Celebrate Southington! Honorees Go Back to School

(April 16, 2010) - When most people retire they look forward to a slower pace and mornings without an alarm clock. But Bette Ann and Wally Bailey opted for something different in their golden years. The Bailey’s occupy their time spending countless hours tutoring and mentoring young people at Kennedy Middle School and DePaolo Middle School in Southington. In recognition of their years of selfless dedication, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain honored them with its Celebrate Southington! Award, Thursday, April 29, 7:30 A.M. to 9:00 A.M at the United Way of Southington Annual Stakeholder Breakfast at The Orchards at Southington.

Pictured above are Bette Ann and Wally Bailey, Celebrate Southington Honorees Paul Salina, Chairman. Board of Directors, Community Foundation of Greater New Britain. 

Wally and Bette Ann met as youngsters having grown up for the most part in New Haven, CT. They both graduated from Hillhouse High School but got to know each other better when Wally, on leave from the Air Force, offered Bette Ann a ride on her way to school. That’s the day they started dating. Now, six children later, they will celebrate 58 years of marriage this November.

Wally put in 35 years as an electrical engineer at General Electric but as soon as he retired, he went to work again, this time as a volunteer in Southington’s school system. Wally has a passion for mastering math concepts and for conquering mental challenges. He coaches the district’s MATHCOUNTS program for two middle schools in Southington. There he shares his excitement for math with his students.
“I try to give them a little more than they would get in the classroom,” says Wally. He has taken his MATHCOUNTS members to regional and state competitions where they have competed with the best math students in the State.

Bette Ann taught for 32 years in the Southington schools system, 22 at Kennedy Middle School before her retirement in 2003. Now she works with students who may need help catching up if they’ve been absent from school or children who have come from other countries. In many cases, she teaches more than reading. “Whatever the need,” Bette Ann says, “I try to help the children.”

Bette Ann and Wally’s work has been done quietly and without fanfare. What they get in return is personal fulfillment. “I still get goose bumps when I hear a child read,”  admits Bette Ann remembering back to her 32 years in the classroom.
Wally gets the same kind of satisfaction from his MATHCOUNTS students. “I wasn’t a teacher like my wife,” Wally says. ”But when you have a student who doesn’t understand something, and then you explain it and see the light come on in his face, it’s thrilling.”

Bette Ann and Wally reserve Tuesday’s and Thursday’s for their volunteer work in the Southington School System. They split their time between both Kennedy and DePaolo Middle Schools. You would think they wouldn’t have much time for anything else but in addition to their regular volunteer work in the two middle schools, Bette Ann teaches CCD classes at St. Aloysius Church and has been a volunteer judge of Kennedy’s Young Author Program reading and evaluating dozens of books written by the children in the school. Wally has been a tax counselor for the elderly at Calendar House in Southington.

Bette Ann and Wally share the feeling that they aren’t really doing anything special. They are just doing what they can, for as long as they can.  “It helps keep me going,” says Bette Ann. “It prolongs our life and we’re keeping busy helping people.” Wally adds, “We’ve been helped a lot in our lives and if you’ve been blessed with some kind of talent, you should try to share it.”

Bette Ann recollects a conversation she had with a priest as she graduated from Albertus Magnus College. The priest had helped her pay for school but would take nothing in return. He just looked at Bette Ann and said, “Help someone else.”

Southington has benefited from the Bailey’s generous spirit and kindness and they look forward to many more years of helping those in need.

Trish Walden of Southington Care Center was delighted with the nominating process. “I have lived and worked in the Southington area most of my life and serving as Co-chair of Celebrate! Southington with Sue Smayda is one of my favorite things to do. The people who are nominated for this award are friends and neighbors who are doing extraordinary things each and every day.”  Trish’s’ Co-chair Sue Smayda of the Southington Library echoed Trish’s comments. “Nothing could be easier than singing the praises of Bette Ann and Wally. This dynamic duo is simply spectacular in the way they give to the Southington Community.  Everyone on the selection committee agrees that being a part of Celebrate! Southington is a truly uplifting experience.”

The Town of Southington is fortunate to have residents who selflessly share their time and talents with people who benefit in so many tangible and lasting ways - all while asking and expecting anything in return. Other community volunteers who were nominated for the award were: Mary Dolan, nominated for her countless volunteer hours with the Girl Scouts, town sports teams, and numerous school clubs; David F. Kanute, who’s work with town sports teams gave birth to a town wrestling club; Doris Larese of Plantsville who partners with the Friends of the Library to bring low cost books to children and adults; Carole Milano, a volunteer mentor in the dramatic arts who has raised the visibility of the arts in Southington; Cynthia and Ron Naiman and their dog Charlie of Cheshire who have used pet therapy to change peoples’ lives; Lynn Palmieri who’s compassion and generosity changed the lives of a family in trauma; Michael Payton, an outstanding mentor with Big Brothers, Big Sisters; David Salvatore, a volunteer advocate for patients at Bradley Memorial Hospital and an active volunteer for Social Services in the Town of Southington; Bonnie Sica, who has volunteered for school projects, the town scouting program, the food pantry and even started a nonprofit environmental group; and George Trostel, a retired police officer who has raised money for scholarships and Multiple Sclerosis.

The Celebrate Southington! Award is part of the Foundation’s four-town Celebrate Our Communities! Community service awards program in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville, and Southington. The Celebrate Awards have four objectives: To raise awareness of the importance of volunteerism and community service; to offer recognition to deserving volunteers who have made a difference in their communities; to provide financial support to local charities and to raise awareness of the important work that the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain does in its four service communities.

As this year’s recipients, Bette Ann and Wally earned the right to designate a $2,500 grant award from the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain to a Southington charity or community service organization of their choice. The Bailey’s have chosen
Southington Community Services as the nonprofit to receive the grant award.