During the eighth grade graduation in June, the Willington Board of Education presented the annual Citizenship Award to Mr. George Bazala. Mr. Bazala graduated from Hall School in 1939 and has been giving back to his local community of Willington (as well as his Country) ever since.   

When Mr. Bazala went to Hall School, Willington didn’t have a single paved road and had many mills and farms that did not have electricity.  Upon his graduation from Hall School, Mr. Bazala attended “Willimantic Trade School”, which is now known as Windham Tech.  There he studied to be an electrician and as part of his studies, he brought electricity to some of the Willington farms he knew growing up.  

After High School, Mr. Bazala served in WWII as an Aviation Electrician.  He also served in the Korean War as a Construction Electrician.  Upon his safe return to the U.S., he married Roberta, settled in Willington and worked at Pratt & Whitney for years as an electrical engineer.  Mr. Bazala’s two daughters and 4 grandchildren have also attended Willington schools, and his youngest granddaughter just graduated from E.O. Smith this year.  

Over the years, Mr. Bazala gave tirelessly to the town and always with a smile.  He was an active member of our local VFW Post #938 since 1946 and has held many leadership titles within that organization, including Commander, but is most famous for organizing the VFW lobster and clam bakes up until a few years ago.  He volunteered at St. Jude’s church for years and was a member its building committee. He also was an original member of the Board of Tax Revue in 1969 and was elected to the Board of Finance in 1973 for one term.  He began reading to children at Center School when his grandchildren attended there.  That’s when he saw a need and brought Center School and the VFW together to start the Flag Day tradition of which he is still a big part.  

Mr. Bazala has spent a lifetime giving back to his town and his Country and is indeed someone worthy of the Willington Board of Education Citizenship Award. Congratulations to Mr. George Bazala for receiving this award to acknowledge his commitment to the town of Willington.

Congratulations to Mr. Phil Stevens our Physical Education teacher at Center Elementary School, who accepted a position as vice principal in Tolland over the summer. Mr. Stevens will be missed and I wish him well in his new position. Welcome to Mr. Sean Conlin our new Physical Education teacher at Center Elementary School. He has been teaching in Thompson for the past 10 years.

Contratulations also to Mr. Ryan Colwell, a second grade teacher at Center Elementary, who has been accepted into a Doctoral Program at the University of Connecticut. He will be working full time at the University. Welcome to Mr. Brendan Tormey, a graduate of the University of Connecticut, who has been hired as the new second grade teacher.

We welcome Ms. Brynn Lipstreu, who has been hired as a new third grade teacher at Center Elementary School and also Ms. Christine Browning who is a new eighth grade Language Arts teacher at Hall Memorial School.

Make sure to visit our district’s new and improved web page at willingtonpublicschools.org. It includes links to the school web pages and many resources for parents.

On behalf of the Willington Board of Education and all of our staff welcome to another exciting school year. I hope you had a wonderful summer and that you and your children are looking forward to an exciting new school year as much as we are.



David C. Harding