The Science Behind SHU’s Summer Camp Programs

The Science Behind SHU’s Summer Camp Programs

By Mike Lauterborn

(for Sacred Heart University)

7/31/11

Fairfield, CT – Black-topped counters, the clink of beakers, the whir of a fume hood, vibrating centrifuges. The science labs seemed pretty typical of the environment you would expect in a university setting, but the students doing all the experimenting and testing were anything but. Some were just sixth graders; the balance was not much older.

Made possible by Sacred Heart University and hosted on the Fairfield campus at 5151 Park Avenue July 18 through 29, Summer Science Camp gave youngsters from all over Connecticut the opportunity to explore the category and determine if it may be something they would like to pursue as a career one day. Two classes were presented – Senior Scientists and Forensics. Instructors led them in hands-on activities three hours a day, five days a week for the two-week period.

“This camp is great,” said Monica Strada, leader of the Senior Scientist (Chemistry) class. “It fosters interest in science. SHU’s chemistry department has a wonderful outreach program as well, working with preschools and elementary schools. Undergraduate and graduate students guide program concepts. This is a teaching university – it’s great to have that aspect.”

Strada added that, as a small university, SHU is very fortunate to own a nuclear magnetic resonance instrument, a highly sophisticated giant electromagnet that allows students to study molecular structure.

“Chemistry is in everything,” said Strada. “That’s what we’re demonstrating. It affects every aspect of your life, even if you’re not aware of it.”

Strada’s classroom assistant, Nicole Brovarski, 17, from Monroe, was helping out on a Thursday July 21 session focused on testing the glucose levels in bananas kept in different storage environments, to see which environment is most beneficial. One banana was placed in a freezer, one in a refrigerator, one in a bowl in the open air and a fourth in a Ziploc bag.

“We put these into their respective storage environments on Monday, so they essentially had 72 hours to age before we started examining them, to see which ripened faster or slower,” Brovarski said. “As a banana ripens, its sugar content increases. We use sugar content as a measurement for ripeness.”

Ultimately, the class determined that it’s best to store bananas by themselves, ideally in a banana stand, in the open air. “In terms of having a palatable banana, freezing is a poor option,” said Strada. “Its appearance become discolored. The one in the bag ripens fastest because the banana releases ethylene gas, which gets trapped and issues a bio-chemical signal to the fruit to ripen. The gas is the reason you don’t want to store bananas next to other fruit. In terms of the banana stored in the refrigerator, the cold air doesn’t halt the ripening, only slows it down. The banana becomes slightly discolored and doesn’t look nice. You might not choose to eat it. Open air is really the most preferable way to store bananas.”

Highly engaged in the experiment, Ian Villamil, 12, from Sandy Hook, CT, said his aim is to get into a really high-level class online through his home schooling program. “This will help me do that,” he said.

A previous experiment focused on Cheetoh’s snacks and sought to show that food contains stored energy that can be measured. “I was surprised that Cheetoh’s have a high energy level,” said Villamil. “We determined that by burning a few Cheetoh’s underneath a can of water that had a thermostat in it. The measurement was in joules per gram.”

At the tender age of 11, Fairfielder Ryan Petrucelli was already a veteran camper, having taken the classes last summer. “This year we did a Coke and Mentos experiment wherein we put the candy in a two-liter container of Coke,” he said. “Just one made a huge geyser of soda shoot up. This was caused by a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide in a sudden rush.”

Added Petrucelli, “Chemistry is a lot of fun. You discover a lot of interesting things when you mix chemicals together.”

Petrucelli wasn’t the only veteran. Jen Hance, also 11, from Trumbull, has participated in Sacred Heart summer camps for the past two years, though this was the first year she was doing Senior Scientists.

“I really like science and using all the cool equipment – vortexes, centrifuges, vacuum pressure pumps,” she said. “I read Discovery magazine all the time. This might be a possible career for me.”

Just down the hall, being held simultaneously, was the Forensics class, led by Sue Blozzon, a high school chemistry teacher from Monroe. Thursday’s class session focused on fingerprints, with students having to match them and make their own to develop three different ways.

