By Avice Meehan

Something that was equal parts mundane and remarkable occurred on a Sunday afternoon in November in the large, second-floor meeting room in Norfolk Town Hall. A majority of those elected to town office came together to take the oath of office administered by Town Clerk Debbie Nelson. Cider and doughnuts followed, with children first in line.

The event was ordinary, a routine happening in communities large and small across Connecticut following municipal elections. Each person stepped forward and was asked a single question by Nelson: “Do you solemnly swear that you will faithfully discharge, according to law, your duties … to the best of your ability; so help you God?” Happily, everyone said “I do” or the equivalent.

Therein lies the remarkable aspect of the occasion: the simple fact that so many individuals, across ages and generations, answered the question in the affirmative and came forward to serve in town government. Yes, virtually all posts went uncontested in the recent town election and one party struggled to fill out a slate. Yet the individuals who gathered on that Sunday represented service to Norfolk across generations, families, duration of residence in town, political parties and viewpoints about town priorities. They were united by the willingness to say “yes,” when asked.

It can be easy to assume that someone else will take on the responsibility. It is easier still, to offer opinions from the safety of the sidelines—whether the subject is roadside tree maintenance, interpretation of Norfolk’s zoning regulations or instructional approaches at Botelle School.

The incoming Board of Selectmen says a good deal about Norfolk. Like the outgoing first selectman, Matt Riiska, the members all have busy, active lives and could readily make a living or fill their time without the aggravations that come with life in the public eye—even when the public comprises a town with fewer than 2,000 residents.

First Selectman Henry Tirrell, the father of two young children, had a perfectly good job with Great Elm Brewery in Sheffield and a part-time role as a selectman, like his grandmother Ayrslea Denney. Quiet and unassuming, Tirrell nonetheless stepped up to the challenge when Riiska announced his retirement.

Meanwhile, Alexandria “Sandy” Evans has her hands full as president of the Norfolk Lions Club, as an active volunteer on the ambulance and as manager of Whiting Mills in Winsted. Then there’s Leo F. Colwell Jr., who already served seven terms as a selectman and numerous other volunteer roles around town—not to mention three decades as a popular and much beloved head custodian at Botelle.

What connects these three—and the other elected and appointed officials who enable Norfolk to function in an increasingly complex governmental and regulatory environment—is a shared commitment to civic life, to a view that we all have something to contribute to the community around us. As individuals and as a board, they will make good decisions and, no doubt, poor ones. As individuals and as a community, we will agree with some of those decisions and disagree vehemently with others. What we all owe them—and, for that matter, each other—is a commitment to showing up at regular meetings, public hearings, the voting booth and at that most small “d” democratic institution of them all, the town meeting.