Carol R. Goldberg is 2016 Citizen of the Year

The Bethany Democratic Town Committee is proud to announce the recipient of the 2016 Citizen of the Year Award, Carol R. Goldberg. Each year this award is presented to a Bethany resident who demonstrates outstanding service to the community or a lifetime commitment to working for the greater good. In Carol Goldberg’s case, her resume exemplifies a lifetime dedicated to both.

Carol and her husband, Scott Zimmerman, moved to Bethany in 1997. An attorney, Carol worked in the private sector for a brief time after graduation, but left to join the Office of the Public Defender where she has remained for almost 33 years. “I can’t imagine anything more important than defending someone’s freedom,” she says. Today, she supervises that office of four attorneys, a social worker, an investigator and a secretary while carrying her own heavy case load.

Growing up in New Haven during the turbulent 1960’s and 70’s, she credits her parents Helen and Marty for her early interest in public service and politics. “They raised our consciousness at a very early age.” She remembers the Black Panther trial of Bobby Seale in New Haven in 1970 and her mother taking her down to the New Haven Green to hear the speeches delivered by activists like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and William Sloane Coffin, all making the case for civil liberty and social justice. “I always knew I would go to law school,” Goldberg says.

In 1999, she joined the Bethany Democratic Town Committee and became Secretary in 2000. She was elected to the office of Chairman of the Town Committee in 2004 and served as chair until stepping down in 2014 although she remains an active member. “Being town chair changed my life in a very positive way. To be part of a change, of helping people get elected, is very humbling.”

In 2001, she was elected to the Zoning Board of Appeals and served until 2015. During her time on ZBA, she was elected chairman by her peers and served as ZBA chairman from 2005-2013. She was a member of the Bethany Health Committee which, at the time, was charged with analyzing the pros and cons of hiring a Health Director and presenting their findings to the Board of Selectmen. Their recommendation was presented to the electorate at the annual Town Meeting in 2006 where it was approved, thereby enabling Bethany to join the Quinnipiac Valley Health District. And she has been an active member of the QVHD Board of Directors representing Bethany since 2006. She has served on the Cemetery Committee since its inception, offering her expertise in drafting regulations and bylaws and in general, working to ensure the historic town cemeteries are well cared for.

She represents Bethany on the Comcast Advisory Council and has been on this council since 2003 when it transitioned from Valley Cable to Adelphia, then to Tele-Media and finally Comcast. While it was a more active board as a smaller company, Carol says she still gets calls from Bethany subscribers who are sometimes frustrated with trying to reach the right department within Comcast so she tries to expedite a solution through her fellow council members.

Back in 2007, Carol was a member of Bethany’sSeptaquintaquinquecentennial Anniversary Committee which put together the celebration for the town’s 175th birthday.The celebration took place from May 25-27, 2007 and included such events as a 19th Century-style Church service at Christ Episcopal Church, a Community Dinner Dance at the new firehouse, a Family Picnic at Town Hall and tours of all the historic homes and buildings in Bethany.“It was great fun” she remembers.Carol has also been a member of the Bethany Lions Club since 2002, an active Justice of the Peace and serves on the annual Harvest Festival Committee helping to organize a very popular and highly anticipated autumn event.As a member of the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee, she and the other members have reviewed all the options for the town including single stream recycling and bulk pick up and are working with other towns to ensure Bethany is taking advantage of all possible opportunities for cost savings while trying to increase our volume of recyclable materials, also a cost saving. SWARC presented their recommendations to the Board of Selectmen late last year and expects the Request for Proposal to be sent out to prospective bidders in the near future. She serves on the newly formed Clark Memorial Library Capital Campaign Committee.This group is committed to raising $200,000 for the library for structural renovations, new programs, business services and training on new technology for business and personal use.To raise this money, the committee will apply for public and private grants and conduct community fundraising programs and research other sources of funding.As a certified member of the Community Emergency Response Team otherwise known as CERT, she and the team, headed by Clark Hurlburt, are trained to respond to emergencies that require knowledge of CPR, tracking, First Aid, traffic control and sheltering to name a few of their skills. Their training is continuous as is their need to be recertified.

Carol is a graduate of Skidmore College and the University of Connecticut Law School. In 2014, she was elected to the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee to represent District 17 and was appointed by Governor Dannell P. Malloy to the Board of Examiners for Optometrists where she continues to serve. Says First Selectman, Derrylyn Gorski, “Carol and I have been close friends for almost 20 years. I’m continually amazed by her boundless energy and I am very proud to call her my friend.”

What continues to drive Carol Goldberg to volunteer thousands of hours of her life over all these years? “I truly believe that if you step up, get involved and extend a hand, you get back so much more than you give,” she says. And she, in fact, in word and in deed, leads by example.

Carol R. Goldberg is being honored at the annual award dinner on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 6pm. Invited dignitaries are Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, Attorney General George Jepsen, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Treasurer Denise Nappier, State Senator Joseph Crisco and Representative Lezlye Zupkus.

Tickets are $15-Adults, $10-Seniors, $6-Children under 12, $25-Patrons. You can purchase tickets by calling Fran Doba on 203-393-9522 or Peg Foley on 203-988-2155.

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