Quite sure of herself, Adrian Fox, 13, from Thomaston, CT, shared, “No two fingerprints are the same. When you look to match them you seek out loops, whirls and arches, then ridge characteristics. In most cases, you want to study the center of a fingerprint, as that’s where it’s most individualized.”

Fox said she would like to be a forensics scientist. “I watch ‘Bones’ and ‘NCIS’, which both inspire about the field,” she confided. “My cousin, who’s 20, is working on becoming a forensics scientist, too. We talk about what I’m learning here and compare notes.”

Illustrating her passion for the field, Fox said, “When I was four, I took a book from her titled ‘Five-Minute Forensic Mysteries’ and I still haven’t given it back. I love mysteries and criminal justice.”

Instructor Blozzon mentioned some of the exercises she had led students through over the last week or so. “In one class, we tested stomach contents samples for the presence of certain foods, which helps determine if a certain food may have caused the death of a person,” she said. “It may also determine where they ate last.”

In another class, students watched a video of ‘The Iceman’ about the discovery of a body mummified by ice in the Swiss Alps 5,000 years ago. “Forensics were used to determine the cause of death, which turned out to be an arrow in the back,” said Blozzon.

The subject matter was right up 14-year-old Southbury resident Christian Clarke’s alley. “I’ve been interested since I was eight in fingerprints and CSI stuff that I saw on TV,” he said. “I’m thinking this might lead to a career in forensics.” 

One thing that struck Clarke about mummification is that “nature is pretty amazing in preserving bodies. I thought that only man could do that. I’m also amazed at how the littlest thing can determine a person’s guilt or innocence. A lab tech has a pretty big responsibility.”

Another student inspired by TV shows like “CSI” and “NCIS” was Patrick Lazzaro, 12, of Monroe. “I thought it was cool how they do special stuff like taking fingerprints from a surface,” he said. “To the eye, prints seem invisible.”

While most would cringe at the thought of analyzing stomach contents, Lazzaro enjoyed this class exercise. “The story in this case was that someone went to a party, ate appetizers and died,” he said. “We tested the contents – sugar appeared in each sample – and determined that a candy appetizer had been poisoned. That was pretty cool. I might want to do this as a job. Maybe computer analysis of crime scene samples.”

Bon-Odori Fest Recalls Ancestors and Drums Up Family Fun

Bon-Odori Fest Recalls Ancestors and Drums Up Family Fun

By Mike Lauterborn

(for Westport News)

7/23/11

Westport, CT – For over 500 years, “Bon”, a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the departed spirits of one’s ancestors, has been celebrated in Japan. The summer event traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori, which took center stage in a modified form as part of the Bon-Odori Festival conducted by the Japan Society of Fairfield County on Jesup Green Saturday afternoon. This year, the Festival was also dedicated to the survivors of the earthquakes and resulting tsunami in Japan this past March.

Besides the traditional folk dance, the event included thunderous performances by the Taiko Drum Group from the University of Connecticut, yo-yo fishing in which children have to fish for balloons bobbing in a wading pool using small hooks, and the selling of decorative handheld fans called uchiwa.

The Festival attracted curious onlookers who wandered over from nearby shops, attendees that dressed for fun in summer kimonos called yukatas and others of Japanese or related ancestry that came to remember loved ones that have passed or just show their support for the cause. When not participating in an activity, they huddled in the shade of trees, seeking relief from an unforgiving sun and dense hot air that had dug itself in over the last few days in a record-shattering heatwave.

Yumi McDonald, Vice President of the Japan Society of Fairfield County, led the activities, announcing each performer or segment of the event. She was dressed in a colorful yukata herself as was her daughter, Alice, 15, a Staples High School student, and her classmate Rachel Paul, 14, who came to lend their support.

Despite wearing her yukata, Alice said she was still feeling hot. “We’re using our uchiwas and our wagasas (traditional Japanese umbrellas) to try to stay cool.”

