Author Archives: Adina Ripin

Vista Changes Its Name to Better Reflect Its Expanded Services and Programs

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Vista student Julia Kane, Chief Executive Officer Helen Bosch and member Rachael Hoskin (L-R) proudly show off the new organizational logo. Photo: Vanessa Pereira

Vista student Julia Kane, Chief Executive Officer Helen Bosch and member Rachael Hoskin (L-R) proudly show off the new organizational logo. Photo: Vanessa Pereira

Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center, an organization dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities achieve personal success for more than 25 years, will soon take on a new name, Vista Life Innovations.

The name change is part of a long planned rebranding initiative to better align Vista’s name with its expanded service and program offerings.

“Over the past 25 years, Vista has become more than a vocational and life skills center,” said Vista’s Chief Executive Officer Helen Bosch. “We now offer a wide array of services—such as arts programming, benefits and advocacy counseling, and recreation—and we wanted a name that represented who we are as a whole.”

Vista leadership and members of its Board of Directors worked together to come up with a name that reflected the organization’s values, while describing what Vista is without focusing on specific aspects of the program.

Although its name will change, Vista’s mission and focus remain the same. For that reason, it was important that “Vista” remain in the name.

“Our scope of services has changed but we are fundamentally the same—an organization that provides services and programming for individuals with disabilities so they may achieve success,” said Bosch.

The new organizational name will go into effect the week of Feb. 15, along with the launch of a new website.

With campuses in Westbrook, Madison and Guilford, Vista is a community-based education program accredited by the National Commission for the Accreditation of Special Education Services. Last year, the organization provided services to more than 300 individuals and their families.

Editor’s Note: Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center is a 501©3 nonprofit organization. Vista’s mission is to provide services and resources to assist individuals with disabilities achieve personal success. For more information about Vista, please visit www.vistavocational.org.

Vista Performs “Pirates of Penzance” May 20-22

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“The Pirates of Penzance” will run May 20 through May 22 at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center — The Kate — in Old Saybrook. Pat Souney will direct.

Editor’s Note: Based in Madison and Westbrook, Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center is a 501©3 nonprofit organization. Vista’s mission is to provide services and resources to assist individuals with disabilities achieve personal success. For more information about Vista, visit www.vistavocational.org.

‘Frost at the Farm’ Program Returns to Bushnell Farm This Afternoon

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Walter Woodward, State Historian and Robert Frost scholar will return to Bushnell Farm on Sunday, Oct. 4,  for the ‘Frost at the Farm’ program.

Walter Woodward, State Historian and Robert Frost scholar, will return to Bushnell Farm in Old Saybrook on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 4 p.m. for the program Frost at the Farm. The program, which includes Robert Frost’s poetry and music, is free and open to the public with on-site parking at 1445 Boston Post Rd. in Old Saybrook.

This well-reviewed program includes Woodward’s reading, appreciation and sometimes musical interpretation of New England’s favorite poet. Bring your own chair if the weather is fair for this outdoor program; in the case of rain, folding chairs will be set up in the barn.

'Frost at the Farm' will be held Sunday at Bushnell Farm in Old Saybrook.

‘Frost at the Farm’ will be held Sunday at Bushnell Farm in Old Saybrook.

The fields, stone walls and apple trees of this 17th century farm are the perfect setting for this outdoor appreciation of the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, who contributed so many memorable lines to the American lexicon. The private, 1678 Bushnell Farm is owned by Herb and Sherry Clark of Essex and is open seasonally for public programs. The buildings will next be open on Nov. 7, for the annual Harvest Home event.

Dr. Walter Woodward is an author of scholarly works and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Connecticut. As State Historian he works with the Connecticut Humanities Council, the Museum of Connecticut History, teachers through the Connecticut Council for Social Studies, and many other organizations. A long-time admirer of Robert Frost, Woodward admits to being an English major in his younger years. Woodward is also an Emmy Award-winning songwriter, who plays guitar. This year he will be joined by a musical foursome, his Band of Steady Habits.

