New Canaan to mark 911 with service of rememberence

A Service of Remembrance and Peace will be held by the New Canaan Clergy Association on the plaza of the Congregational Church of New Canaan on Gods Acre Sunday, September 11. It will be an opportunity for a very special reflection and remembrance that will include readings, psalms , prayers for wisdom and peace and hymns by area choirs.




Representatives of the town’s emergency services will hold a memorial procession from the Metro-North train station to the church plaza after gathering at 4:30 to honor those who selflessly responded the call on September 11, 2001. This will include members of the New Canaan Police Department, Fire Company Number 1, New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Service and the Community Emergency Response Team. From there, bagpiper Stephanie Moore will lead the assembled group up Park Street to participate in the service.



All emergency responders are encouraged to gather at the train station at 4:30 p.m. or the Congregational Church at 5:00 p.m. as we honor our heroes, consider the lessons to be learned from every tragic event, and dedicate ourselves to a more loving and peaceful future.



In the case of inclement weather, the Interfaith Service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

This article appears in The Daily New Canaan this week

I was interviewed for this article about my career by Fenella Pearson. Attached is the article.

When Denise Gannalo, a real estate agent with William Raveis, started selling homes in 1982, it never occurred to her that her career would be like a ride on a rollercoaster. "I've seen it all," she says. "The stock market crash of the late '80s, the down market of the early '90s, the exuberance of the dotcom era, the post 9/11 global economic problems and now the current financial crisis."


Denise has sold hundreds of properties in all price ranges throughout Fairfield County in both up and down markets. She says the key to her success is her ability to adapt to changing market conditions. Her years of looking at houses have turned her into a pro at helping clients visualize ways to remodel or reconfigure a space. And as a real estate investor and property manager herself, she has a thorough knowledge of the rental and investment market in Fairfield County.

A longtime resident of New Canaan, Denise has an encyclopedic knowledge of the neighborhoods and properties in town. She particularly enjoys introducing newcomers to the amenities found in New Canaan. "We have wonderful schools — my children are products of the New Canaan schools," she says. And she loves the town center where you're always guaranteed to bump into someone you know.

Denise thinks of herself as a "high-tech traditionalist." A master of the latest computer technology, which allows her to respond quickly, she is a firm believer in old-fashioned customer service. Whatever the client's needs, Denise says she always tries to go that extra mile, especially when the negotiating gets tough.

It's not all about work, though. "I love to laugh with my clients. I share their hopes and their frustrations," she says. Simply put, Denise Gannalo loves what she does. Apart from her family, real estate is her passion. She works it, lives it and breathes it. Finding that perfect Connecticut property for her clients is Denise's idea of a perfect day at work.

New Canaan Advertiser Editorial: So many heroes

Editorial: So many heroes

This editorial ran on Page 4A of the Thursday, September 20, 2001 issue of the New Canaan Advertiser. It is being reprinted here as part of the Advertiser's coverage of the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center.


There was no shortage of heroes last week as New Canaan joined the rest of America, and much of the world, in reaching out to victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Quick to arrive at the front lines, as they are every day here, were New Canaan police, fire-fighters and emergency medical personnel. They gave of their time and immediately responded to the city, some reaching ground zero of the explosions and building collapse that have left more than 5,500 missing, many of whom have ties to New Canaan.

Doctors treated the injured rescuers just feet from where the Twin Towers toppled, allowing them to quickly return to the task of searching for survivors.

Back in New Canaan, human services agencies and charities were collecting needed supplies and transporting them to the city. The Red Cross was swamped with blood donors. From the smallest school children, one of whom offered to donate a toy backhoe to help dig people out from under the ruins, to the founder of AmeriCares, who donated $1 million to a fund to help the families of the New York City firefighters and police officers killed during their initial rescue effort, the entire community seemingly offered its help.

In a show of patriotism, red, white and blue decorated the town and became the uniform of the day.

The community, indeed the nation, has come together. It will need to stay that way to get through the weeks and months ahead, as it will only get harder.

It has been nine days since fanatics flew planes filled with innocent travelers into offices filled with workers. With each hour, the hope of finding any more survivors in New York and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., fades like the dust and smoke still rising from the wreckage.

Obituaries for those who called New Canaan home, or who have family and friends here, begin to appear in today’s Advertiser. The bereaved will need our strength and support.

While rescue and recovery efforts continue, the world waits for a response to the attack. Certainly America will battle to find those responsible for last Tuesday’s sneak attack. There will be casualties on both sides.

The only way this town and country will get through this is to stay as united as we became during our immediate response to terrorism.

Previous generations have done it. Now it’s our turn.

Is owning a home still the American Dream?

The story as it appears in The Daily New Canaan

Inside One World Trade Center

A look inside the new tower and the city below.
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