Looking on with her three-year-old daughter Mia, Joy DeJaeger, of Norwalk, was one of the many that came to honor ancestors. “My heritage is Japanese-American,” she explained. “My parents emigrated here from Hiroshima in 1952. My dad was a missionary, who just passed. He came to California as a young man and met my mom, an American. He came to help Japanese-Americans who were being oppressed in the United States after World War II.”

Dressed in yukatas, Mayumi Kleinman and her husband George said they were long-time members of the Japan Society and attend most of the group’s events. With regard to the Bon-Odori, Mayumi said, “I like the dancing and drum performances.”

Motoko Ishizuka of Cos Cob brought her two daughters Jenny, 3, and Catie, 5, to the event. “I wanted to show them the culture,” she said. “This is fun for the whole family.” On a more serious note, though, Motoko added, “Many of my friends’ friends were affected by the tsunami. It was terrible. We want to do anything we can to help.”

Souksakhone “Suki” Sithiphon came up from Norwalk to attend the Fest, meeting family that came down from Hartford. Of Laotian/Thai heritage, she was no less enthusiastic about the Japanese celebration. In fact, her family was special guests of the Japan Society. Her father, Boungai, is president of the Connecticut Laotian Society and held an event in New Britain back in late June that raised $3,700 for relief of Japanese quake survivors. He was introduced to the gathering and recognized for his efforts by Yumi McDonald.

In addition to enjoying the festivities, Suki and Boungai hoped to do some networking with Asian community members that had gathered.

First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, inconspicuous on the sidelines in a ballcap and sunglasses, had a special connection to the event. “I lived in Tokyo for eight years as a CBS News correspondent,” he said. “I have great affection for the Japanese people and their culture. Even the weather today reminds me of a Japanese summer – hot and humid. Even during the hot summer, Japanese would dress very elegantly. I have very good memories of my stay.”

With regard to the devastating quakes in Japan earlier this year, Joseloff said, “Japan is a very resilient country that has suffered disasters for centuries. They’ll get through this. Meanwhile, we will continue to support the private organizations here that are helping Japan. The Asian community is one of the largest minority populations in Westport.”

Library Sets Stage for Children’s Summer Talent Show

Library Sets Stage for 
Children’s Summer Talent Show:

Event celebrates the end of the summer reading program

By Mike Lauterborn

(for Fairfield Citizen News)

8/6/11

Fairfield, CT – They danced, tumbled and hula hooped. Tickled the ivories, sang and drummed. While it was all great fun, their performances marked a great achievement at the same time.

Mid-afternoon Friday, the Fairfield Public Library’s main facility, 1080 Old Post Road, hosted the 7th annual Children’s Summer Talent Show. The performance featured kids ages two to nine, who were invited to provide an entertainment contained to three minutes. A rehearsal for the 10 “acts” that signed up was held an hour beforehand and refreshments were served afterwards. Children’s parents and caretakers comprised the audience. They sat in molded chairs in the library’s Rotary Room, where the show was conducted, and cheered, clapped, photographed and videotaped the fun.

The event’s coordinator, Cindy Barich, who serves as the Children’s Librarian and is known more commonly as “Cindy B”, said the show is intended for ages 6 to 12, but really accommodates “anybody willing to perform.”

Barich said the aim of the event is to give “self-confidence to the children in a comfortable and supportive atmosphere.” At the same time, the fun marks the end of the summer reading program, which began June 1 and engaged almost 2,000 participants. Children received prizes for their reading accomplishments.

To start the show, Barich read a poem, titled “Matinee Manners”, to the children, which creatively spelled out the decorum audience members should observe in a theatrical environment. One line advised, “Keep your hands in your lap, but if you like something, clap.” It was a gentle reminder, to siblings in particular, to give performers the courtesy of attention and respect.

Then participating performers launched right into their numbers, each emerging from behind a curtain affixed across a doorway and taking their place atop a low-rise stage platform. Acts ranged from simple tumbling to complex piano etudes performed on an electric organ.

Tumblers Blane and Devin McElroy, along with little Olivia Music, got things rolling, followed by a splashy dance rendition – complete with dark sunglasses – by Isha Kumar, 5, and Maya Sikka, 6, of Jason Dierulo’s “I Don’t Wanna Go Home.”

