Category Press Release

Jan 17 2015

Red Cross to Honor Westport Employees at January 30 Event

 

The Red Cross will honor three Town of Westport employees at its 16th annual American Red Cross Community Heroes Breakfast set for January 30 in Stamford.

David Ellis, Joseph Bairaktaris, Jr. and former co-worker Ian Chasnow will receive the Life Saving Hero Award. The men are responsible for saving the life of co-worker for quick thinking that saved a co-worker who suffered a heart attack at work. “Doc” Kashka who suffered a heart attack at work.

Joseph Bairaktaris, Jr., and David Ellis were working at the Ned Dimes Marina on Compo Beach when Kashka suffered a heart attack at the nearby basketball courts. Together with former co-worker Ian Chasnow, the men administered CPR to Kashka until emergency personnel arrived with an AED and took over care.

In a citation honoring the men for their actions in saving their colleague, Westport First Selectman James Marpe cited the group’s swift and professional actions displaying “extraordinary composure.”

“Joseph, David and Ian are true heroes for stepping forward to save a life,” said American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region CEO Mario Bruno. “They represent the Red Cross ideal of knowing how to save a life with CPR and First Aid training and taking action to do so.”

The breakfast will be held at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa, 243 Tresser Boulevard. Breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. Tickets for the event are $40. Wells Fargo is Statewide Leadership Sponsor. Emcee will be Tom Appleby, News Director and Anchor with NEWS12 Connecticut. Tickets are $40 each and must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets online, visit http://www.redcross.org/ct/heroes.

The other honorees at this year’s breakfast are:

  • Workplace Hero Award: General Electric, for its commitment to supporting American Red Cross disaster relief work and programs as well as its outstanding philanthropic and volunteer commitment to communities across Connecticut and the nation.
  • Community Resilience Award: The City of Norwalk, for its multiple programs to better support its citizens and strengthen its infrastructure in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
  • Military Hero Award: Alfred Meadows, of Huntington, a U.S. Army veteran, Purple Heart Medal recipient and founder of “Operation Gift Cards,” which has presented more than 17,000 thank you kits valued at more than $800,000 to wounded troops and additional military support groups.
  • Spirit of the Red Cross Award: The Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Company 1, in Shelton, for their extraordinary work at a major fire in Shelton, in which they successfully evacuated 28 residents from the building, directly rescuing five of those residents. In the days after the fire, the fire company became a central point of coordination to support the recovery needs for the building residents.
  • Water Safety Award: Brenda Moratoya, of Stamford, for her role in saving a drowning swimmer off Cummings Beach in Stamford last summer.

More information about the heroes is available at the Connecticut Red Cross Blog.

The American Red Cross Community Heroes Breakfast is set for Friday, January 30, at the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa, 243 Tresser Boulevard, Stamford. Statewide Leadership Sponsor is Wells Fargo. News12 Connecticut News Director and Anchor Tom Appleby will serve as Emcee. Registration is at 7:00 a.m. and breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. Tickets are $40 each and must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets online, visit www.redcross.org/ct/heroes. For more information about the event or to reserve tickets contact Melissa Fazzio at (860) 678-2724 or email her at Melissa.Fazzio@redcross.org.

Dec 24 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 10

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh.

In 1948, when he was just a boy, Jimmy Kalmaku trained with his uncle to be the shaman of his Tlingit village in Alaska. There he learned the old legends, the old myths, the old secrets.

Chief among them was that of a mask locked in a prison of ice, and of the faceless god imprisoned within: a cruel and vengeful god called T’Nathluk, dedicated to the infliction of pain and suffering.

Now all but forgotten in a Seattle retirement home, Jimmy finds his life turned upside down. For when an unwitting archaeologist pries the mask free of its icy tomb, he frees T’Nathluk as well.

Stuck in spirit form, the Faceless One seeks a human to serve as a portal through which he can enter our reality. The Faceless One can control—and mercilessly torture—anyone who touches the mask, which means there is no shortage of slaves to ferry it across the country to its chosen host.

Yet the Faceless One has foes as well: Stan Roberts, a tough New York cop whose pursuit of justice will lead him into a dark abyss of the soul; Steven, Liz, and Bobby, the family of the doomed archaeologist; and Jimmy Kalmaku, who must at last become the shaman of his boyhood dreams.

The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh.

Dec 23 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 9

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out The Angel of Death by Peter N. Dudar. It’s a supernatural noir thriller that explores the darkness of humanity, through religious and philosophical contexts. It will haunt you long after the last page is read.

In Frank Blake has a plan to murder his cheating ex-wife. After years of her messing with his life, he’s finally hatched a plan to be done with her once and for all.

Malcolm MacAuley owns a bar in downtown Portland, where he’s been hiding from the past and drinking away his sinful memories. Hell is waiting for him on the other side of the grave.

The Angel of Death is about to visit one of them, and make a very dark offer. Can one of these men find redemption by saving the other from the evils of the heart and mind?

Bring home The Angel of Death today.

Dec 22 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 8

 

The Official pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion brings you two suggestions today. So if you are looking for a good book or two this holiday season? Check out Rock ‘N’ Roll by L.L. Soares, the Bram Stoker-winning author of Life Rage or In the Spooklight, a collection of 115 horror movie columns by Stoker Award-nominated author and film critic Michael Arruda

In Rock ‘N’ Roll, Lash possesses a unique gift that allows him to enhance the sexual pleasure of anyone around him to mind-blowing levels, by entering a trance-like state. This makes him a highly sought after “entertainer” for the local rich and hedonistic, who pay Lash handsomely to attend sex parties and personal one-on-one trysts. But this power begins taking a toll on Lash’s life and psyche. He struggles to maintain his current relationship while dodging an ex-wife who is addicted to his abilities. When Lash finds himself in the presence of death, his world begins to crumble as a new facet of his power is revealed … one with horrible and gruesome consequences.

