Retired insurance executive Don Peterson of Glastonbury is back at The Children’s Museum as interim director.
Peterson was interim director in 2007 during the search that led to the appointment of Kevin Sullivan as president and CEO. But with Sullivan moving into Governor Malloy’s administration as commissioner of revenue services, museum trustees again turned to Peterson.
“Having Don in place will keep us on track and moving forward with our plans for the future as we begin our search for a new president and CEO.” said Rick Liftig, chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees.
Peterson, who took over Jan. 10, has specialized in nonprofit management consulting since his retirement from a 31-year career in the insurance industry, where he held senior management positions at Wellpoint, The Travelers, and Aetna. He first came to The Children’s Museum in October 2007, and stayed on as operations consultant until spring of 2010. He also has served as interim director of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield. He is chair of the Inter-Community Mental Health Foundation and treasurer of Friends of Glastonbury Rowing, and is involved with the Glastonbury High School Crew Team.
The board has identified a selection committee comprising members of its executive, development and governance committees. The search for a new President and CEO is expected to take several months.
Dental Clinics Awarded $92,000
Grants totaling $92,000 have been awarded by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to help support a pair of free dental clinics.
With an estimated one in three Connecticut residents without dental insurance, two free clinics scheduled this year in Waterbury and Hartford may set records for treatment. The clinics operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
The fourth Connecticut Mission of Mercy clinic will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17, at Wilby High School, 460 Bucks Hill Road, Waterbury, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.
The third annual Inner City Dental clinic will be held Saturday, May 21, at Community Health Services, 500 Albany Ave., Hartford, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Holiday Store Sets Record
The WTIC NewsTalk 1080 — Salvation Army Holiday Store set a record by raising $195,521.09 in cash donations this holiday season. An estimated $39,259 in new toys and $4,385 non perishable food also were collected.
It wasn’t easy. When the final broadcast of the campaign began at Avon Old Farms Hotel on Christmas Eve Day, the fund was more than $55,000 behind last year’s cash contributions. Donations started to pick up shortly after Ray Dunaway went on the air at 5:30 a.m. but when the program was ending at noon, Dunaway and Jim Vicevich reported that the drive was about $3,000 behind last year. On line donations, telephone pledges and late arriving mail pushed the total over the top.
Maj. Doug Hart, Salvation Army’s Greater Hartford Area coordinator, said, “to even be in the same ball-park as last year is truly amazing, but these results are phenomenal.”
Major sponsors included United Technologies Corp., Connecticut Lighting Centers, Home Builders Association of Hartford County, and Lux Bond & Green
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Law Firms Offers Scholarship
The Law Offices of Carter Mario Injury Lawyers is conducting an Arrive Alive Scholarship Program that will award $1,000 to each of 10 Connecticut high school seniors attending a four-year college or university in the fall.
Each applicant will be asked to prepare a presentation on the dangers of distracted driving and using their cell phone while behind the wheel, which will be judged by Connecticut’s Injury Lawyer, Carter Mario and his staff.
Since the scholarship program’s inception in 2006, Carter Mario Injury Lawyers has awarded over $32,000 in scholarship money.
The law firm has offices in Milford, Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, and New Britain.
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Three Gain McDonald’s Grants
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts has awarded more than $44,000 in fourth quarter grants to Hartford area organizations:
Epoch Arts, East Hampton — $7,980 for new stage risers and lights for a theater group serving at-risk youth within the Middlesex area
Jefferson Elementary School, New Britain — $19,339 for instruments and equipment to support music and artistic education programming; such programs have been slashed or eliminated due to budget cuts.
The Network Against Domestic Abuse, Enfield — $17,074 to purchase games, toys and furnishings for a shelter serving victims of domestic violence.
Since 1988 RMHC of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts has provided more than $6 million to over 400 non-profit organizations, helping thousands of area children.