Eight-year-old Olivia Geckeler showed off her hula hooping and cartwheel skills, which led into seven-year-old Joanne Park’s stunning renditions of piano pieces by Giuseppe Verdi and Johan Strauss.

Even more amazing was Joanne’s eight-year-old sister Janise, playing Friedrich Kuhlau’s Sonatine movement Opus 20, No. 1. The sisters, who are home schooled for piano, wore matching pink dresses.

Looking like an angel and singing “My Favorite Things” from the “Sound of Music” musical was six-year-old Juliette Savarino, who would have made Julie Andrews proud.

Offering a more modern flavor, nine-year-old Sophia Tedesco, wearing flashy high-top sneakers, belted out a version of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.”

Rounding out the pack, seven-year-old Maggie Willer plinked out “Old MacDonald Had a Song”, eight-year-old Brigid Halliday played “Yankee Doodle” and five-year-old Aidan Music drummed a beat while the audience accompanied him, singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

As the performers took a collective bow and rushed the snack table, Cindy B’s own grandchildren leapt to the stage and began dancing about, signaling that the Children’s Summer Talent Show tradition would be sure to continue.

Good Life Productions Creating a Buzz in Fairfield

Good Life Productions Creating a Buzz in Fairfield:

Doug Wright helping local businesses gain more exposure

By Mike Lauterborn

(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 7/25)

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

7/24/11

Fairfield, CT – A modest studio maybe but doing big things for businesses in Fairfield and surrounding areas.

That’s Good Life Productions, piloted by Fairfield resident Doug Wright, who operates out of a second-floor space at 36 Sanford Street in Fairfield downtown. His studio produces everything from corporate videos to webcasts and broadcast television, including commercials and lifestyle shows. His latest innovation is BizzBuzzTV.com, which is putting the spotlight on businesses with on-camera interviews with owners and tours of their facilities for two to four-minute clips featured online.

Fifty-two-year-old Wright, married with a son headed to college in the fall, brings a colorful professional background to the table, which provided a foundation for the business. “My first job out of college, in 1981, was MTV, in production,” he said. “I was also there for the start-up of VH1, Comedy Central, Nick at Nite and A&E/History Channel. My longest stint was with Martha Stewart, for nine years from 1996 to 2005.”

When Stewart relocated her operations form Westport to Manhattan, Wright decided to head out on his own. The show “Cultivating Life”, based in Weston, was a ripe opportunity as a first project for the freelance editor.

Though he was working from home initially, he had established Good Life as an entity. “I had worked in the corporate world all my career, and thought I could have my own company and it would be better for everybody,” he said. “In all those years, I met so many talented people that I felt I could pull them all together in one place. I felt I had a good network. ‘Good Life” represented a forward-looking renewal.”

Wright secured his current space in 2008, bringing the “Cultivating Life” client with him. “I was doing quite a bit of commercial work. Most recently, I’ve been working with Sara Moulton, a chef with a cooking show on PBS, doing all the post-production and editing.”

In April 2010, Wright started noticing that video-on-demand was very hot on the web. He also observed the unique structuring of YouTube and the compelling urge it drives to want to view other videos that are listed adjacent to a lead video of interest.

“When people go to watch something on the Internet, they are actively seeking out, rather than filling time,” he said. “People are more likely to focus on the content. I started doing research and saw a study that took home page with video and compared it to homepage without video and, more often than not, people watched the video before looking at any other site content. I wondered how we could give that power to small business and decided to take my high-level production skills and offer them at a reasonable cost. Thus BizzBuzzTV was born.”

Wright’s first Bizz Buzz client was Captain’s Cove Seaport. “They’re colorful, on the water, with live entertainment,” Wright commented, “so we created a fun, campy video profiling their services, which aligned well with the image they had conjured for themselves.”

To gain more prospective client interest, Wright joined the Fairfield chapter of Business Network International and soon landed Avellino’s restaurant, then Brick Walk plaza.

