|
||||||||||||||||||
|
By 9 a.m., the sun broke through the clouds in time for Peter Tesei, First Selectman, to welcome Elizabeth Tarbell, Founder and CEO of VivaPop, an online publishing service in Greenwich, and title sponsor of the event, and Stuart Adelberg, President of the United Way of Greenwich. Virginia Ogden, seventh-grader at Greenwich Country Day School, sang the National Anthem. She then joined Tesei, Adelberg and Tarbell in a Rolls-Royce Convertible driven by Michael Parchment, General Manager of Miller Motorcars, presenting sponsor, down the race course, from Havemeyer Place to Fawcett Place. The derby continued throughout the morning as crowds lined the avenue, cheering on the drivers. From infants to grandparents, generations of families turned out with posters and signs, and some like Sean Thomalen’s mother, Cathy Landy, distributed buttons with her son’s picture. The enthusiasm must have helped as Sean, who represented the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, sponsored by Griffith E. Harris Insurance, took second place. Will Jeffery, representing Kids in Crisis, sponsored by Nestlé Waters, North America, placed first. Shamiek Tomoney, representing Community Centers, Inc., sponsored by J & B Body Works, claimed third. For all the drivers, the derby was an event they will always remember. “From building their cars in our Ferrari Service Center in August, to the events leading up to the race itself, the entire experience was special for these kids,” said Michael Parchment of Miller Motorcars. “The derby brought families and the community together and provided a great platform to celebrate the United Way agencies and the incredible work they do,” said Elizabeth Tarbell. An awards ceremony took place at Septemberfest, United Way’s anniversary celebration at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, where medals were distributed to all drivers and trophies to the top three finishers. United Way thanked VivaPop and Miller Motorcars and the following additional sponsors for making the derby possible: FieldPoint Custom Homes, Audiocom, Nestlé Waters, North America, Commerce Bank, Barbara Zaccagnini, Greenwich Hospital, J & B Body Works, Michael Thomas Framemakers, RBS Sempra Commodities, Grade A ShopRite Supermarkets, Engel & Völkers, Greenwich, Concours d’Elegance, Greenwich Magazine, Griffith E. Harris Insurance, Jack & Kim Foster, Jesika Estepanian/BCRA, Garden Catering and Rex and Jeena Chung. Media Sponsors: Greenwich Magazine, AM1490 WGCH and Greenwich Post. Also instrumental to the event were the following members of the VivaPop All-American Soap Box Derby Advisory Committee: Jack Moffly and Jonathan Moffly of Moffly Publications, Stanley Thal, race director of 1984 and 1985 Derby in Greenwich and Peter Crumbine, RBS Sempra Commodities. © Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com. Some articles and pictures posted on our website, as indicated by their bylines, were submitted as press releases and do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of NorwalkPlus.com, Norwalk Plus magazine, Canaiden LLC or any of its associated entities. Articles may have been edited for brevity and grammar. [an error occurred while processing this directive] CURRENT HEADLINES: [an error occurred while processing this directive] Top of Page
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
