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| Alice Hutchinson with Senator Richard Blumenthal (photo: Louis J. David) | |
Alice Hutchinson, owner of Byrd's Books, Bethel, Conn., was honored last Saturday with the 2019 Bill & Shannon Award for Community Service by the Bethel Democratic Town Committee. The award is presented annually to a resident who has "contributed to the growth and improvement of the town of Bethel through involvement in various civic and public activities and committees."
The award was presented by first selectman Matt Knickerbocker and Nicholas Vitti Jr., chairman of the Bethel Democratic Town Committee. In attendance were 120 local and state dignitaries, including Senator Richard Blumenthal and Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz. James H. Maloney, former Congressman 5th District and president/CEO of Connecticut Institute for Communities, celebrated Hutchinson's service with well-deserved remarks.
A member of the Bethel Democratic Town Committee since 1987, Hutchinson has served the organization as vice-chair and chairman. For 16 years, she sat on Bethel's planning and zoning commission and served as first selectman from 2003 to 2005. She opened Byrd’s Books in 2011. The bookshop is now located in Bethel's Greenwood Avenue Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.