The Town of West Hartford held a recognition ceremony for employees who have reached significant milestones, as long as 40 years of service.

Darcy Winther, second from right, was honored for her 35 years of service at Westmoor Park. Pictured with (from left) Town Manager Rick Ledwith, Director of Leisure Services & Social Services Helen Rubino-Turco, and Mayor Shari Cantor. Courtesy photo

By Ronni Newton

Town Manager Rick Ledwith and Mayor Shari Cantor recognized 94 employees at a breakfast on Thursday, Dec. 19, celebrating milestone anniversaries of employment with the Town of West Hartford ranging from five years to as much 40 years.

In addition to honoring milestone anniversaries, Ledwith noted Thursday that the town welcomed 314 new employees in 2024 – among them 42 full-time employees and 19 part-time employees, as well as 184 seasonal and 69 Election Day workers.

There were 12 retirements in 2024.

Those who were present for their milestone anniversaries posed for photos with Ledwith, Cantor, and department leadership, and all were congratulated for their service.

Town Manager Rick Ledwith (left) with employees celebrating 25 years, including Emergency Reporting Center supervisor Todd Hungerford and Police Officer Raymond Swank. Also pictured are Police Chief Vernon Riddick, Jr., Assistant Fire Chief Eric Munsell, Fire Chief Greg Priest, and Mayor Shari Cantor. Courtesy photo

Town Manager Rick Ledwith (from left) with Marc Blanchard (Leisure Services, 20 years), Celeste Cumming (Skating Rink, 20 years), and Mayor Shari Cantor. Courtesy photo

Town Manager Rick Ledwith (from left)with Ryan Riley (Police Dept., 15 years), Graig Michaud (Public Works, 15 years), Patrick Sullivan (Assessment, 15 years) and Mayor Shari Cantor. Courtesy photo

Celebrating 10 years of service (from left) Lisa Fichandler (Health District), Town Manager Rick Ledwith, Cheryl Andrews (Leisure Services), Mayor Shari Cantor, Lori Flaherty (Health District), Michael Boughton, Heidi Reagan, Angela Iudiciani, and Christy Page. Courtesy photo

Celebrating 5 years of service. Front row, from left: Andrea Ruggiero, Marie Callender, Shari Cantor, Silvana Righenzi, and Dylan Graves.
Back row, from left): Rick Ledwith, Lawrence Nembhard, Luan Ceka, Rob Gosselin, Terri Leduc, Larry Terra, Lauren Yarnall, Bob Grimaldi, and Rodney Pickering. Courtesy photo

Not present Thursday were Heather Pease of the West Hartford Public Library (30 years of service); Andre Sonnenberg (Facilities Services, 25 years); Douglas Jackson (Westmoor Park, 25 years); Michael DiTaranto (Public Works, 25 years); Joseph Creaco (Police Department, 20 years); Sandra Moutinho (Police Records Department, 20 years); Eric Reese (Police Department, 20 years); Eugene Wright (Plant & Facilities Services, 20 years); John Begin (15 years; Matthew Bonzagni (15 years); Brian DiCicco (15 years); Jonathan Kriss (15 years); Nicholas Sachetti (15 years); Troy Shipley (15 years); Bailey Berardino (10 years), Barbara Boland (10 years), Peter Caless (10 years), Erik Fiaschetti (10 years), Heidi Reagan (10 years), Matthew Redway (10 years), Deborah Roe (10 years), Aaron Thomas (10 years); John Balboni (5 years); Sara Bartelmo (5 years); Andrew Benn (5 years); Sherry Benoit (5 years); Laure Carros (5 years); Justus Coulter (5 years); Charles Day (5 years); Timothy Dibble (5 years); Luis Enriquez (5 years); Barbara Fisher (5 years); Margret Futtner (5 years); Amy Goldman (5 years); José Gonzalez (5 years); Ryan Gorton (5 years); Dylan Graves (5 years); Kimberly Gulino (5 years); Stephanie Hannigan (5 years); Eric Jiantonio (5 years); Michael Krajewski (5 years); Emily Kyle (5 years); Stephanie Laorden (5 years); Elizabeth Legassie (5 years); Daniel Loos (5 years); Mica Lovell (5 years); Keith Lundie (5 years); Curtis Neff (5 years); Todd Petroski(5 years); Dante Pezzolesi (5 years); Andrew Pixley (5 years); Michael Pope (5 years); Timothy Reardon (5 years); John Roberts (5 years); Jack Sanford (5 years); Casandra Schmidt (5 years); Michael Schultz (5 years); Kelly Shimo (5 years); Mathew Siena (5 years); Andrew Slicer (5 years); William Tousignant (5 years); Cindy Wall (5 years); Amanda Walsh (5 years); David Wheeler (5 years); Victoire Will (5 years); and Mollie Yezza (5 years).

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