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Dear Friend,
We’re off to a busy start this August. Here with an update for you on our work on behalf of eastern Connecticut this week, including some manufacturing and workforce updates, good news for health care services in Windham County, and more.
Master Sgt. Michael Clark, An American Patriot from Eastern Connecticut
First, as you might know, Connecticut mourned the passing of an American patriot this week—Master Sergeant Michael Clark, whose funeral was held on Thursday morning in Windsor, CT. Sergeant Clark devoted 22 years of service to the U.S. Army Reserves, and he deployed four times to Iraq and Afghanistan. He tragically lost his life during training exercises two weeks ago in Georgia. His wife Rachel and two children, Logan and Hailey, reside in Bolton, CT—a small but tight-knit community that has really rallied to honor his life and service, and to support his family.
MSG Clark came from a history of service. Michael’s father was also a U.S. Army servicemember, and during one of his deployments to the Middle East they were actually deployed simultaneously—a striking example of their devotion to our nation. In the Army Reserves, MSG Clark was an operating room specialist. Here at home, if he wasn’t spending time with his family, he was serving our community through his work at the Hartford Hospital Bone and Joint Institute. I was honored to share a bit more about Master Sergeant Michael Clark in a statement to the Congressional Record—you can read it here.
Master Sergeant Michael Clark was the perfect example of a citizen-solder, and of a dedicated husband and father. May he rest in peace.
Activity is Ramping Up at Environics, Inc.
On Monday last week, I met with Dr. Rachel Stansel, CEO of Environics Inc., in Tolland. Environics is one of our highly skilled local manufacturers—they're a world leader in producing computerized airflow and air quality instruments for lots of customers, from the U.S. Department of Defense, to our overseas allies, to U.S. companies in a variety of commercial sectors.
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| Rep. Courtney toured Environics, Inc. with Dr. Rachel Stansel (President & CEO) (center-left), who has overseen their growth into a world leader in air quality instrumentation production. |
I was joined at Environics by Michael Vlacich (the U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator for New England) and Catherine Marx (District Director, SBA CT). We had a great tour from Dr. Stansel and her staff, and we caught up on the growing amount of work that Environics and other CT-02 manufacturers are seeing lately—with more on the way under the new “Build America, Buy America” plan. A bit more on that in the next section.
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| More work opportunities mean a need for a larger skilled manufacturing workforce. In CT-02, companies like Environics have relied on local workforce skills training programs to meet the demand. |
Environics is second-generation, woman-owned business—I know, because I've been friends of the family for many years. Dr. Stansel and her team have really taken the industry head-on—they were recognized by the SBA as CT's Exporter of the Year in 2020, and as the SBA Family-Owned Business of the Year in 2021. We’re so lucky to have this kind of talent in CT-02. Environics operates at a high level, and they’ve always kept family front-and-center—several busy moms and dads on the factory floor were happy to share that school plays, sports practice, and other family priorities are something their entire team values. Big thanks to Dr. Stansel and the entire crew for having us out!
Phoenix Manufacturing — A CT-02 Success Story
That same day, we had a chance to visit another one of our great CT-02 manufacturers—Phoenix Manufacturing in Enfield, where they engineer and produce seriously complex hardware for several different aerospace applications. I was joined again by SBA Regional Administrator Vlacich, SBA CT Director Catherine Marx, and a few others for an excellent tour of the manufacturing floor, and an update on the uptick in activity Phoenix has enjoyed recently.
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| At Phoenix Manufacturing, Krystyna Paluch (President & CEO) (left) has turned the operation into a leading supplier of components for America’s aerospace and defense industries. |
Phoenix is another woman-owned precision manufacturing shop headed up by Krystyna Paluch (President & CEO), and they’re a total success story. They started off in 1989 as a two-machine operation in a 2,000 sq. ft. facility, and today they’ve grown into one of the leading suppliers of components for our domestic aerospace and defense industries. Krystyna has grown her team to a group of 75 experienced employees, and they’re now working out of a 65,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility. We’re seeing this type of success all over eastern CT, and that's thanks in huge part our talented workforce at places like Phoenix Manufacturing, and the leadership of people like Krystyna Paluch. Very grateful for a chance to visit last week.
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| Phoenix Manufacturing started off as a 2-machine shop in a 2,000 sq. ft. space. Today, they have a team of 75 operating out of a 65,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility. |
Phoenix Manufacturing, Environics, and lots of other CT-02 manufacturers have seen a real uptick in work lately—and more is on the way. At both stops, SBA Regional Administrator Vlacich detailed how small businesses like these are in position to play a big role under the new “Build America, Buy America” plan, which will require the federal government to source more products and target more spending domestically. That’s great news for our local economy, but it will require more skilled manufacturers. As Chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee and on the Education & Labor Committee, I’m working in bipartisan fashion to support these growing opportunities—both by authorizing construction of many of the aircraft, ships, and subs our manufacturers contribute to, and by supporting local workforce training programs. These are bipartisan efforts, and we’ll keep it going strong.
A New Health Care Center to Benefit Windham County
Some good news this week for our Windham County communities, as we celebrated the “official” opening of the brand-new Community Health Resources (CHR) Outpatient Clinic in Willimantic. Located in the heart of town, CHR’s new clinic brings their wide range of health services together under one big roof, and it’s going to make receiving great care a lot more convenient and efficient for lots of people in the Quiet Corner.
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| On Thursday, Courtney joined Heather Gates, President & CEO of CHR, for the Willimantic clinic’s official ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony. |
CHR is a non-profit organization that has provided a wide range of comprehensive, personalized health care services to children, families, and adults in northeast Connecticut for nearly 20 years—primary care and wellness, housing assistance, behavioral health care, substance abuse recovery, and more. My office has helped support their great work for years as they have competed for federal funding, and in the past several years CHR has reported seeing as much as a ten-fold increase in the number of people they serve in northeast Connecticut, particularly for behavioral health and opioid addiction.
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| CHR’s new facility is centrally located at 1310 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226 |
For years, CHR has worked to secure a new location to accommodate their growing number of patients, and to consolidate their services. The new Willimantic clinic accomplishes those goals, and it’s going to allow them to make full use of new federal support my team has helped them secure recently—a $5 million HHS grant award to rebuild their in-person, telehealth, and community-based outpatient services; a $1.6 million COMPASS Home program grant to help adults recovering from substance abuse; and more. These developments all complement each other, and it’s going to really benefit our region.
One More Thing: A Stock Trading Ban for Members of Congress is Looking More Likely
One final note—Like many in eastern Connecticut, I believe that Members of Congress should not be directly involved in actively trading stocks while in office. That’s clear to just about everyone. I've long supported a ban on this sort of activity—no matter what party someone is from, or what their professional background was before being elected—and this week I am glad to share news that this effort is finally moving forward in the House. It's the right thing to do, and it will go a long way towards making sure people have confidence that elected officials are making decisions for our country and our communities, not for their portfolios. It's time to make this happen.
Thanks as always for starting your weekend here with me. If you we can be of any assistance, don't hesitate to give my Norwich Office a call at (860) 886-0139. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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