In addition to business profiles, Wright also does local event captures, like the Christmas Tree Lighting on the town green, Memorial Day parade and Pequot Turkey Trot. “We put those clips on the ‘Buzz’ section of our site,” he said. “People visit the site to view the event videos then start clicking on business profiles, at the rate of four to five clips per site visit.”

Under the Bizz Buzz banner, Wright has amassed 30 clients across five categories: food, shopping, entertainment, services, and health & fitness.

Wright has also placed a 55-inch TV monitor at the nearby Fairfield Arts Center, with which he has a working relationship. Bizz Buzz shows its own content in return for providing production support services to the Center, as well as to the Fairfield Theater Company.

The plus with the business profile videos said Wright is the fact that clients are given the embedding code so they can integrate the videos on their own websites. Clients pay for their video over time, as a monthly subscription. Contracts are usually 12 months long.

“We don’t just hand them a video and leave either,” said Wright. “We become a partner in helping them promote and build their business. Essentially, we’re a small business helping other small businesses.”

A part of the value Wright provides is to shoot two additional Buzz segments for a business, to showcase any special events or “buzzworthy” news. These are about a minute-and-a-half in length.

Bizz Buzz clients can also subscribe to The Hive, a newsletter delivered by email that notes when new video clips or event notices are added. Bizz Buzz offers a Smart Phone application as well, to meet the content viewing preference of 20% of Bizz Buzz subscribers.

You might as well add the title Star Maker to Doug Wright’s extensive resume, given Bizz Buzz TV’s motto “Be a star in your town.” Does that mean Fairfield is the new Hollywood East? Get your autograph book out…

Business owners interested in learning how Bizz Buzz TV can help enhance their business can visit www.BizzBuzzTV.com or call 203-292-6547. 

Pinkberry Dishes Up Delight in Fairfield Center

Pinkberry Dishes Up Delight in Fairfield Center:

Patch goes behind the counter 

with owner Jamie Karson

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

8/9/11

Fairfield, CT – Almost any time of day you’ll find a pack of eager fans lining up, their faces alight with anticipation for the sensation they are about to experience. No, this is no queue at a concert arena where the latest dance diva is performing back-to-back shows, but a seemingly ever-present line for the counter at Pinkberry, downtown Fairfield’s hottest denizen.

Since Day One, which in this case was October 23, 2010, the frozen yogurt and smoothies purveyor has been attracting the masses, which spark to the products’ great taste, high-quality ingredients, signature tang and fresh fruit flavors. Fifty-four-year-old Southport-based owner Jamie Karson witnessed the craze first-hand in California and has been “thinking pink” since. In a recent sit-down in Fairfield Center, Karson shared some background and the path that led him to Pinkdom.

Early influences

Karson was born in Lawrence, Long Island, to Manhattan boutique owners. Father Jack ran a men’s apparel business called Mr. Guy, on 7th Avenue, for over four decades from the 1950s until he passed in 1996. Mother Rita owned a women’s boutique, called Rita Jamie, at 72nd Street and Lexington Avenue. She, too, ran the business since the 1950s, until her own passing in 1993. Both were very hard working, an ethic of which Karson took close note.

The pair initially met at a U.S.O. dance at the end of WWII in Brooklyn and married, for life, in 1948. Jamie, an only child, came along in 1957. As the couple was fully engaged in their respective shops, a housekeeper tended to Karson for the most part.

“The separation during the day made me independent and gave me time to dream,” he said, adding, “I found it productive to be a dreamer.”

In the evenings, the family usually dined together and often with business company, and almost invariably the table conversation was focused on retail. Reflecting on those interactions, Karson realizes they probably influenced his career path.

After graduating from private school, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was captain of the tennis team and played all four years. “I loved the whole college experience – it was unbelievable,” Karson said.

Legal eagle

When it became time to enter the real world, he went to work for his father, at least initially. Their collaboration lasted one year – the elder Karson fired him. “I wanted to learn law, versus business, and do different things,” he said. “I went to New York Law School and then landed, in the early 80s, at Gerschel & Co., one of the earliest private equity / hedgefunds.”

