DAYVILLE —  United Services, Inc., Connecticut’s largest private, nonprofit behavioral health center celebrated its 50th Anniversary recently with its Annual Dinner.

The event featured a keynote address from A. Kathryn Power, Regional Administrator, Region One for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an operating division of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). United Services also inducted two new board members and recognized the contributions of its community partners and long-serving staff at the annual celebration.

United Services President/CEO Diane L. Manning said United Services outpatient mental health caseload is now 248 percent of what it was in 2007, yet the agency’s resources to meet this rising demand remain near the level of seven years ago. Board  leadership includes Chairman Jeff Kramer of Storrs,  James Clark of Canterbury,  Mary Bromm of Ashford. 

New members elected to the United Services Board of Directors were Anne Konczakowski of Windham, a Connecticut Department of Labor Adjudications Specialist, and Maximo Garcia of Willimantic, owner of U Drive 2 Driving School in Willimantic..

Returning Board members include immediate past president Attorney Sheldon Mossberg of Willimantic; Robert Leonard of Dayville; Linda Loretz of Ellington; Dr. John Duers of Chaplin; Barbara Presson of Pomfret; Romeo Blackmar of Pomfret; Jeanne Nuhfer of Columbia, Terri Pearsall of Putnam; Cheryl Lewis of Putnam; Michael Turano of Canterbury; and John Deary of Pomfret.

Recognized were:  Dr. Roland Lupien of Pomfret, Maggie Martin of Eastern Connecticut State University’s Social Work program, and Chief Mark Palmer and Sgt. Michael McDonagh of the Coventry Police Department.

United Services staff were honored for their long-standing service: Celebrating 25 years were Kathryn Mikel, a case manager; Elba Sostre, a bilingual senior case manager; and Aimee Terwilliger, a Positive Parenting Program counselor. Dr. Ven Thangada, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, marked 20 years with the agency while Intensive Services Division Director Heather Victoria, Clinical Coordinator for the Client Access Team Jim Garland, Human Resources Recruitment Manager Talia Lyon and Controller Barbie Soler all celebrated 15 years. The agency also honored 18 employees who have been with the agency for 5 and 10 years.

 

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