Remembrance, Healing on Anniversary of Hartford Distributors Shooting

The events that transpired at the Hartford Distributors property Wednesday morning could not have been in starker contrast to the events that occurred on the site .

On that day last summer, , a disgruntled employee of the beer distributor who had just been fired for stealing from the company, marched through the warehouse at 131 Chapel Rd. cold-bloodedly mowing down eight of his co-workers with a pair of 9mm handguns before finally turning the gun on himself as police closed in.

Wednesday morning, hundreds of friends, family and co-workers of those victims gathered on the lawn of the beer distributor to dedicate a memorial garden and sculpture to the fallen – eight stainless steel pillars erected in a clearing in the woods near the warehouse were the shootings occurred connected by a braided aluminum tube.

The memorial is intended to represent not just the eight employees who lost their lives that day, but the community who gathered around the survivors and the victims’ families in the weeks and months after the tragedy. The pillars are made of mirror-finished stainless steel and contain an etchings bearing details of the lives of each of the victims, while the center will be hollow to allow family and friends to place “time capsule” items belonging to the victims inside.

“I felt as though I had a need, as the leader of HDI, to show strength to everyone in the aftermath of this tragic event,” said Ross Hollander, president of Hartford Distributors, which has been in the Hollander family for generations. “Little did I know that any strength that I could muster would actually come from you – all of you. You are incredible people and I thank you for the support that you’ve shown.”

“We also have been strengthened by being part of the warmest, caring community I could ever imagine,” Hollander continued. “This community has been there for us every step of the way as we have been attempting to navigate these very troubling waters.”

Hollander said that although the memorial garden could never fill the void in the lives of all those affected by the shooting, it would serve as a “serene setting always here for those times that we need a moment of peace.”

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who attended the ceremony, said that the anniversary of the horrific event, as well as the newly constructed memorial, should serve as a reminder to cherish each and every one of life’s fragile moments.

“No amount of time will allow any person ever affected by this incident to put it aside and to forget it, and no amount of time will ever allow any of us who knew any of these individuals – who cared, and loved and prayed for these individuals – to forget them,” Malloy said. “In fact, in so many ways their lives, not their deaths, are marked today.”

Malloy also commended the Manchester community for coming together in unison after the tragedy and the Rotary Club of Manchester for establishing the memorial, which he said was “more than a stone in a yard, but rather links the deceased with their community and their company, and gives solace – or at least the opportunity thereof – at this place.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who flew back from Washington to attend the ceremony, said that the events of Aug. 3, 2010, have marked Manchester – not just as a place where a horrific tragedy struck, but as a strong, vibrant and enduring community that came together in solitude afterwards to support and sustain one another.

“This place has gained national attention,” Blumenthal said. “Partly because of a tragedy, but also because of the heroes who have seen the worst in what human beings can do and have shown us the best in how they can respond.”

The memorial cost about $60,000 to build and was financed entirely through the Rotary Club of Manchester, which spent the better part of the past several months raising money to construct the monument through a number of .

“When the tragedy happened, there was so much emotion around the first couple of months, or six months, or even this year,” said David Skoczulek, the incoming vice president of the Rotary club who helped spearhead the fundraising efforts. “The Hollanders really wanted for us to take the lead in planning this event and planning this memorial. They just couldn’t bring themselves to get all the different groups together, because so many people wanted to offer support.”

The eight Hartford Distributors employees who lost their lives Aug. 3, 2010, were:

• William Ackerman, 51, of Broad Brook;
• Francis Fazio Jr., 57, of Bristol;
• Louis Felder Jr., 50, of Stamford;
• Victor James, 60, of Windsor;
• Edwin Kennison, 49, of East Hartford;
• Craig Pepin, 60, of South Windsor;
• Douglas Scruton, 56, of Middletown and New Hampshire; 
• Bryan Cirigliano, 51, of Newington.