Karson transferred to Shea & Gould, a large law firm that “represented everybody in the New York region.” He was there seven or eight years and, when the company started to have financial trouble, he moved over to Newman Tannenbaum. There, he practiced real estate law and made partner.

In 1986, Karson also married Laura Walker, whom he knew when they were teens and tennis partners. Their first child, Jordan, now 21 and at UConn, arrived in 1990, followed by daughter Kendall, now 18 and headed to UNC, and Robbie, 16, at Fairfield Ludlowe High School. 

in the early and mid-90s, as Karson’s parents began ailing, he left law, took over and ran his parents’ businesses for a while, then sold them off.

A friend and client at the time was Steve Madden, head of one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the world. Madden started his company around 1994; Karson joined as a board member, became CEO in 2000 and then chairman in 2001. During Karson’s tenure, and until he left in 2009, he helped build the company from $120 million in annual sales to $650 million annually. During the same period, the market cap exploded from $80 million to $800 million. The company carried no debt and had reserves of between $15 million and $100 million.

“In Steve Madden, you have an incredible magnetic brand,” said Karson. “It evolves and changes with time, and never gets irrelevant.”

Karson left “when it was time to leave”, retaining a relationship with Madden on several levels. He wanted to just take some time off, golf and travel but, then, what driven business executive really puts life in neutral?

Thinking Pink

While on vacation with his family in California, in Beverly Hills, he noticed lines out the door at a Pinkberry. “The kids loved it and kept going back,” Karson said. Then he asked a banker friend about it and learned it was under new management, which was looking for development partners. “There was nothing like this in Connecticut, and I didn’t see anything to compete with it. I thought the market was perfect. Connecticut is such a ‘clean’ state – physically clean – like Pinkberry’s aesthetic, very beachy.”

Karson came on board as a franchisee, the first in CT, secured the old PizzaWorks space in downtown, renovated over three months and opened with a menu of six frozen yogurt flavors: original, chocolate, pomegranate, salted caramel, watermelon and mango. These flavors are proprietary to Pinkberry and from its own dairy, and are rotated in and out, to keep the menu fresh. All fruit is obtained from a state fruit vendor and cut fresh daily. Local granolas will soon be added to the already extensive array of some 30 toppings.

Pinkberry Fairfield is now one of about 500 store locations across the U.S.

“I like the vibe here, with its great restaurants, climate, uniqueness,” he said. “And Pinkberry is not just about getting frozen dessert – it’s a happening, a meeting place, an experience.”

He added, “The product is superior and customer service is superb. We try to make a connection with each customer. We want you to have a better day just by coming into Pinkberry. My biggest challenge is to keep the lines moving. We study them, the time, and constantly train and retrain. The line actually moves pretty fast. From the front of the store to the counter is about eight minutes.”

Karson, who plans to open a second Connecticut location, on Greenwich Avenue, in October, declared, “I want to be like P.T. Barnum, with a street scene at night and activities throughout the winter.”

You can bet he will keep thinking Pink and helping grow this phenomenal brand.

Pinkberry Fairfield is located at 1512 Post Road, downtown. Phone: 203-292-9364.

Local Family Braves Leukemia Challenge Together

Local Family Braves Leukemia Challenge Together:

Bone marrow drive Thursday, Aug. 11, 4:30pm-7:30pm, at Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St., East Haven, seeks match

By Mike Lauterborn

(Posted to EastHaven.Patch.com 8/10)

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

8/10/11

Wallingford, CT – It was an early February day – February 10, 2011, to be precise – and sixty-year-old Frank Iaccarino was on the job as a cable repair tech for AT&T. Just after 12:30, he touched base by phone with his wife of 38 years, Joan, mentioning that he was feeling better after complaining of tiredness and a headache the night before. However, an hour later, a co-worker on a job site walked over to his truck, where he had retreated to enjoy some lunch, and found him passed out. An ambulance rushed Frank to Mid-State Hospital in Meriden, where he was treated in the ER and admitted overnight. Joan, 61, and the couple’s twenty-three-year-old son, Matthew, joined him there. All thought he’d had a mild stroke.

