5th Annual Tour of Litchfield Hills

The northwest corner’s annual “Tour of the Litchfield Hills” Cycling Tour will celebrate their fifth anniversary by returning to Torrington’s Coe Park on Sunday, August 3rd to benefit The Center for Cancer Care Fund, Inc. Last year the event raised $82,000 for the locally based fund which provides financial assistance and community resources to help with the care, treatment, education and prevention of cancer for residents living in Northwest Connecticut.

“This is an important event for those of us who live and work in this area. Our friends and family members directly benefit from the proceeds. We are pleased that we have been able to support residents in need for the past four years and look forward to another successful event.” says Marty Mancuso, co-chair of the Tour Planning Committee made up of volunteers who live and work in this area.

This bicycle tour consists of 12, 30, 50, 75-mile routes and newly added 100-mile course. There are also 2.4, 4.2 and 8 mile walking routes for non-cyclists who wish to participate. All routes begin and end at Coe Park in downtown Torrington. The day concludes with a picnic for participants. All cycling routes follow paved, lightly traveled roads throughout Litchfield County that are fully supported with rest stops and on-the-road support vehicles.

The Tour Schedule:
6:00 AM – Registration Opens
7:00 AM – 100 mile start
8:00 AM - 50 and 75 bike mile start
9:00 AM - 30-mile bike start
10:00 AM - 12-mile bike start
10:15 AM - Walking route start
12:00 PM - Post ride/walk picnic begins

There is a registration fee of $30 per adult, $15 for children under 12, and $50 for a family of five or less. No registration fee is required for anyone raising $100 or more. Team registration packets are available for those who wish to join as a team. Participants are asked to bring their donations on event day. Participants receive a T-shirt specifically designed for the Tour. All cyclists are strongly encouraged to wear a helmet for the Tour, which will be held rain or shine. Cycling jerseys will also be available for purchase.

The Center For Cancer Care Fund, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that provides financial assistance to people battling cancer, and gives assistance for unexpected emergencies for cancer patients for which there are no immediate resources. For example, funds may be allocated for food, transportation, utility bills and medications that are not covered by insurance.

The Tour of Litchfield Hills is presented by Torrington Honda and supported by diamond sponsors: Campion Ambulance Service, Inc., Frankenstein’s Haunted House, Hatfield Jewelers, Northwest Community Bank, and RJB Contracting, Inc.

To obtain more information, maps, and an on-line registration form, or visit tourofthelitchfieldhills.com or contact event co-chairs Marty Mancuso (860-496-6488) or Dr. Matt Pagano (860-379-3372).

Online registration is also available at BikeReg.com. Registration brochures including donation forms are also available at The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and The Center For Cancer Care, at 200 Kennedy Drive in Torrington.

The Center for Cancer Care offers comprehensive cancer care services including radiation therapy, medical oncology and chemotherapy, massage, and art therapy. The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital is a 109-bed, general acute care non-profit hospital located in Torrington, CT, serving thirteen towns and 100,000 persons.

2008 WOW! Forum Speakers Announced

The 2008 WOW! Women of the World Forum returns to Torrington this fall with a slate of prominent speakers from Connecticut a theme, “Celebrating Connecticut Women” This popular, full-day professional development opportunity for women, sponsored in part by The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, will be held on Friday, September 26, 2008, at The Warner Theatre and its new Carole & Ray Neag Performing Arts Center.

The event includes a continental breakfast, lunch at Bogey’s Restaurant at the Yankee Peddler Inn, breakout seminars, closing reception and an expanded WOW! Bookstore & Boutique. Ticket prices are $99 through July 15, 2008, and $125 thereafter. More details are available online at www.wowforum.org.  Please call the Chamber of Commerce at 860-482-6586 for more information.

Well-known radio and television personality, Diane Smith, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker. Smith is a popular co-host of the top rated Morning Show on WTIC-AM News Talk 1080 with Ray Dunaway. An Emmy award winning TV journalist, Diane Smith produces programs for Connecticut Public TV, based on her popular series “Positively Connecticut”. The program highlights the inspiring, warm, funny, and sometimes downright strange stories that give Connecticut its character. Her book by the same name has been a best seller for The Globe Pequot Press. For more than sixteen years Diane was a news anchor and reporter at WTNH TV in New Haven, where her reporting earned her an Emmy award. Diane is active in promoting Connecticut business and tourism. She was awarded the Connecticut Tourism Industry's Media Award for "showing Connecticut to the rest of the world in a positive light".

The forum will also feature a rousing morning address by Dr. Joyce Saltman, Ed.D., a Professor of Special Education, a therapist with a private practice and a dynamic speaker. She chose to receive her doctoral degree in Higher and Adult Education from Columbia University because she loved the color of their doctoral gown. Her innovative teaching style has led to the development of a graduate course on “The Enhancement of Learning Through Humor.” In her previous life, Joyce appeared as a stand-up comic for dozens of organizations and clubs including Dangerfield’s and Good Times in New York City.

Janet Peckinpaugh will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the day. As a 30-year veteran of television and radio news, Janet Peckinpaugh has been a well-known journalist in Connecticut for many years. Janet was most recently news anchor for WVIT television and has also reported and anchored for the ABC and CBS affiliates in Connecticut. Now retired from television news, she operates Peckinpaugh Digital Media, a full service multimedia company. Janet is currently producing a pilot television program called 180 Degrees with Janet Peckinpaugh.

Another highlight of the fourth annual WOW! Forum will be a leadership panel featuring Hon. Anne C. Dranginis (ret.), Principal, Rome McGuigan P.C., Ellen Griesedieck, artist and president, American Mural Project, Patricia Mayfield, Commissioner of Labor, State of Connecticut and Sara Laschever, author of ‘Women Don’t Ask’ and ‘Ask For It’. This group will discuss their path to the top of their professions.

The WOW! Forum is a program of the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, the premier business resource in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut.