Monthly Archives: January 2018

Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce Names Looney December’s ‘Business Student of the Month’

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Lyme-Old Lyme High School Assistant Principal Jeanne Manfredi presents Lyme-Old Lyme High School junior Patrick Looney with his award as the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce December 2017 Business Student of the Month. Leslie Traver, Lyme-Old Lyme High School Business Department Chair, joined the celebrations.

Lyme-Old Lyme High School junior Patrick Looney has been named the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce ‘Business Student of the Month’ for December 2017.

The Chamber’s ‘Business Student of the Month’ program continues the Chamber tradition of recognizing members of the junior class for demonstrating outstanding initiative in and out of the classroom.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce established the N. Rutherford Sheffield Memorial Award for Entrepreneurial Promise & Achievement for Lyme-Old Lyme High School juniors in 1999 as a way to honor Mr. Sheffield, a member of the Chamber for over 50 years who was highly regarded in our Lyme-Old Lyme community.

Since its inception, nearly 35 juniors at Lyme-Old Lyme High School have been recognized through this program.

(photo, l-r: Jeanne Manfredi, Lyme-Old Lyme High School Assistant Principal;
Leslie Traver, Lyme-Old Lyme High School Business Department Chair;
Patrick Looney, Lyme-Old Lyme High School junior and Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce December 2017 Business Student of the Month)

Community Connections, LOL Chamber Host Speaker on Marketing Media Strategies, Today; All Welcome

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Kayla Hedman will present ‘Media Strategies to Boost Marketing in 2018’ on Jan 17.

Community Connections hosts its next meeting today, Wednesday, Jan. 17, starting at noon at the Old Lyme Country Club. The meeting is being co-sponsored by the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce and this is the first time these two organizations have combined to sponsor an event and both are looking forward to the energy and synergy that it is anticipated the event will generate. All are welcome.

Despite the inclement weather forecast, it is anticipated the roads will be clear by travel time to the meeting and so the event is ON!  Walk-in’s are welcome.

The event will be a Networking Luncheon and Discussion at which brand journalist and digital media specialist Kayla Hedman of Miranda Creative, Inc. and Memoir Hub, LLC, will be the featured speaker. Her talk titled, “Media Strategies to Boost Marketing in 2018,” will cover the top five new media strategies to boost marketing this year.

Hedman will discuss:

  • how to best utilize new social media features
  • how to communicate effectively with your audience via email marketing
  • ways to attract people to your website and encourage them to take action
  • some of the best places to publish event listings
  • how to best integrate authentic video and photo into your marketing

Networking discussions during lunch will precede the presentation and roundtable discussions along with a question and answer session will follow.

The luncheon will be held at the Old Lyme Country Club, 40 McCurdy Rd., Old Lyme from 12 to 1:30 p.m. All are welcome but advance registration is required.  Walk-ins will be accepted if space permits.

There is a $25 charge, which includes lunch.  Register online at http://www.LOLCommunityConnections.org.

Register with Tina Birkic by phone at 203-249-4642 or email at tinabirkic@gmail.com or by emailing the Chamber at email@lolcc.com.

Community Connections was founded in September 2014 and is a network for local organizations to explore collaboration opportunities for the enhancement of the Lyme-Old Lyme community.  All area organization leaders and volunteers are welcome to join the group.  Luncheons are held three times per year and attended by up to 80 people representing more than 50 organizations.

For more information, visit LOLCommunityConnections.org

The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce was founded in the early 1930’s by representatives of businesses and active volunteers within our towns. The mission of the Chamber is to support and act as a spokesperson for the business community of Lyme and Old Lyme in the optimum manner for the benefit of our members. Membership is open to all, regardless of business size or type. Many members are employed by regional or national corporations while some are small business owners or independent consultants and others are specialized service providers. The Chamber meets every month at either a dinner meeting or in a Business After Hours environment.  A number of Breakfast Meetings are also held during the year.

For more information, visit VisitOldLyme.com or call Chamber President Olwen Logan at 860.460.4176.

Lyme-Old Lyme Girls Earn Girl Scout Silver Award

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The Girl Scout Silver Award recipients gather for a commemorative photo in Old Lyme Town Hall with local dignitaries, who attended the ceremony. From left to right (back row), State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23rd), CEO of Connecticut Girl Scouts Mary Barneby, Emily DeRoehn, Mackenzie Machnik, Catharine Harrison, Sophia Orteleva, Corah Engdall, Old Lyme Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal, Old Lyme Selectman Chris Kerr, and Lyme Selectman John Kiker: (front row) Emma Griffith, Riley Nelson, Sadie Frankel, Lillian Grethel, and Paige Phaneuf.

On Sunday, Jan. 7, Emily DeRoehn, Corah Engdall, Sadie Frankel, Lillian Grethel, Catharine Harrison, Emma Griffith, Mackenzie Machnik, Riley Nelson, Sophia Ortoleva, and Paige Phaneuf of Troop 62858 received their Silver Award at Old Lyme Town Hall.

The Silver Award is the highest recognition that can be achieved by Cadette Girl Scouts, and the second highest award a girl scout can receive. Earning the Silver Award is a multi-year process in which girls make a commitment to helping their community. Working alone or in small groups, they identify an issue or problem that they would like to work towards improving. They spend at least 50 hours on the project, which must have an element of sustainability, meaning that once the project is finished, there is something that will carry on in the future.

Sadie, Lillian, Catharine, Emma, and Paige also received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award in appreciation for their commitment to strengthening the nation and their communities through volunteer service. The Presidential Volunteer Service Award is given in recognition of those girls that gave 75+ hours to their projects.

