O'Rourke & Birch Florist Top Sponsor of Stephen Sasala Award Event May 15 at Palace Theater

Virginia Cookson O’Rourke, owner and president of O’Rourke & Birch, Inc. and O’Rourke & Birch Florist in Waterbury, is one of the top sponsors of the 2014 Main Street Waterbury Stephen R. Sasala II Community Partnership Award event that will be held next Thursday, May 15, at the Palace Theater. The event is also being sponsored by Bourassa catering & events of Wallingford.

Frank Tavera, chief executive officer of the Palace Theater Group, Inc. will receive Main Street Waterbury’s prestigious award during a presentation between 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on May 15. The Award was created by Main Street Waterbury to celebrate the leadership and contributions of the late Stephen R. Sasala, former CEO of the Waterbury Regional Chamber and former president of Main Street Waterbury Board of Directors.

Main Street Waterbury CEO Carl Rosa stated, “Steve Sasala advocated for quality planning and policy development, and practiced the leadership approach of setting goals and staying the course while recognizing and working toward the bigger picture. With these qualities, he continually provided support for addressing local work in ways that ultimately benefitted the more global good. Frank Tavera was one of the original Main Street Waterbury Board members and succeeded Steve Sasala as Board President. With the same collaborative style that Steve had, Frank strengthened Main Street Waterbury’s mission and standing in the community positioning the organization for future success.”

Celebrating 91 years of success in 2014, O’Rourke & Birch, Inc. is widely-known as a “Waterbury institution”. O’Rourke & Birch Florist is Waterbury’s only family-founded and continuously-family-owned floral business. In 2013, O’Rourke Cookson announced that they received nationally-prestigious recognition as an elite, top-quality FTD Master Florist, making it one of only eight florists in Connecticut to receive this unique distinction. Also in 2013, the company accomplished the notable status of being a nationally-recognized Vera Wang Wedding floral designer, and O’Rourke Cookson was recipient of the Waterbury Regional Chamber’s highly-prestigious Volunteer of the Year Award. 

O’Rourke & Birch Florist began as a small shop in Waterbury’s North Square at 417 North Main Street. The company was created by O’Rourke Cookson’s father, John O’Rourke, and her aunt, Marie (O’Rourke) Birch, in 1922 when Marie was just a teenager. O’Rourke Cookson purchased the business from them in 1969. As with most businesses 90 years in duration, the business grew and prospered with thriving shops in Waterbury, Middlebury, Wolcott and Southbury, and today it is consolidated into their 170 Freight Street headquarters in Waterbury.

Like her aunt, O’Rourke Cookson “grew up in this business” by beginning her floral career after graduating from college and then a floral design school. From her family, she inherited a very strong sense of community and charity, and today she is highly-respected and widely-recognized throughout the area as a notably successful contributor to many local and national organizations.

A licensed Justice of the Peace, O’Rourke Cookson is a member of the national Society of American Florists, Connecticut Florists Association (CFA), FTD-Florist Transworld Delivery, Teleflora Inc., and Flower Shop Network. She is a long-standing member of the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce, a previous Chamber Ambassador, member of the board of directors of the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Women’s Forum (BWF) and St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary. She is recipient of numerous community and leadership awards including the 2000 Waterbury Regional Chamber Business Woman of the Year Award, and an active member of ProfNet, the Professional Networking Group of Waterbury.

Daughter of one of the first charter members of the Waterbury Exchange Club, O’Rourke Cookson joined the organization in 1994 and was named Exchangite of the Year in 2004 and “Mayor For The Day”. Currently, she is president of the Club and chair of the organization’s Membership Committee. She has also been a long-standing member of the Exchange Club of Waterbury’s charitable foundation and chairs the upcoming 2014 Annual Wine & Beer Tasting event on April 23 at La Bella Vista in Waterbury which raises funds for Child Abuse Prevention programs. O’Rourke Cookson is also an active member of the Profnet professional networking organization in Waterbury.

May 15 Fundraiser

At the May 15 Main Street Waterbury event, the non-profit organization, for a fourth year, will present the Stephen R. Sasala II Scholarship to a local area high school senior. The successful applicant must possess the following attributes of public policy, via academics, leadership and community involvement while fully understanding how each attribute is linked together for the greater good of a community. Applicants must demonstrate their leadership interests by being actively involved in the classroom, student clubs, and community organizations. Each applicant must also demonstrate how their involvement has contributed to their development as a future community leader. 

Main Street Waterbury is a 501c3 non-profit, downtown management and revitalization program in the context of historic preservation. Through improving the physical appearance of downtown Waterbury, promoting its architectural and cultural assets, organizing volunteer initiatives, sponsoring events, and fostering public/private partnerships, the organization strives to economically rejuvenate Waterbury’s downtown without sacrificing its character or heritage.

Additional sponsorships of the May 15 award event are still available. For more information contact the Main Street Waterbury office at 203-757-0701 ext. 302 or email Carl Rosa at crosa@mainstreetwaterbury.com.

Tickets are required and are $35/person. Tickets can be purchased at the Palace Theater Box Office at 100 East Main Street in Waterbury, or by calling the box office at 203-346-2000 or visiting www.palacetheaterct.org. A portion of all proceeds will be directed toward the Stephen R. Sasala Scholarship Fund.