2008 NUTMEG GAMES A HUGE SUCCESS

DANBURY – For nearly three weeks in August, The Nutmeg State Games took center stage in Connecticut, showcasing Danbury’s athletic facilities to our guests from around our Nutmeg state.

The city and HVSports efficiently hosted 446 team games and 12 individual sporting competitions (archery, BMX, diving, fencing, figure skating, gymnastics, judo, speed skating, swimming, tae kwon do, track & field and wrestling) and ultimately 5,384 youngsters.

That's quite an undertaking coordinated by Nutmeg State Games Executive Director Bill Mudano and Associate Director Patrick Fisher.  A job well done … and one that was well received by the Danbury community.

The event was also an economic success, unofficially delivering $579,740 in direct spending in our city and $1,043,532 in total economic impact.  The Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau, under the leadership of Jim Whitney, will conduct the official analysis later this autumn but Jim has acknowledged that, while conservative, these numbers do appear reflective of the verified attendance at The Games.
 
Doing the LITTLE things well always adds up to exposing a great overall product and there were a myriad of LITTLE things done well at The Nutmeg State Games:

* Three separate nasty thunder & lightning storms beset The Games.  Each time Bill Mudano, Patrick Fisher and all the site directors pulled our participating athletes off all of the fields in timely and safe fashion.

* Our volunteers and the Nutmeg State Games interns cordially greeted our city's guests and efficiently dealt with site-by-site LITTLE issues.

* Our sponsors - we could not have hosted this without the financial support of the City of Danbury, Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau, Union Savings Bank, Danbury Hospital, Savings Bank of Danbury, Webster Bank, Danbury Arena, Western Connecticut State University and the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce.
 
* Flying under the radar was the fact that Recreation Director Nick Kaplanis months ago communicated with a myriad of sports organizations so that we have had no conflicts with the use of city fields.  

* Jim Whitney (Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau) and Kay Schreiber put together a great Danbury Passport that was distributed so that our visiting parents and coaches could take their youngsters to our local, participating Passport sponsors for discounts on food, shopping and entertainment.

* The Portuguese Cultural Center delivered on-time food to us and we fed our 300+ HVSports breakfast guests in record time.

* Our facilities continued to impress our guests ... again thanks to Public Works Director Antonio Iadarola and the good people at WCSU, Immaculate, PAL and the War Memorial.

* The food prices - thank you, ShopRite - at all venues were exceptionally low - a great value for our guests.

* The media (The News-Times, WINE / ESPN, and WLAD) treated The Games appropriately.

* HVSports photographers Peggy Stewart, Eric Gottschalk and Max Steinmetz were terrific.  Please visit www.hvsports.org to see photos from most of our venues.

* HVSports President Dick Murray was the epitome of a hands-on leader, making daily site-by-site visits so that the LITTLE things that might have gone wrong, did not.  

* Demonstration Night, while lightly attended, was impressive.  It featured speed skating, tae kwon do and fencing.

* And, of course, the significant task of coordinating 12-mile Torch Run, was handled professionally by HVSports member Walt Richard.

Members of the Danbury contingent, carrying The Torch:
Mayor Mark D. Boughton
Savings Bank of Danbury President Hal Wibling
Bethel First Selectman Bob Burke
WCSU Student Government president Ed Brietling
Danbury Councilman Tom Saadi
Sergeant Mark Williams of the Danbury Police Department's Youth Bureau
Mary Elizabeth Salame of the Maron Hotel & Suites
HVSports member Dave Dunleavey
HVSports member Ralph McIntosh
Awilda Caisse of Union Savings Bank
Bobby Weaver of Union Savings Bank
Elise DeRoo of Newtown High School
Military veteran and War Memorial representative Danny Hayes
Moira Kenny of Immaculate High School
Emily Campbell, Teyanna Green and Charisma Green of Danbury High's state open championship team
Joey & Danny Bubniak, All-American runners at Danbury High School
Kevin Russell and Levi Wallace, co-captains of the Danbury High Cross Country team
       
So now it’s on to 2009 so that we can abide by The Games mantra “helping good kids make good decisions.”  

Dates for The 2009 Games will be determined in an HVSports committee meeting with Nutmeg State Games officials in the near future.   
Thank you, all !!!

Wayne Shepperd,
HV Sports Board Member and Local Organizing Committee Chair