Business and Organization Updates

• A Registered Investment Advisor (ARIA) has become a subsidiary of Guilford Savings Bank. ARIA is a non-commissioned resource that generally provides services based on a percentage of assets under management.

• Brook and Whittle, a North Branford-based manufacturing company, has come to Guilford, signing a 10-year lease at 20 Carter Drive. Brook and Whittle will provide 40 new jobs in town.

• Brushfoil, a producer of metallized, brushed films, completed an expansion at its plant, located at 1 Shoreline Drive, Guilford.

• Citizen's Financial Group, Inc., appointed Edward "Ned" O. Handy III president of Citizens Bank, Connecticut.

• Guilford Fund for Education New Board Memebrs: Susanne Bailey-Rice, Katie Balestracci, Susan Brady, Kyle Eagleson, and Daniel F. Hally.

• Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth Tikvah Dr. Howard Sommer and Patti Dunne have joined the staff of Interfaith Counseling Services, a regional non-profit counseling organization. For more information, visit www.interfaithcounseling.net.

• LifeTime Solutions Client Services Coordinator Ann Marie Fagan received certification in end of life care and gerontology.

• Monte Financial Group, LLC, welcomed Robert J. Minatti of Guilford as a senior equity portfolio manager/financial advisor.

• NewAlliance Foundation has made the official changeover to become a standalone independent foundation. The completed acquisition of NewAlliance Bank by First Niagara this past spring positions the long-standing foundation as a separate foundation that will continue to serve the community.

• The Organized Lifestyle Store owned by Kristin Mastromarino has moved exclusively to a webstore format at www.theorganizedlifestylestore.com. Mastromarino continues to host monthly workshops and events on the second floor of the store at 725 Boston Post Road.

• Page Insurance, Ltd., with an office at 102 Boston Street, Guilford, has joined the 1,000 independent agents nationwide who represent the companies of the Utica National Insurance Group. For information, visit www.pageins.com.

• Realty Concepts' President Stanley A. Gniazdowski, CCIM, CRE, FRICS, was quoted in the November/December 2010 issue of Commercial Investment Real Estate in the article "It's a Small World After All."

• The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health welcomed to its staff Laura Gariepy, a certified transitions lifestyle coach and nutraMetrix wellness consultant; Christina Pierson, DCH, ADCHP; and Michael Robinson, an ordained interfaith minister and certified inter-spiritual counselor.

• Shoreline Institute for Lifelong Learning has changed its name to The Schiller Institute for Lifelong Learning in memory of its founder and leader Paula Lee Schiller, who died in 2010.

• The United Way of Greater New Haven and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven now share an office in the Lighthouse Square Complex, 705 Boston Post Road, Guilford.

• VNA Community Healthcare welcomed Janine Fay, R.N., MPH, as its president and CEO and Richard Corcoran, CPA, as its chief business officer and CFO. It also welcomed four new volunteers to its Caregiver Support Network: Linda Holmes of North Branford, Tony DeLucia of Branford, Ann DeLucia of Branford, and Anna Rauch of Guilford.

• VNA Community Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of St. Raphael Healthcare System, has been acquired by VNA Community Healthcare of Guilford.

Awards, Grants, and Recognitions

• Barnum Financial Group, with a local office in Guilford, was named Best Place to Work in Connecticut 2010 for the second time by the Hartford Business Journal and Best Companies Group.

• The Cottage, located in Guilford, by Gray Organschi Architecture of New Haven, won an award in the Residential Projects category in the annual AIA Connecticut Design Awards Program, which recognizes design excellence in projects in Connecticut or by Connecticut architects.

• Defibtech received the U.S. Department of Commerce's Export Achievement Certificate from U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro in recognition of its strong performance in pursuing export markets and creating jobs.

• Guilford Association of Educational Support Services Honorees with 15 Years of Service: Darlene Otto, Laura Peterson, Pat Gniazdowski, Wendy Hill (retiree), Debbie Van Scharck, Julie Messler, and Kim Sutton. Not pictured are honorees Deb Tichy and Peg Healey.

