It was a setup and deception of the nice kind.
The Spirit of Clinton Award, an annual presentation at the Bluefish Festival, was given to Dr. Jim Milone of the at the 37th annual festival.
Dr. Milone, in fact, went to the ceremony under the assumption that he was supporting a patient of his who he thought was receiving the award.
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“She was actually the one giving the award, so it was kind of a setup,” he said.
Sandy Voss presented the Spirit of Clinton award. “She’s a Clinton volunteer fireperson and is very committed to many things in town, including the Bluefish committee. She does a lot for the town,” he explained.
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Dr. Milone had been nominated and Voss had contacted his office telling them of the nomination.
“The way they pick is by your presence in town and also there’s an essay that’s typically written nominating that person,” said Dr. Milone, who has been practicing in Clinton since 1997.
The criteria for the award are simple, explains the Bluefish Festival website: “a high level of community or public service, exemplary life style and a character that can serve as an example for all of us.”
“It’s given to somebody who has done exemplary community service throughout the year,” explains Dr. Milone who admitted, “it was a pure surprise that I received it."
For the past 13 years, he has done an annual food drive. Recently, the food has been donated to .
“I like to do local charity work so it stays in town for the community. We have done stuff in the past for the Red Cross and other large charities but I really like to have things stay in the community,” he said.
He has also done the annual Toys for Tots drive in conjunction with the for the past 13 years.
“They would come and collect the toys and bring them to the Town Hall. The toys are given to local, less fortunate families,” he explains.
Last year he did a drive for the Families Helping Families Energy Assistance Program.
“Our goal was $2,000 and we came very close to that. What I do is donate my time for people who come in with a donation for the Energy Assistance Fund. I would provide them with a consultation, an exam and x-rays when needed in conjunction with their donation. So, I was giving free service for the donation and that was directly given to the charity Families Helping Families," he explains.
The Branford resident has also done many “little things in the past” including for soldiers. “We’ve done quite a bit over the years,” he said.
“I really feel strongly about supporting the community that’s supporting me. I’ve been in practice in this town since 1997 and it wasn’t because I bought an existing practice. I put a practice together – a scratch practice – and I’m really thankful for that. I would rather support the people who support me than anything else," he said and added, “It’s my thank you back. This community has been very good to me."
Last year, because of busy schedules, the toy drive was not going to happen but people brought toys anyway.
“They were disappointed so we put it together very quickly in-house. We didn’t advertise for it or anything and we had a very successful toy drive again,” he said.
Said Milone, “People expect us to do things because they’ve been going on for so long.”
Public Access Host Peter Mezzetti also had a surprise in store recently for the award recipient.
Dr. Milone explained, "He wanted some time with me last week. Not knowing what they wanted they presented me with a State of Connecticut General Assembly Official Citation. It was given to me by State Representative Jim Crawford."
