Ron Zanobi

Back in July 1969, I joined the U.S. Navy as a Petty Officer 3rd Class and served at several bases in the United States, the Island of San Salvador and in Viet Nam.  Oddly enough, on the day I left for boot camp; my father’s parting words were, “Don’t volunteer. If they want you bad enough, they will ask you!”  It didn’t take me long to forget his advice, though, because when I was discharged from the Navy on Nov. 1, 1971, I joined the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) only a little over a month later, on Dec. 6, and I have never looked back.

In the NVFD I have served various positions over the years, including president, treasurer, Board of Trustees member, lieutenant, captain, and assistant chief.  Even today, I continue to serve as an exterior fire fighter. 

I was a founding member of Island X-1 Connecticut Seabee Veterans of America and continue to participate in veterans’ activities.

In 1981, I was elected to the Norfolk Board of Selectmen and served three terms.  In 1982, I was elected to the executive board of the Norfolk Sewer District, a position I still hold and I have been serving as chairman for the past 30 years.  I have always enjoyed my activities at town halll, having served several terms as a member of the Inlands/Wetlands Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Pension Committee, and Republican Town Committee.  I am currently a member of the Board of Directors of Norfolk Senior Housing, which I have been doing for the past 20 years or so. 

As a long-time member of the Immaculate Conception Church (now Saint Martin of Tours parish) I belong to the Men’s Club and am a former usher. I have been a member of the Norfolk Curling Club for many years, serving on the Board of Directors and as president in the 1990’s.  At both the church and the curling club I annually help to plan and prepare popular steak teriyaki dinners, using my special secret recipe.

Volunteerism in small towns and organizations is an essential element in the overall success of those endeavors.  Norfolk is fortunate to have so many people who share my enthusiasm and zeal. I guess I did take my father’s advice from way back when, because in 99.9% of the places I have volunteered, I was asked!

Jon Barbagallo

When I read the previous columns highlighting all the great volunteers in Norfolk, there is a common theme.  All of us are balancing careers along with family responsibilities and yet we still find the time to volunteer for our neighbors and for the good of our community.  Born and raised in Norfolk, I grew up  in a house where volunteering was a way of life and expected.  Watching my father chair various town boards over the years, lead church activities, or just helping a neighbor with a legal issue was just a normal week.  My mom was just as active with Botelle School and the PTO, town sports, and perhaps her favorite, being part of the inaugural board of the Norfolk Children’s Foundation.  

My first taste of volunteering started at a young age as an altar boy at the Immaculate Conception Church which continued through my teenage years.  Jump ahead 30 years, add two kids of my own, and volunteering is just as important in our family.  Helping out at various Botelle activities including the annual field day, sound and lighting for the talent shows and plays, being a member of the school safety committee, playing music as the DJ for the school dances, and acting as the photographer for the annual school photos that line the cafeteria walls keep me busy to this day.  

Town youth sports also ate up a lot of my free time over the years assisting with soccer and basketball and being the head coach of the girls softball team for many years.  Of course, the Norfolk Curling Club has always played a special part in my life and I have been the ice maker for the club for over 25 years and the coach for the teenage curling program which includes daily responsibilities during the winter season.

I’m grateful to have been asked to participate in various town organizations including Norfolk Now and the Norfolk Foundation both of whom bring attention and solutions to many issues that Norfolk continues to face.  I’m also the Assistant Emergency Management Director under Richard Byrne and boy have we been busy over the last 5 years!  But what really got me hooked as a volunteer was becoming a fire cadet at the age of 14 with the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department and joining the Norfolk Lions Club Ambulance 2 years later.  I took various EMT and firefighting classes while still in high school and haven’t looked back.  Numerous roles in these 2 organizations have included ambulance chief or assistant for over 12 years, fire department vice president, secretary, assistant chief, and perhaps most famously, as the Public Information Officer where I get to brag to every reporter that will listen about what a great town we live in and the great work that our emergency services do on a daily basis.        

There is a quote that says, “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart.”  Volunteering is the heart of Norfolk and without it, the community as we know it won’t survive.  I volunteer so that I can leave my mark on Norfolk, so that my kids can have just as many great memories as I did growing up here, and to show others just how rewarding it can be. I hope my story and all the others before it encourage folks to step up.  You will find the time if you have the heart.