Robert Frost was a four time Pulitzer Prize winner for volumes of his poetry. Although somewhat under-appreciated today, Frost made the phrases, “Good fences make good neighbors” and “Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in,” part of the language. Time magazine called “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” one of the loveliest poems ever written. His poems are said to begin with delight and end with wisdom.

River COG Announces ‘GrowSMART’ Project to Develop Lower CT River Valley’s Economic Growth Strategy

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Have you heard of RiverCOG?

It’s an acronym for the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments, which is an association of 17 towns with each represented by its chief elected official. Its mission involves facilitating solutions and planning between the 17 towns, the State of Connecticut, federal agencies, and nonprofits for land use, transportation, agriculture, emergency management, conservation, and economic development.

One of its key goals is to encourage a safe and open venue to discuss shared regional options and projects. Fulfilling this mission had led RiverCOG to launch a new and exciting project titled, GrowSMART. The purpose of GrowSMART is to research how the region can collaborate to attract workers, and retain and grow businesses while also conserving the natural resources that are so vital to the region’s infrastructure, housing values, and tourism industry.

factory_signAs you drive, walk, or bike around the region in September and October, you will start to notice signs, posters and banners around town such as the one shown to the left or see an advertisements while reading a local newspaper or local online news. The signs or advertisements may ask a question, such as: “Why can’t you find qualified help?” or “Who is going to buy your house”?

Why is RiverCOG asking these questions?

The answer is that its Regional Strategic Economic Growth Committee is working with Ninigret Partners to create a regional economic growth strategy and is seeking your input. RiverCOG invites you to visit the project website at www.GrowSMARTregion.org to learn about its travelling mobile workshop and note dates of the upcoming public forums to which all are welcome

There is also an opportunity at the www.GrowSMARTregion.org website to submit your ideas directly.

CIRMA Recognizes Estuary Transit District for Promoting Risk Management as an Organizational Priority

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town_transit_busThe Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) presented a 2015 Risk Management Achievement Award to the Estuary Transit District for making risk management an organizational priority. Their efforts, led by the District’s Director Joseph Commerford, created a culture focused on the safety of its employees and passengers.

The District established broad-based programs to reduce loss costs, including creating a formal Return-to-Work program, performing facility assessments, reviewing incident reports to identify root causes, and revising procedures.

The achievement award was presented to the Estuary Transit District at CIRMA’s May 22 awards ceremony. CIRMA, the state’s leading municipal insurer, is a member-owned and governed organization that works to empower municipalities, public schools, and local public agencies to better manage risk.

David Demchak, Senior Vice President of CIRMA, said to the audience of almost 100 municipal and school leaders, “Our awards program acknowledges the organizational and the personal commitment our members have made to protect their fellow employees from injury, protect property, and to keep Connecticut’s communities safe.”

CIRMA’s mission is to reduce losses and their costs by improving its members’ understanding of risk and the ways to manage it. CIRMA’s Risk Management Achievement Awards program was begun in 1981 to recognize the risk management and safety initiatives that prevent accidents and make positive improvements in Connecticut communities.

The program has expanded over the years, recognizing achievements in such areas as property management and sustained results. The program provides CIRMA members a forum in which they can share ideas and learn new methods to reduce losses.

CIRMA, owned and governed by its members, operates two risk-sharing pools: the Workers’ Compensation Pool and the Liability-Automobile-Property Pool. It also provides risk management services to self- insured municipalities and local public agencies. Today, CIRMA’s membership includes over 85 percent of the state’s municipalities and has Premiums of $90 million and Assets under management of over $360 million.

For more information about CIRMA’s Risk Management Achievement Award Program, contact George Tammaro, CIRMA Risk Management Supervisor, at gtammaro@ccm-ct.org, or visit www.CIRMA.org.