James Lally Named Killingworth Citizen of the Year

The Killingworth Lions Club hosted 100 special guests at their 15th Annual Senior Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 18. The event was held at the Saint Lawrence Church Hall.

Before dinner, local resident James Lally was honored as the 2012 Killingworth Outstanding Citizen of the Year. Lally received the recognition for his humanitarian, philanthropic and volunteer efforts over many decades.

The event was beautifully organized and ably chaired by past Lion president Dan Civiello and Lion Justin Smith. Club president Hilary Kumnick praised the senior citizens for their "long-term contributions to the country, the state and our town" and encouraged guests to "pat each other on the back!" due to the success of their efforts.

Senator Ed Meyer and Rep. James Crawford presented Lally with a Proclamation from the State of Connecticut and First Selectwoman Cathy Iino detailed some of Lally's contributions in a Proclamation on behalf of the Killingworth Board of Selectmen. Senator Meyer added that he "knew of no other event like this... really wonderful!"

Pastor Joseph DeCosta of St. Lawrence followed with a prayer and an Invocation. Guests enjoyed a complimentary turkey dinner with all the trimmings preceded by a starter buffet and followed by a choice of fresh desserts. Enjoyable sing-along, folk, and historical music was provided by Connecticut's first official troubadour, Tom Callinan

The local prevention coalition, Healthy Community-Healthy Kids (HC-HK), Lions and Killingworth Family Pharmacy partnered on a reusable HC-HK grocery bag with pharmacy discount coupons, jar openers, pens and pads as they wished to do something special for this key sector of the community in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the event. 

Killingworth Lions, under the watchful eyes of veteran Senior Dinner caterers Penny McQueeney and Paulette Talamelli, did 100-percent of the food prep, cooking and serving while other Lion crews took care of set-up, decorations and take-down. It is truly difficult to measure which group enjoys this event more, the Lions or the seniors of Killingworth!