Town to Hold Free Small Business Seminars

The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of Suffield and East Granby’s EDC will hold a series of four, free small business seminars over the next four months. These hour-long “best practice style” seminars are for the small business owner, to offer advice and guidance on challenges they face with limited resources. Topics will include: Financing, Marketing, Hiring Practices and Technology. The first session: “Financing for the Small Business” will show how to access capital to begin or grow a business. It features a panel of business financial experts from the CT Small Business Development Center (CTSBDC), Community Investment Corporation (CIC), local commercial institutions, and a local entrepreneur who successfully utilized funding to take his business to the next level.

Local Masons Install New Master

John LeDoux Jr. of Enfield was installed as the new Worshipful Master of the Masons, Composite Lodge #28. John’s Masonic background includes being a member of Melha Shriners, Hadji Unit, and Valley of Hartford AASR 32 degree. John is an electrician at the University of Hartford. John has been volunteering in his community and throughout the state for the past 35 years. He has served in numerous leadership positions throughout his volunteer days.

Summer Camp Hiring

The summer, luckily, will be here before we know it and the Parks and Recreation Department is accepting applications and interviewing for several key positions for the summer. Camp Directors, Camp Counselors, Junior Counselors, Certified Water Safety Instructors, Life Guards and Gate Attendant positions are available for qualified candidates. Applications may be downloaded at www.suffieldrec.com Please apply before Thursday, March 28 to Suffield Parks & Recreation Department located at 97 Mountain Road. 

College Board Honors Suffield Schools

Suffield Public Schools is one of 373 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 9th Annual AP® District Honor Roll. To be included on the 9th Annual Honor Roll, Suffield Public Schools had to, since 2016, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Reaching these goals shows that this district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP. National data from 2018 show that among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. The first step to getting more of these students to participate is to give them access.

Get the Buzz on Native Bees

The Friends of the Farm at Hilltop, the Suffield Land Conservancy and the Green Team at Second Baptist Church are partnering to offer a workshop to learn about these wonderful, hard-working and very beneficial animals. It will be held on Sunday, March 3, at 3 p.m. in the Second Baptist Church on Main Street. After learning about the bees and how we can help them survive in today’s world, we will craft bee hotels to provide essential shelter for them and their young. Many of North America’s more than 4,000 species of native bees are declining, including bumble bees, mainly due to habitat destruction and pesticide use. While our native bees do not produce large amounts of honey like the non-native honey bee, they are more efficient pollinators and are essential to the production of at least 80% of our food crops.

Sign Up Now for Suffield Parks and Recreation Winter Programs

Suffield Parks and Recreation releases its 2019 winter programming with registration which is beginning now at www.suffieldrec.com. The lineup includes a focus on family fitness and wellness with activities like Cheerleading Fun and Adult CrossFit joining perennial favorite, Men’s Recreational Basketball. 

“We are particularly excited to kick off recurring Family Friday Nights with a Frozen Sing-a-Long on Friday, January 11,” noted Parks and Recreation Director Peter Leclerc. “These events promise fun for the whole family.” The sing-a-long is open to the public and free of charge, with donations accepted to benefit Suffield Community Aid. In addition to fitness, enrichment, cooking, arts and crafts, Suffield Parks and Recreation continues to meet the needs of all Suffield residents by offering inclusive special needs programming like the Bowling Buddies and Outing Group. 

The group fosters friendships, socialization, community involvement and independence. 

“I am very proud of the staff and the work they do to fill this important need in our community,” stated First Selectman Melissa M. Mack. The department welcomes volunteer help.

Sugar Witch

The powers of magic, mystery and murder collide deep in the Florida Everglades … get ready for The Suffield Players production of The Sugar Witch by Nathan Sanders!

When the Library Returns to “the Big House”

Happy New Year! For Suffield, one of the highlights of 2019 will be the re-opening of the Kent Memorial Library on North Main Street. What a joyous occasion that will be! The Friends of KML are especially looking forward to the pleasure of viewing the three large photos that were hung on the wall of the lower lobby in 1992, and were removed and stored for the recent renovations. Some Suffield residents may not be aware of how and why these photos came to our library.