Annual Report Dedicated to Longtime Resident of Old Saybrook, Connecticut

OLD SAYBROOK - Each year, the Old Saybrook Annual Report is dedicated to an individual who has contributed to making the town a better place to live.

This year is no exception and the 2007 Annual Report was dedicated to Walter Hirsch, who has called Old Saybrook his hometown for the past 20 years.

About 65 residents attended the Nov. 26 Annual Town Meeting where copies of the new annual report first became available.

The front cover of the report has a color photo of the Village Gateway Building, at the head of Main Street, which will be the town's new visitor center and the new home of the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce.

The inside front cover has a photo of Hirsch and a five paragraph write-up of his life.

Residents unanimously approved the annual report which includes reports from various boards, commissions, and departments.

Regarding the report's dedication, First Selectman Michael Pace told residents, "Hirsch is one of those humble people who do so much for our town in a positive manner."

Hirsch said he first learned the report would be dedicated in his name at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting.

"I'm pleased and impressed that they chose me for volunteering my services but I do want to say that I couldn't have done it without the help from other people who volunteer to get the job done," Hirsch said.

While a couple hundred people are employed by the town to keep it functioning, Hirsch explained, there are approximately 400 to 500 residents who donate their time and effort to serve on the various boards, commissions, and organizations in town.

"This shows the town appreciates all the volunteers, like myself," Hirsch said.

Hirsch also recognized his wife, Jan, whom he has been married to for the past 46 years.

Hirsch is the chairman of the Town Hall Renovation Building Committee who was charged with overseeing the conversion of the 1911 Town Hall on Main Street into the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theater which is expected to open in late spring 2008.

A computer rendered illustration of the theater appeared on the cover of the Old Saybrook 2006 Annual Report.

In addition to his time and effort with the theater project, Hirsch has also served as chairman of the Action Public Library Board for eight years and was involved in the library's expansion and renovation, according to the 2007 annual report.

Currently, Hirsch is the library board treasurer and trustee for the Tucker Trust and library fund.

Hirsch served five years on the Old Saybrook Public Health Nursing Board and was its chairman for two years.

He also was a member of the last Old Saybrook Charter Revision Commission.

Before moving to Old Saybrook, Hirsch served as an Army engineering officer in France, a test engineer on nuclear submarines in Groton, and an Electric Boat liaison engineer with the Navy Department in Washington, D.C.

He later became Deputy Program Manager for the Los Angeles Attack Class Submarine Program Office responsible for the design and construction of 63 nuclear powered submarines in Groton and Newport News, VA.

Later, Hirsch became the Navy's Chief Engineer for Submarine Design and Construction for all classes of submarines at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton.
Hirsch and his wife enjoy traveling through the U.S. and Canada in their motor home.