MO
View awardees online here: go.illinois.edu/FAAcompetitionGallery

Yuxi Lu has been awarded a $1000 scholarship toward her freshman year of study at the College of Fine + Applied Arts at Illinois. Aslinur Taskin has been awarded a $500 scholarship by the School of Architecture toward his freshman year of study in architecture. Additional honorees will receive a certificate and a gift from the School of Architecture.

According to Katrine Trantham, assistant dean for student recruitment and admissions, "This competition is an excellent vehicle for students to explore an interest in architecture. Those students who placed should be commended, as the talent exhibited was extraordinary. FAA faculty and alumni judges were impressed by the wide variety of entries and the amount of time students took to prepare their submissions." The contest attracted registrations from 25 states and three countries.

Launched in spring of 2013, the Discover FAA High School Competitions challenge students to test their
talent in specific fields. The fall competitions were open to all high school seniors in both public and
private schools. Students in grades 9-11 may compete in a separate contest with a due date of March 7,
2014; these students will compete for an opportunity to attend an FAA residential summer program in
summer 2014. Information about the competitions may be found at go.illinois.edu/FAAcompetitions.


The College of Fine + Applied Arts is a community of artists, designers, performers, and scholars
dedicated to the primacy of the creative process, on contributing to the future development of culture,
and on a deep engagement with the society; it includes academic units of Architecture, Art and Design, Dance, Landscape Architecture, Music, Theatre, and Urban and Regional Planning.

ASD students pair with Elizabeth Park Conservacy

American School for the Deaf partners with Elizabeth Park ConserWEST HARTFORD>>Students in the Employability Class at the American School for the Deaf (ASD) formed a work partnership with the Elizabeth Park Conservancy this fall.
The Employability Class is in its first year of operation and Elizabeth Park Conservancy was their first partnership.
Students removed and planted bulbs, fertilized and turned over garden beds, and weeded the rose gardens while learning about different types of gardening tools.
The partnership started in September and students worked through November 2013. The students, with teacher Joan Hanna, arrived in the afternoons, Monday-Thursday, and assisted with various gardening jobs alongside Andrea Masisak, manager of grounds and volunteers and Doug Clifford, conservancy gardener, Bob Prill, conservancy horticulturist and various Hartford city workers, including Jose, a deaf city worker.

Sam Pasco Trio performs at Intensive Education Academy

WEST HARTFORD >>The Sam Pasco Trio performed holiday songs for the students at the Intensive Education Academy in December at the school's campus at 840 North Main Street in West Hartford.

 

The trio not only shared their wonderful music, but also taught students about some of the reasons each of the instruments play. For example, Buzz, the trio's drummer, demonstrated a mambo rhythm, a cha-cha beat, a bossa nova variety, a disco and a swing beat along with a rip roaring solo! Sam Pasco explained that his saxophone sounds best with the neck and mouthpiece attached to the tenor sax body. The piano and the bass guitar gave a musical conversation and the students cheered! The program included many carols and a parade to '' It's a small world after all '', along with dancing to end the show!  

 

IEA Assistant Director of Education Mrs. Barbour described the performance as ''a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to enjoy holiday music, learn about several instruments and join together in holiday spirit! ''

 

IEA, a ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, is a state-approved special education facility serving children in grades K-12 from towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The academy, founded in 1971, encourages its students   to accept and value themselves in an academic environment that motivates, challenges, and satisfies each of them. Through assessment and development of individual education programs, students are encouraged to develop their inherent potential in order to prepare for their future.