OIC Of New London County Names Community Champions

will recognize three residents in their 2012 on Thursday.

The seventh annual celebration will take place at 5:30 p.m. at 's Weller Center. This year the organization is recognizing State Representative Ernest Hewett, vice president Tom Kasprzak, and president Jaye Wilson.

Elizabeth Binger, executive director of the OIC of New London County, said the three honorees represent the OIC values of business, education, and public service.

“We believe strongly in recognizing those who work to make a difference in our community and help others to find success," said Binger. "At OIC we see lives changed every day and this change is almost always the result of a helping hand from others – whether the recipient knows it or not. Each of our recipients has had a hand in changing lives and we celebrate the differences that they have made.”

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Hewett is a former New London mayor who has served in the Connecticut General Assembly since 2004. He has also received the Legislator of the Year award from the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and has been named to the Top 100 Most Influential African Americans in the State of Connecticut by the Connecticut NAACP for two years in a row.

Kasprzak has volunteered at several local organizations, including the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut. He and his wife, Joanne, received Keene State College's "Parents of the Year" award in 2008, and in 2007 they received the Transplant Recipients International Organization’s award on behalf of their daughter, whose organ transplants saved five people's lives upon her passing in 2003.

Wilson has worked for for 30 years. She described the job of being an elementary school educator in her hometown as "like dying and going to heaven."

Tickets for the event are $50, and include the reception, basket raffle, live music, and a buffet supper prepared by students in OIC's culinary arts training program. Proceeds from the event will benefit the OIC's training programs.

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