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Summer in Connecticut is strawberry
festivals and sailing regattas. It's lazy days on the beach and twilight
concerts on the green. It's kayaking around the Thimble Islands and taking
tea amid formal gardens. It's all this and much
more.
Celebrate the spirit of
summer as Diane takes readers on an unforgettable tour of the summer
season. Her book is Summer in Connecticut. Read a review now.
Chester Wants Your
Dog to Join Him in The Purina One 30-Day Challenge!
Diane Smith Honored at Norwalk Seaport Association
Dinner Auction: “If Wishes Were Fishes”
Diane Smith was unanimously chosen to receive the 2004 community
service award of 2004 for outstanding work promoting not only the Seaport
Association but also the entire state’s efforts to promote tourism and
community spirit. Details
Captain
Diane Smith trained with the First Company
Governor's Horse Guards. Though the troop
mainly escorts the Governor and marches in parades,
the Horse Guards can be called upon at any time to
serve the State in other ways.
See the complete story at the CPTV
Website.
Check Out Diane's Public
Appearances Diane will be making giving
speeches, hosting events, and signing copies of her books throughout
the state in upcoming months. Here's a partial list
of her appearances.
Mark Twain
Award
The
Connecticut Press Club has given their 2002 Mark Twain
Distinguished Journalist of the Year Award to Diane
. Read the
press release.
Toastmasters Award
Diane
Smith was honored as the 2003 winner of the Communication and Leadership
Award at the District 53 Toastmasters Conference. The award is
made to " an individual who has demonstrated effective communication
skills, through their leadership in the community or political arena."
For more information http://www.district53toastmasters.org/
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Positively Connecticut™
on CPTV
Hello!
Diane Smith here with a few thoughts about
this edition of Positively Connecticut.
Premiered Thursday,
December 18, at 8:30 p.m. only on CPTV.
We
Love a Parade
Stamford, CT |
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Diane Smith handling the Miss
Piggy Balloon
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As a child growing up in NYC I
attended many Macy’s Thanksgiving
Day parades. While my
grandmother was cooking the turkey my
grandfather and my dad would herd my
siblings, cousins and me onto the
subway for the ride into Manhattan,
where we would watch the parade in the
comfort of my grandfather’s office
at General Motors’ building on 57th
Street and Broadway. From the
9th floor we were at eye level with
the giant helium balloons. I’ve
longed to recapture that excitement,
and recently I did, as a balloon
handler in the UBS Stamford Helium
Balloon parade. This extravaganza
fills the streets of the city with two
dozen giant balloons, marching bands
and floats. What a thrill to be
tethered to Miss Piggy – always my
favorite Muppet. |
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Check out more details at:
www.stamford-downtown.com
Here’s where some of the balloons
come from:
http://www.fabulousinflatables.com
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| Ancient
Stories, Modern Times |
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It’s winter, and after the
holidays are over how about curling up
on the sofa with a good book?
The Hour I First Believed is Wally
Lamb’s first novel in ten years. It
is a great read, especially for those
of us in Connecticut. See how many of
the references you catch, especially
in the novel’s setting of Three
Rivers, an amalgam of Norwich, New
London, and Willimantic.
Our interview with Wally was so
interesting; we thought you’d enjoy
seeing all of it.
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For more about Wally Lamb’s books
check out:
http://www.harpercollins.com/author/index.aspx?authorid=5579
http://www.oprah.com/entity/oprahsbookclub
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We shot the interview at
the Slater Museum on the campus of
Norwich Free Academy where Wally
taught English for 25 years. The
museum is well worth a visit. You’ll
find paintings, decorative arts and
crafts, but my favorite is the
extensive plaster cast collection of
Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Renaissance
sculpture.
www.norwichfreeacademy.com/museum
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| Crafting
Carboard |
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I met artist Jimmy Grashow last
year at the CT Association of Schools
high school arts awards dinner. He
mesmerized the audience by building a
sculpture from boxes and pieces of
cardboard while we watched. That piece
eventually became Mark Twain, as seen
in our segment.
www.jamesgrashow.com
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| My Little
Chickadee |
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Ornithologist Gordon
Loery researches chickadees and other
birds at the White Memorial
Conservation Center in Litchfield.
The one hundred year old White
Memorial Foundation is Connecticut's
largest wildlife sanctuary. With four
thousand acres, thirty five miles of
hiking trails, camping facilities and
the gem like White Memorial
Conservation Center and Nature Museum
at its epicenter, there is something
for everyone. Bike riding, horseback
riding, kayaking, canoeing, cross
country skiing, and snow shoeing are
only some of the activities you can
enjoy during your visit. Education,
conservation and research are the
guiding principles of the
organization.
Upcoming Winter Events include:
Winter Tracking Club with Primitive
Skills Specialist, Andy Dobos on
January 3, February 7, and March 7
The CT DEP Department of Fisheries
CARE program sponsors a Family Ice
Fishing Workshop on January 17.
Stalk Owls on an Owl Prowl with Dave
Tripp and Fran Zygmont on January 17.
Brookview Sugarhouse of Morris teaches
you about the nuances of maple
sugaring on January 24 while Jon
Wallace introduces you to the Aurora
Borealis on January 31.
Wildlife Biologist, Dave Rosgen leads
a bird walk in search of Winter Birds
and Early Spring Migrants on March 7.
All programs are free to the public.
Please call 860-567-0857 for more
information or visit www.whitememorialcc.org
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| Woman
of Innovation |
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Each year the CT
Technology Council honors women in
science and technology. I’ve had the
chance to meet many of them at the
annual awards dinner. This year
we’ve featured one of them in each
Positively Connecticut episode. Suzy
DeGarmo blows up helicopters at
Sikorsky to make them safer for our
troops at war. DeCarol Davis graduated
at the top of her class at the US
Coast Guard academy. Dr. Liisa Kuhn is
pioneering stem cell research at the
UConn medical center, and Dr. Tracy
Romano is studying the stress on
beluga whales living in Alaska,
comparing them with the belugas that
live at the Mystic Aquarium.
For more on Tracy visit:
http://www.mysticaquarium.org/
For more on Women of Innovation go to:
www.ct.org
The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural
History in New Haven is more than
great place to see dinosaurs. Their
new exhibit showcases one of the
country’s most historic collections
of rocks and minerals.
www.peabody.yale.edu
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Hope you enjoyed this season of
Positively Connecticut programs.
I’ll look for you in 2009 when we
start our tenth year on CPTV.
Best wishes,
Diane Smith
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Leadership Funding Provided
By:
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Supporting Sponsors
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