• The Guilford Community Fund awarded a grant of $700 to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Hartford to support the Guilford Family Service Center, located at 652 Boston Post Road. The grant will support critical services to families including mental health counseling and parenting education programming. The Guilford Family Service Center is one of 32 service sites spread throughout the three counties of Litchfield, Hartford, and New Haven, which comprise the Archdiocese of Hartford. For more information on the Guilford Community Fund, visit http://www.guilfordcommunityfund.org.

• Guilford Fund for Education Grant Recipients: Guilford High School (GHS) science teacher Adele Salhanick for the proposed enhancement of the human anatomy and physiology lab; the Women & Family Life Center for a proposed pilot boys' peer-mentoring project; and GHS student Kevin Mitchell for a proposed pilot program to support the role of a technology integration specialist within GHS and Baldwin Middle School.

• Guilford Social Services, Guilford Youth & Family Services, and the Women & Family Life Center's Guilford N2N Collaborative received $20,000 from Neighbor-to-Neighbor LifeLine to provide emergency housing assistance.

• Harbor Health Services received an official citation from the Connecticut General Assembly, introduced by state representatives Deborah Heinrich, Lonnie Reed, and Patricia M. Widlitz and State Sen. Edward Meyer, recognizing the organization's 30th anniversary.

• Monte Financial Group, LLC, was selected as a Connecticut 2010 Five Star Wealth Manager by Connecticut Magazine in partnership with Crescendo Business Services.

• William Raveis Real Estate New Homes Division won three awards for sales and marketing from the Home Builders Association of Connecticut.

• William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance was ranked ninth nationwide in salves volume and maintained its standing as the number-one family owned business in the Northeast, according to RisMedia's 2011 Power Broker Report. The company also received the Inman News's 2011 Innovator Award for its success in moving from a traditional brick and mortar business model towards one that is centered on technology solutions; and ranked first in the Fox News/Hartford Courant "Top Workplaces in Connecticut" survey.

• The Women & Family Life Center received a grant totaling $45,000 ($15,000 each year for three years) from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The grant provides general operating support for education, support, enrichment, and referral services that help women and families meet the challenges of daily living and personal development.

• Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center, Inc., received $4,000 from the Community Fund for Women & Girls to provide a trained professional to run an educational program for women living with disabilities about making safe and healthy decisions about sexual relationships.

• VNA Community Healthcare received the highest results in the state of Connecticut in a satisfaction survey of discharged home care patients conducted by Fazzi Associates, a home care consulting firm.

Charitable Contributions

• Citizens Bank, with a location in Guilford, collected new school supplies for its Gear for Grades initiative.

• Comfort Keepers of CT Shoreline, 722 Village Walk, Guilford, collected more than 150 pounds of food plus cash donations during its STOP.SENIOR.HUNGER event "Hoops for Hunger." Guilford Sporting Goods donated a $25 gift card to the raffle and Guilford Mooring extended a 20 percent discount to anyone donating to the Food Bank. Heather Colby of Colby Strategic Marketing organized the event and John "Cadillac" Saville promoted it on Country 92.5 Radio.

• Connecticut Experiential Learning Center students raised $1,115 in donations, purchasing more than 1,900 cans to donate to the Connecticut Food Bank, through its CANstruction 2010 anti-hunger initiative. The students worked with George Penniman Architects; Guilford Big Y served as one of the sponsors.

• Greater New Haven MS Taste of Hope Participating Vendors: Ballou's Wine Bar, the Red Rooster Baking Company, and Take the Cake, all of Guilford.

• The Guilford Lioness Club presented a check to Guilford Public Schools to support extracurricular activities at Guilford High School that teach students to use sign language.

• Guilford Menunkatuck Audubon Society presented a donation to the Guilford Free Library that allowed it to purchase several books about nature and birds for the children's reading rom. These books were a gift toward the library's "Adopt a Book" program that supports the library children's room collection.

• William Raveis Real Estate, with an office in Guilford, donated $153,000 to members of the William Ravies American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medial Center Patient Navigator Program in Boston, Massachusetts, in support of those fighting breast cancer.

• Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center participated in the United Way Day of Caring initiative by collecting canned goods and food staples for the Madison Food Pantry.