“Rock ‘N’ Roll is like an off-the-wall late night supernatural erotic thriller as directed by David Cronenberg. Soares blends several genres to deliver an original and quite difficult to put down tale (I read it in two sittings). There’s wall-to-wall sex, but unlike a typical exploitation story it’s key to the constantly unfolding plot. This is a real wild ride that’s highly recommended to those looking for something truly different.” – Horror Fiction Review

Rock ‘N’ Roll by L.L. Soares, the Bram Stoker-winning author of Life Rage. Available in paperback and for Kindle: http://amzn.to/1zT3bfl

In the Spooklight is a collection of 115 horror movie columns by Stoker Award-nominated author and film critic Michael Arruda.

Michael has been writing the In the Spooklight column since 2000, and it has appeared within the pages of The Horror Writers Association newsletter and Hellnotes. The book contains reviews of horror movies from the silent era, the Universal monster movies, Hammer Films, all the way up to present-day.

In the Spooklight is available from NECON EBooks as an e-book at http://bit.ly/1wWnK9M and as a print edition at http://bit.ly/1Crl0S9.

Dec 21 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 7

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out SoulServe: A Ray Garret/Lifeline Techno Thriller by Robert Shane Wilson.

Death is but a doorway … when SoulServe holds the key.

One by one, a group of scientists at Brizen Health are being murdered by … something. Doctors, subjects, and even janitors are reporting disturbances in Section 671, the Neuro-Technical Division. Ever since the death of Dr. Carl Broxson, the server room in Section 671 has maintained a negative 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Printers turn themselves on and print out
terrifying cryptic messages. People have been seeing things in and out of the virtual world of the Lifeline. Including the apparition of their beloved colleague Dr. Broxson himself.
When local police realize the case leads directly into the deep digital canyon of the Lifeline, Antivii agent Ray Garret is called to the scene to get to the bottom of things before another brilliant mind can be taken. But when his wife, Rhonda, starts falling at random and begins to have seizures, the ghost in Brizen Health could be Ray’s only hope to save the love of his life.

Check out SoulServe: A Ray Garret/Lifeline Techno Thriller by Robert Shane Wilson on Amazon.

Dec 20 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 6

2014-01-23 14.48.17Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out Secret Things by Stacey Longo. It’s a collection of unapologetic chillers. Perfect for your horror fan’s stocking, this collection of wickedly entertaining stories will compel you to lock the doors, keep the lights on, and ponder what it might be like to embrace the darker side of human nature.

Everybody has secrets. Sometimes they can kill you. Find out and purchase your own Secret Things here.

Dec 19 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 5

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out Phoenix Island by John Dixon.

The dark thriller Phoenix Island, which F. Paul Wilson called “Lord of the Wolverine and Cool Hand Luke,” was the inspiration for the CBS TV series Intelligence.

When sixteen-year-old boxing champ Carl Freeman’s defense of a helpless stranger lands him in real trouble – a two-year sentence at an isolated boot camp for orphans – he’s determined to tough it out, earn a clean record, and get on with his life.

Then kids start to die.

Realizing Phoenix Island is actually a Spartan-style mercenary organization turning “throwaway kids” into bloodthirsty super soldiers, Carl risks everything to save his friends and stop a madman bent on global destruction.

Find out more on Phoenix Island.

Dec 18 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 4

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out The Last Porno Theater by Nick Cato.

New York City, 1989. The Metro is the last theater to feature adult films projected on actual film, something manager Herschell Schwartzbaum takes much pride in. But the city is attempting to buy the theater to continue sanitizing Times Square. Despite barely making ends meet and having to deal with a small staff not as devoted as himself, Herschell refuses to budge. When one of his employees goes missing, Herschell is forced to hire a newbie. And just as he’s learning the ropes from Herschell and ace projectionist Cleon, The Metro begins to display some truly odd interior damage they won’t be able to hide from city officials forever.

Now Herschell and his staff must prepare for a battle against corrupt bureaucrats and their arsenal of unusual devices … and they’re about to get some help from The Metro itself … Find out more in The Last Porno Theater.

Dec 17 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 3

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out Plague of Darkness by Daniel G Keohane.

People hide their secrets in the dark. Sometimes, that same darkness is what will eventually reveal them.

Eight months after Saint Gerard’s Episcopal Church closes its doors, the building has become the new home of Bill and Seyha Watts. The house, however, has plans for its new occupants. Trapped in a biblical darkness that can be felt, four people stumble through a surreal nightmare where the only escape is through their deepest fears and memories. Cut off from the outside world, they are prisoners of a power they cannot see, struggling to understand what is truth – and what is a lie

Keohane is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated author, whose other works include Margaret’s Ark and Solomon’s Grave.

Dec 16 2014

The Official Pre-Christmas Writer’s Promotion Part 2

 

Looking for a good book this holiday season? Check out Zombie Bastard by Jerrod Balzer.

A delayed curse is taking effect, engulfing a Missouri town with the undead. Leading the onslaught is a creature that lacks mercy or compassion, only an intense drive to see the curse through. Its fate was sealed years ago, simply for being born a bastard.

Trevor is dealing with a curse of his own: he has the runs. On a desperate trek to visit his ailing mother, he searches for a decent place to relieve the pressure before moving on. All he wants is to have a movement in peace, but that Zombie Bastard won’t let him.