Emily, Emma, Catharine, and Mackenzie worked with the kindergarten teachers at Mile Creek School to make fun and educational books that inspire young students to read. These books, focusing on age-appropriate skills as well as respect and kindness, will remain in the classroom for years to come.

Corah and Paige formed a group called Coastal Cleanup to increase knowledge in the community about the hazards trash on beaches poses to people and sea creatures.  They held beach cleanups and created Facebook and Instagram accounts to get the word out about their cause.

Sadie worked with Safe Futures in New London, to raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence within the Lyme-Old Lyme community. She created paperweights and brochure boxes that can be used at events attended by Safe Futures and held a toiletry drive at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School for distribution by Safe Futures.

Lillian, Riley, and Sophia worked with the Nature Conservancy to help the piping plovers, an endangered species of birds that nests at Griswold Point in Old Lyme. They monitored nests,  and produced informational signs that can be posted each year, and created an activity book for children.

The girls were honored to have several dignitaries attend the ceremony. 

  • Devin Carney, Connecticut State Representative for Lyme and Old Lyme presented the recipients with an official citation from the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut.
  • Mary Jo Nosal and Chris Kerr from the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen, and John Kiker from the Lyme Board of Selectmen also presented the girls with a proclamation from the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme.
  • Mary Barneby, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, congratulated the girls on their achievement.

And we would like to add our own congratulations to these fine young ladies on their terrific achievement!

East Lyme Public Trust Honors Departing Members, Welcomes New Ones at Feb. 27 Meeting

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Pat and Jack Lewis, who are retiring as directors of the East Lyme Public Trust.

At their first meeting of 2018  on Feb. 27, the East Lyme Public Trust Foundation will be recognizing the work of departing directors – Pat and Jack Lewis.  The Lewises have served on the foundation since its inception in 1995.

For the past five years, they have served on the Publicity Committee of The Promise of Tomorrow’s Trees project.  Each year they would take on the task of delivering posters to all of the businesses on Niantic Main St.   In 2016, they both were also crucial organizers of the Boardwalk Re-dedication. Their enthusiasm and counsel, during 23 years of volunteer service, will be sorely missed.

At this meeting, the East Lyme Public Trust Foundation will also welcome a new Vice-President, Jessica Todd-Director of Finance at Chelsea Groton Bank. Todd, who has a Master’s degree in Accounting from Bryant, is also the Treasurer of the East Lyme Middle School PTA.  In addition, she is on the Sponsorship Committee of the East Lyme Little League. Todd will be replacing John T. Hoye.

Hoye has served as Vice-President since 2003. Throughout those years, he has worked closely with Past President Bob DeSanto, in the development of the boardwalk and the re-construction process. He served as Master of Ceremonies at the first dedication of the Board Walk in 2005 and the Re-dedication in 2016.

In addition, he was instrumental in organizing the group of non-profits of the Public Trust Foundation, The Rotary, the Lions, and the Parks and Rec. Department, to raise money to build the Band Shell at McCook Park, which was dedicated in 2017. Hoye will remain as a Director of the Foundation.

Other new members are Jo-el Fernandez, who works for the State of CT Department of Children and Families, Sandy Greenhouse, who is a primary care physician in Gales Ferry, Rasa Clark, a real estate agent for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, and Ted Norris, President/owner of Pamlico Group, LLC, a marketing and branding firm specializing in the marine and fishing industries.

Continuing officers are Joe Legg- President, Michelle Maitland-Secretary, and Kathie Cassidy-Treasurer.

The Foundation meets every fourth Tuesday of the month in the Olive Chendali Room in the East Lyme Community Center building.  The public is always welcome to attend these meetings.

Acclaimed Photographer Charles Mazel Discusses Fluorescence Photography at Tonight’s CVCC Meeting

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Desert Pincushion by Charles Mazel.

The guest speaker at the Monday, Jan. 15 meeting of the Connecticut Valley Camera Club (CVCC) will be the acclaimed photographer Charles Mazel, who will give a presentation titled “Fluorescence Photography.”  The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Lymes’ Senior Center, 26 Town Woods Rd., Old Lyme, Conn. All are welcome.

For Charles Mazel, photography was initially a tool to document his exploration of underwater fluorescence. SCUBA diving at night with an ultraviolet light and customized camera gear, he photographed fluorescing marine organisms, especially corals in the Caribbean. His discoveries and images led him into a scientific career researching fluorescence underwater and developing equipment to observe, document, and measure it, with photography as a key tool for communication.

Mazel’s underlying fascination with fluorescence has broadened into an exploration of the phenomenon wherever it may occur in the world around us. His involvement with the Bedford Center for the Arts Photography Group provided feedback from colleagues and professionals that has led to a new focus on the artistic aspects of fluorescence.

Mazel’s underwater fluorescence images were featured in a solo show in MIT’s Strobe Alley and in a two-person show at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. He has had individual images, from both below and above water, in a curated show at the Joyce Goldstein gallery in SoHo and in juried exhibitions at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Bedford Public Library, and the Providence Center for Photographic Arts.

The CVCC is dedicated to offering its membership the opportunity to become better photographers. The group offers a variety of presentations and interactive workshops to help members expand their technical and creative skills. Photographers of all levels of experience are welcomed.

The club draws members from up and down the river, from Middletown to Old Saybrook; from East Hampton to Old Lyme; and along the shoreline from Guilford to Gales Ferry.

For more information, visit the club’s website at https://ctvalleycameraclub.smugmug.com/. CVCC meeting dates, speakers/topics, and other notices are also published on the club’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CTValleyCameraClubPage/