He's guided building projects; she helps at-need seniors: Meet Stamford's Citizens of the Year

Jan. 6—STAMFORD — William and Jevera Hennessey arrived at Columbus Park Trattoria Monday night for a meal with friends, but they ended up getting more than they bargained for.

The married couple entered the restaurant as two diners, but left as co-winners of this year's Stamford Citizen of the Year award. They were greeted with a surprise "ambush" from Stamford elected officials and community leaders as they entered the second floor of the eatery where they were expecting to sit down for dinner.

Instead, they mingled with the assembled group and took photos in front of a banner announcing their accomplishment.

"I was absolutely surprised," William Hennessey said. "It was supposed to be a quiet night out with friends having dinner and instead it turned into a bit more."

"It was an absolute shock," Jevera Hennessey said.

The Hennesseys, a pair of attorneys, have called Stamford home since the 1980s. Beside their professional work, the two have dedicated countless hours to volunteering for an eclectic selection of organizations and agencies over the decades.

Jevera Hennessey has served on the board of directors for SilverSource, which provides services for at-need seniors, as well as the Stamford Public Education Foundation. She was a governor appointee to the Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Currently, she is a member of the city's Community Emergency Response Team and serves on the board of the Stamford Hospital Foundation.

William, or "Bill," Hennessey is mostly known for his work as a land use attorney for law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey and for his role in numerous big developments in the city, including Harbor Point, Stamford Hospital, Chelsea Piers, Charter Communications and the Tully Health Center.

He is also an original board member of the independent Waterside School and the Mill River Collaborative, among other endeavors.

The two met as young associates in the 1980s at the now defunct Bedford Street law firm of Brennan, Dichter, Brennan and Comerford. The company hired Bill Hennessey, who is originally from Brookfield, from the city's law department, where he was an assistant corporation counsel for about four years. Jevera Hennessey, a Greenwich native, was already an attorney with the firm when Bill came onboard.

"A good friendship developed quickly and then I left the firm and it was after I left the firm that our other relationship developed," said Jevera Hennessey, who specializes in trusts and estates law as an attorney with the Greenwich law firm Whitman Breed.

The two join a long list of Citizen of the Year winners. The award was established in the 1940s, and the first one was given in 1945. The past three winners include former governor and Stamford mayor Dannel Malloy, nonprofit volunteer veteran and the previous executive director of Person-to-Person Cathy Ostuw and former board chairman of the city's housing authority Courtney Nelthropp.

"I look at the two of them and I say it's so interesting," said said Juanita James, the chair of the selection committee and past winner of the award herself. "Because to me, they're unsung heroes because they have both been deeply engaged for a long time but they're not flashy about it. To me, they embody what the Citizen of the Year is about."

Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons congratulated the pair in a press release from the Citizen of the Year committee.

"In both their personal and professional lives, Bill and Jevera have served our city and supported impactful initiatives through their work with various nonprofits and organizations," she said. "They have made extraordinary contributions to the community we love, and I congratulate them on receiving this well-deserved recognition."

A dinner celebrating the winners is expected to take place this spring.

For Bill Hennessey, winning the award with his wife just made it that much more special for him.

"We've always had a great marriage and felt like we were great partners in so many things we've done," he said. "This really just validates that."

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