Matthew and Joan left the hospital at 11:15pm, and returned to the family’s Wallingford home. At 12:30am, the hospital reached out by phone to say Frank was having a heart seizure and they were transporting him by LifeStar helicopter to Hartford Hospital. Matthew and Joan met them at the facility by car. Other complications revealed themselves and, over the course of a few days, multiple doctors determined that Frank had Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), essentially cancer of the blood. 

“This came out of the blue for us,” Joan said, shocked by the diagnosis. Chemotherapy was the treatment advised. The family opted to bring him to Smilow Cancer Center, a part of Yale University, in New Haven.

Treatment began mid-February: two chemotherapy drugs per day for seven days. A bone marrow biopsy was then performed, to determine if the treatment had been effective. Frank’s cancer was found to be in remission.

“We did not feel exclusive with our situation, as there are so many other people in similar situations and facing dire challenges,” Joan said. “Still, we were thankful for that good news and cried tears of joy.”

Despite the news, Frank was kept in the hospital for observation “for a bit longer.” He came home, but had to go back in for another two weeks for a second, then a third, round of chemo, to be absolutely sure the disease had been eliminated.

Currently, Frank is scheduled to go for a fourth round of chemo, in approximately a month, according to Joan. “Because he seems to be doing well physically and bringing his good blood counts up, doctors will be doing a bone marrow transplant. We understand this is precautionary,” said Joah.

Frank is listed with a national organization called Be the Match, which is a bone marrow registry.  As of now, there is no match for him, so Joan, with the support of the Rhode Island Blood Center, has been holding drives to try and locate a match.

“We’ve done eight drives thus far, with the first held June 11 at North Haven Library, attracting 100 people,” Joan said. Explaining the process, she added, “People fill out a health questionnaire, then have the inside of their cheek swabbed. The swab is sent to a lab for testing to see if there’s a match. We’ve had several hundred potential donors come forward. Because no match has been determined yet, we continue to hold drives.”

Requirements of potential bone marrow donors include being between the ages of 18 and 60, and meeting certain medical guidelines. “You can’t be diabetic or taking insulin; you can’t have had any recent back surgery, or any past instance of cancer,” said Joan. “And it takes just 15 minutes to do the paperwork and for a swab to be collected.”

Joan mentioned that there’s an organization in Fall River, MA, called Michael’s Fund, which has been paying for the testing. “Normally, it cost $100 for a person to join the registry,” said Joan. “Because of their fundraising, the test is free.”

Governor Malloy recently signed a bill requiring individual and group health insurance providers to ensure coverage for bone marrow testing – it goes into effect in January 2012. To this regard, Joan said, “If we are still holding drives early next year, this will help the process.”

Thinking about all that has transpired, Joan remarked, “This has been a difficult time for our family. We have so much support from family and friends to help us get through things. We’ve been very prayerful and optimistic, and hope for the best.”

Joan added, “While these bone marrow drives have been first focused on Frank, they will ultimately help benefit many other cancer patients seeking a match, so there are benefits far beyond our situation. The Rhode Island Blood Center uses a memorable phrase: ‘You have the power to heal, the power to save a life. Take the first step, join the Registry.’ We truly believe in this as well, while taking life a day at a time.”

To join the Be the Match Registry: www.bethematch.org/join  or 1-800-MARROW-2.  If you are unable to make a drive, you will be instructed on how to help in your specific area.

En Garde!!

En Garde!!

Fairfield Fencing Academy opens in Sportsplex complex

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

8/9/11

Fairfield, CT – “This is a dream that I didn’t really know I had,” said thirty-four-year-old John Tejada, the owner of Fairfield Fencing Academy, which opened its doors to the public Saturday in the Sportsplex complex at 85 Mill Plain Road.

The 4,900-square-foot  warehouse-style facility features four World Cup metallic strips – essentially 17-yard long competition alleys. Area residents, including First Selectman Michael Tetreau, who dropped in mid-afternoon to wish Tejada good luck, were invited to experience the facility at no charge, learn about the various available programs and go head-to-head in competition with staff members.

