Westport Book Shop Celebrates Second Anniversary
Press ReleaseThe Westport Book Shop’s Second Anniversary is coming up at the end of this month, and everyone is invited to celebrate with us! Plans include a celebration in honor of our volunteers, and a “Show Some Love” social media video contest, detailed below.
The Westport Book Shop is downtown Westport’s only non-profit used book store, offering previously read and greatly appreciated books, hard to find out-of-print and antiquarian books, vintage vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, and audio books. It is operated by the independent non-profit Westport Book Sale Ventures, the mission of which is to raise funds for the Westport Library, while providing competitive employment and job training for adults with disabilities.
Since opening the Book Shop on January 28, 2021, the Book Sale and the Book Shop have provided over 3,500 hours of paid employment for a dozen employees with differing abilities, and have donated over $75,000 to the Westport Library.
None of this would be possible without an army of dedicated volunteers who generously give of their time and talents to the Book Sale and the Book Shop all year ‘round. On Saturday, January 28th we will be holding a Volunteer Appreciation Celebration at the Westport Library from 10:30am to Noon. Come celebrate our Volunteers with us! Please RSVP to volunteers@westportbooksales.org (or call 203-952-0070) and let us know if you plan to join us so that we can estimate a headcount for planning purposes.
In addition, in honor of its anniversary, the Westport Book Shop is sponsoring a “Show Some Love” video contest. Entrants are asked to film a short family-friendly video at the Westport Book Shop that shows their love for the Book Shop, and then post the video to their own TikTok and /or Instagram accounts, and tag three friends plus tag the Book Shop’s accounts. Every entrant will get to choose one free vinyl record, CD or book from the Shop, valued at $6 or less, and one lucky entrant also will win a $50 Westport Book Shop gift certificate. The winner will be announced at the Volunteer Appreciation Celebration. A second $50 Book Shop gift certificate will be awarded to the entrant whose video receives the most “likes” on the Book Sale’s social media accounts. Copies of the full Show Your Love Contest Rules and entry forms are available at the Book Shop, and on the Book Sale’s website at www.westportbooksaleventures.org/our-events
The Westport Book Shop also will be sponsoring children’s story readings at the Book Shop all anniversary weekend, Saturday January 28 and Sunday January 29. “We are so very grateful for all the volunteers who sort, evaluate and price the tens of thousands of book donations that we receive throughout the year, and work at our book sales, and help keep the Book Shop running. We are equally grateful to our community who support the Book Sale and the Book Shop. We embrace being a community space!” said Westport Book Sale Ventures President Jocelyn Barandiaran. The Westport Book Shop is located at 23 Jesup Road, right across Jesup Green from the Westport Library. It is open Sundays and Mondays from Noon to 5 p.m. and Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (On Saturday, January 28th the Book Shop will delay opening until Noon, so that everyone at the Shop can enjoy the festivities at the Library that morning.)
Police: Man Arrested after Hitting Jogger and Fleeing to Gas Station to Talk About it
Westport Police Department:
On January 8th, 2023 at approximately 8:06 am Westport Police responded to the area of Greens Farms Rd and Hills Point Rd on a report of an accident with injuries. Upon arrival, the investigating officer determined that there were minor injuries (shoulder pain) and the suspect vehicle had left the scene.
The injured party claimed he was jogging on Greens Farms Rd, crossing Hills Point Rd when he was struck by a vehicle turning left from Greens Farms Rd on Hills Point Road. While speaking with the injured party, a witness arrived and advised that the suspect vehicle was at Cumberland Farms (Hills Point Road/Post Road East) and the suspected offender was inside the business making statements about “hitting a jogger”. Officers responded to the Cumberland Farms where they located the alleged suspect vehicle and operator. The alleged operator was identified as James Doyle.
As a result of the investigation, Mr. Doyle was arrested and charged with the above reference crimes. He was transported to Westport Police Department where he was processed and released on Promise to Appear with a court date of January 19th, 2023 at Stamford Superior Court.
Morning Weather Report
Today
Increasing clouds, with a high near 40. East wind 3 to 5 mph.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Light east wind.
Tomorrow
A 50 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 50. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Rain. Steady temperature around 48. Southeast wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Charles “Bill” Pryor, 87, Died; Longtime Westporter, World Traveler
Charles William Pryor, 87, of Westport, CT and more recently Ewing, NJ, passed away on December 20th, 2022. He was predeceased by his father Charles William Pryor II, mother Berniece Weikert Pryor and sister Jane Lynn Pryor, and survived by his wife Barbara Caldwell Pryor of 65 years, son William Caldwell Pryor, daughter Jane Lynn Pryor, sister Judith Pryor Taussig and 3 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, 4 nieces and 1 nephew.
Commonly referred to by most as Bill, he was born in Punxsutawney, PA on December 13th, 1935 and spent most of his childhood years moving from town to town as part of the life of a presbyterian minister’s family. By high school, Bill had proven himself as a talented athlete where he excelled in both baseball and basketball in Niagara Falls and Weehawken, for which he received the Most Outstanding Athlete award during his senior year.
Bill attended Rutgers University and Westminster College with basketball scholarships and ultimately earned his degree from New York University, going to night school while working full-time as an accountant for the Ford Motor Company.
Bill’s business career was highlighted by many significant achievements. Shortly after graduating from NYU, he took an accounting position at Avon Products in Rye, NY. From there he rose to the top ranks in the international division with a career at Avon that spanned over 40 years. In 1964, along with just two other employees, Bill transferred to Sydney to establish the Australian division for Avon. During his eight years in Australia, he was promoted to Managing Director, leading the organization in a period of massive growth for the company. In 1972, upon returning to the US, he continued to work in Avon’s international division with responsibilities for parts of the business in Europe and South America. In 1981, he moved to Tokyo as President of Avon-Japan, where he transformed the business into the best financially performing international division. In his final chapter at Avon, Bill served as President of Avon-China where he led the subsidiary to profitability, while achieving ethical recognition for Avon through the establishment of appropriate business practices, government negotiations and relationships. With this, Bill was able to gain approval from the Chinese government for Avon-China to become the first company, after all direct selling in the country was abruptly banned, to re-enter the market. This portion of Bill’s career is well documented as the subject of a Harvard Business School Case Study.
Bill loved to travel, enjoying his favorite restaurants in Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Bangkok and Manila in the company of his business associates, friends and family. Sports remained a lifelong interest of Bill’s. He loved golf, and rooting for his favorite sports teams like the Yankees, Mets and Duke Basketball.
Per Bill’s wishes there will be no public funeral or memorial service. At some point in the future, there will be a private ceremony for family members. In lieu of flowers, we invite people to make a donation to a charity of their choosing.