The Town of West Hartford held a recognition ceremony for employees who have reached significant milestones, as long as 35 years of service.

By Ronni Newton

The Town of West Hartford recognized 83 employees at a luncheon on Wednesday, Dec. 20, celebrating milestone anniversaries of employment with the town ranging from five years to as much 35 years.

Town Manager Rick Ledwith marked the anniversaries, and among those being celebrated were five of the town’s directors – Director of Leisure & Social Services Helen Rubino-Turco (10 years), Director of Finance Peter Privitera (10 years), Deputy Corporation Counsel Gina Varano (5 years) Fire Chief Greg Priest (5 years), and Police chief Vernon Riddick (5 years)

In addition to those celebrating anniversaries, 80 employees who began their service with the Town of West Hartford in 2023 were also recognized.

Mayor Shari Cantor provided some opening remarks, and Ledwith read the names of all of the employees who reached milestones, with those present posing for a photo.

“We have accomplished so much as an organization,” Ledwith said. He noted the creation of the Vision Zero Action Plan – which was in response to a string of tragic motor vehicle-related fatalities a year ago, but which will make the town’s roads safer for all users and should be rolled out in early 2024.

In addition, Ledwith said the West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District was recognized as “infection control champions” in 2023, the town held a successful disaster drill and was certified by FEMA as an official “Host Community Reception Center” for residents of Montville and Waterford if they need to evacuate due to an incident at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant, West Hartford was named a gold-certified for economic development and land use planning, and the Public Works Department was honored by the Connecticut Association of State Highway Officials (CASHO) with the Distinguished Service Award for 2023.

He recognized the recipients of the firefighter and police officer of the year award, and noted that the Town of West Hartford has been recognized dozens of times in recent years on “best of” lists by organizations and publications such as Money Magazine, Livability.com, and Niche.com. “We should never take something like that for granted,” said Ledwith.

The town has essential no commercial vacancies, and the residential real estate market remains “on fire,” he said – and indeed was named a hot market by Zillow last week.

The success is thanks in large part to the impact of town employees, Ledwith said. “I’m applauding all of you and you should be applauding yourselves and being so proud of that work and those accomplishments,” Ledwith told town employees.

Renée McCue, the town’s public relations specialist, has the longest tenure of any of the employees recognized Wednesday, celebrating 35 years of service.

“I want her to be here for another five years. I want her to be at 40,” Ledwith said.

McCue started the communications department back in 1988, and was given the task of running public relations and communications, he said. People sometimes ask to run something through the communications department, but Ledwith said, “There’s no ‘department,’ it’s Renée. Just Renée.”

McCue has been responsible for generating the information about all town activities like parades, the Veterans Day celebration, and other events that take place throughout the year. She worked on four different censuses, the town’s 150th anniversary, and through various emergencies. “I’m just amazed at how much one person is able to accomplish,” Ledwith said.

“And when Renée is not doing all that, she’s working alongside her husband of many years, Bob, with our volunteer CERT program,” sad Ledwith.

Lisa Michaud, the town’s risk manager, was recognized for her 30th anniversary with the town, and while she planned to retire in October, Ledwith said thankfully she agreed to work part time until her successor begins in early 2024.

“Lisa is one of those folks who has literally touched every literal department in every division of town hall … she’s literally had our backs for 30 years,” Ledwith said. “How many of you have received a call from Lisa over the years saying, ‘What the [heck] were you thinking?'” West Hartford’s risk management program is a program that other towns want to duplicate, he said.

“She’s been part of our work family for 30 years, and unfortunately it’s time for us to let her go to her family,” said Ledwith.

While she wasn’t present, Ledwith also specifically expressed his appreciation for Janet O’Connor, who marked her 30-year anniversary as a crossing guard with the town and has worked for many years in the Duffy/Sedgwick neighborhood.

The following employees were recognized Wednesday:

35 Years of Service

• Renée McCue

30 Years of Service

• Lisa Michaud
• Janet O’Connor

25 Years of Service

• Manuel Fraga
• Ann Marie Lund
• John Sokolowski

20 Years of Service

• Erin Brown
• Jesse Kristoff
• Karol Nietupski
• David Palmer
• David Santora

15 Years of Service

• Jeremy Allen
• Bradley Behan
• Doug Boelter
• Benjamin Coker
• Jacqueline Douglas
• Brandon Dudzinski
• Jeremiah Gagnon
• Maria Gomes
• Kevin Ingraham
• Loretta McMann
• John Morrissey
• Adam Pacheco
• Brian Pudlik
• Arnaldo Rivera
• Jarrad Smith

10 Years of Service

• Craig Astle
• Eileen Bartlett
• Branden Bohan
• Victoria Branning
• James Brennan
• Jay Cathcart
• Luis Collazo
• Brian Delgrande
• Todd Dumais
• Dustin Ganci
• Linda Geisler
• Glenn Glade
• Robert Hass
• Jeremy Karpuska
• Lori Kearney
• Nikhom Keopraseuth
• Ann Kilby
• Michael Kovolski
• James Lamontagne
• Lauren Lanza
• Matthew Lyons
• Timothy Nadeau
• Sara Nagle
• Peter Privitera
• Ann Rhoades
• Helen Rubino-Turco
• Ryan Shea
• Marie Templeton
• Julie Viera
• Ryan Xenelis

5 Years of Service

• Robert Bona
• Lamar Bowsky
• Laura Cheffer
• Jason Cintron
• Deanna Deshpande
• Steven Dickman
• Michael Eden
• Sean Howard
• Zachary Kaesmann
• Kamil Krynski
• Andrew Kulasenski
• Peter Le
• Kylee Lecchi
• Carlos Marquez
• Ryan McConville
• Scott Padua
• John Pitek
• Robert Potz
• Greg Priest
• Susan Reboul
• Vernon Riddick, Jr.
• Catherine Rose
• Nicole Salter
• Beth Scully
• Victoria Teeter
• Steven Teiger
• Gina Varano
• Janice Wilson

The PDF below includes a listing of all those celebrating milestones by department.

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