Brownstone Quorum awarded for ‘outstanding’ efforts

PORTLAND — The Brownstone Quorum was recognized for its management of Riverfront Park by the Connecticut Recreation & Parks Association during a recent awards ceremony at Mohegan Sun.

The Quorum received the Selected Organization Award, which recognizes an organization that has “made an outstanding voluntary contribution to the field of public recreation and parks,” according to the CRPA. The contribution must be “significant enough to have had a stimulating effect on recreation at a town, city, state or national level,” the association said on its website.

The group was nominated by Sean Dwyer, the town’s recreation director. In doing so, Dwyer said the Quorum “has made tremendous advances toward greater community involvement, and has helped us with a multitude of both passive and recreational opportunities. The Quorum has been partner and advocate for our department since their establishment and we plan to continue working hand in hand to bring more opportunities to the families of Portland,” he added.

“Thanks to the hard work, innovation and dedication of this group of individuals, Portland’s community continues to grow and develop,” Dwyer concluded.

The Quorum has its roots in the effort to oversee the two brownstone quarries the town acquired in the late 1990s. Its goal was to aid the town as officials decided the use of the properties, which also included adjacent riverfront land, Dwyer explained in his nominating letter.

“The goals of the Quorum are to encourage the preservation of the town quarries, increase public awareness of the history of the parcel, and to both preserve and enhance the features designated as a Nation Historic Landmark,” his statement said.

In 2007, three brothers took a gamble and leased the north quarry, which they converted in the Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park. The Quorum decided “a town gathering site” would complement the discovery park, and so members began clearing a site that offered a view of the Connecticut River.

Quorum volunteers began clearing the site, removing debris, and clearing trees and blazing trails, Dwyer said. As efforts began bearing fruits, the town, aided by nearly $1 million in state grants, created “an open pavilion, which housed eight picnic tables, running water and electricity, a small storage building with men and women’s restrooms and picnic tables and stone seats arranged along the river edge to take advantage of the views,” according to as First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield.

As the park began attracting more and more visitors, the Quorum “decided to build a stage/band shell to hold free town concerts.” Those concerts have become “a huge hit,” Dwyer said, “attracting an average of 600 attendees per week.”

In the fall, the park is the site of both the Come On Over 5K Road Race and haunted trail walk. The Quorum and Parks and Recreation Department “have collaborated on many public/community events at the park, which is also available for private events and parties,” Dwyer noted.

Resident Frank Winiski said much of the credit for the Quorum’s early success must go to Jeanne Dilworth. Winiski said Dilworth, “who was a teacher in town for a number of years, recruited me back in the ‘90s” to become involved in what later became the Quorum.

In accepting the award, Quorum President and Selectman James K. Tripp said, “I want to thank Sean Dwyer for nominating us for the award and CRPA for selecting us. I am proud of the work the Quorum has done over our nearly two decades in existence. We are lucky to have a dedicated group of volunteers who are always willing to share their expertise,” he said.

“We are ever grateful for the support of the residents of Portland and the partnership we have enjoyed with the town,” Tripp said.

Photo courtesy Frank Winiski Selectman Jim Tripp, president of the Brownstone Quorum of Portland, recently received an award from The Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association for his leadership of Riverfront Park.