Laura Glesby Photo
Dora Brown receives a citation from Alder Kampton Singh.
Wait… Me?
That thought seemed to flicker across seven faces, one by one, on Wednesday evening, as Hill Alder Kampton Singh doled out surprise honors to several community stewards.
Singh brought a stack of official aldermanic citations to the annual joint Hill North & Hill South Community Management Team meeting on Wednesday evening.
The two management teams convened inside the Parish House at Betsy Ross school on Kimberly Avenue, with copious sandwiches, chicken, mac n’ cheese, green beans, salad, sweets, and more sponsored by Yale New Haven Hospital with the help of a donation from Alder Singh.
As usual, management team stalwart Angela Hatley had been the one to go to the supermarket, pick out the offerings, drive the food to the Parish House, sanitize the tables with Lysol she brought herself, and spearhead the group effort to bring tray after tray of food inside.
She expected to feel a quiet satisfaction from feeding the 20 or so attendees of Wednesday’s meeting.
She didn’t expect to see that satisfaction mirrored back at her in the form of a citation from Singh.
Hatley said she was completely surprised when Singh called her name toward the end of his presentation, presenting her with a formal citation to thank her for her continual behind-the-scenes work on the management team, including her stewardship of the group’s housing committee.
“I don’t do things to be recognized,” Hatley said. “I was very happy to be noticed for what [I] do.”
In addition to Hatley, Singh distributed a citation to Dora Brown (“My beloved neighbor … You are a beacon for us,” Singh said), Paul Larrivee (“When you see the Christmas Tree, that’s because of him!”), Hill South Management Team Chair Sarah McIver (For helming the group, “We want to thank you!”), and Yale New Haven Health Senior Community Relations Officer Andrew Orefice (who has “been a part of our community for over 20 years”).
For a moment, Orefice glanced around as if to make sure he was the correct “Andrew” being honored.
“Meghan!” Singh projected, throwing two arms in the air for emphasis.
Meghan Currey, the former head of the Hill’s Wilson library branch who recently took a new position in Wallingford, had come to the management team’s annual joint meeting for old times’ sake. As Singh called her name, she received a hearty burst of applause from the room.
Singh began to tear up as he presented Currey with her citation. “You opened up your doors to us in Covid,” he said, describing how the Hill branch became a haven for unhoused people looking for a place to rest during the day and children eager to try out new programs.
“We miss you, and we love you,” Singh told Currey.
Emotion crept into his voice once more as he presented a citation to the neighborhood’s top cop, Sgt. Jasmine Sanders.
“She takes the call at four, three in the morning, six at night,” he said. “You pour your dedication into the Hill.”
“I was so surprised,” Sanders said later. “It really is a good feeling to know that it’s not going unnoticed. ‘Cause the job, it’s not easy.”
Singh took a moment, too, to honor the memory of the late Johnny Dye, the unofficial “Mayor of the Hill,” whose surviving wife Martha attended Wednesday’s meeting. The miniature awards ceremony, he said, was dedicated to him.
Assistant Chief Bertram Etienne snaps a photo of Sgt. Jasmine Sanders and Alder Kampton Singh.
Angela Hatley had set up a feast, and the group dug in.