This correspondent took advantage of that offer, suiting up in a mask, glove, thick jacket, metallic vest and mask – along with a foil, or dueling sword, of course. Within each competitor’s outfit, an electric cord is integrated, which hooks to a “reel” that in turn connects to a scoring mechanism with digital readout at the midpoint of each metallic competition alley.

As Tejada’s colleagues and students, several financial backers and the curious streamed in to offer their congratulations, I stepped to the strip to face my opponent, Sarah Bruhl, one of Tejada’s facility counselors. Though she was dimunitive in comparison to my six-foot tall frame, she had five years of training experience. I employed some psychology to try and unsettle her: “You’re going down,” I declared repeatedly.

I would have been highly fortunate to have realized that outcome it turns out, as the numbers on the score display started to spin in her favor. Ultimately, I was able to register just one hit on her, to her 10 on me. I walked from the mat, surprisingly winded and quite sweaty, with resolve to do better the next go round. For now, though, it was more important to capture some background on Tejada.

Born in Brooklyn, the academy owner played basketball in elementary school, and did fencing and swimming in high school, starting in 6th grade. In college at Notre Dame, Tejada fenced all four years, making All-Midwest Conference Foil Squad MVP.

After graduating ND in 1998, he married. Coincidentally, his wife’s sister fenced for a high school team, in Franklin Lakes, NJ. “We went to watch her in a tournament and I started to help her and her team out,” he said. The following year, he was made head coach. In all, he stayed with the school for four years. The first year, under Tejada, the team went 15-1, versus the previous year record of 1-15. In all, the team went 52-5 under Tejada’s tenure, and won four straight district championships, two county championships and a state title. Tejada was also named Coach of the Year four times (twice by the Bergen Record, once by the Newark Star Ledger and once by the New Jersey Coaching Association). In 2010, the Bergen Record named him Coach of the Decade.

While the coaching was a passion, it didn’t pay all the bills. To supplement his income, Tejada worked in television entertainment in NY, for ABC, and for ESPN as an assignment editor.

His first marriage was a false start that ended in 2001. He was fortunate to find a new mate, whom he married July 4, 2009. The couple has a son, Charles, now nine months old.

Tejada was let go from ESPN in July 2010, as his new wife was about to give birth. “I felt screwed,” he said about that time. Fortunately, he was doing some coaching at Wakeman Boys and Girls Club in Southport, from which he was able to springboard into Fairfield’s two high schools as coach of their fencing teams. The past year was a great one, in which the teams finished second and third in the state in men’s and women’s epee. The program was also named #1 in the state for that weapon category.

As Tejada achieved the school successes, he was approached by developer Ken Kleban, to open a club in Wilton. He was all set to do it, then opted not to. “I really wanted to open my own place,” Tejada said.

That wish came true with the backing of John Convertito, Jim Mecca, Beth Love, Mark McGinty, Ken Betza and Cindy Bartoloni – basically all parents of his high school fencing team students and all Fairfielders – who provided financial support.

Together, they contracted for the Sportsplex space in March 2011, thanks to developer Hal Fischel and John Convertito. Renovations on the space started in April and really didn’t finish until this past week.

Tejada is clearly the right man for the job, as students will attest. “I’ve fenced for two years – one of those years under John,” said Alexandra Morrison, 15, at Fairfield Ludlowe High School. “The first year at school, I didn’t have good coaching. When John came in, he really knew what he was talking about and had the experience. He has really made me appreciate the sport and I’ve improved a lot.”

At the same time, students expressed their great delight in having this new facility. “The school was limiting in terms of times we could practice,” said Morrison.

“Fencing is one of those sports you can do all the time,” reflected Tejada. “Old, young, slow, anyone can have fun doing this sport,” he said. “It’s physical chess. The tactics and athletic ability required combines everything from other sports I’ve learned.”

The Fairfield Fencing Academy is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 11am to 9pm. The Academy will accommodate walk-ins and offers camps, classes, private lessons and birthday parties. It is located at 85 Mill Plain Road. Phone: 203-824-1514. On the Net: www.FairfieldFencingAcademy. com