This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
08/02/2017 08:30 AMThanks to her many notable community contributions—including her work on the Branford Festival, the Branford Holiday Parade, and the Branford Jazz Summer Series—Charlotte Mattei has made a big impact on her hometown. So it’s going to be a bittersweet goodbye when, come September, Charlotte follows her family to Massachusetts, where she will no doubt do much to enhance her new hometown.
“It’s kind of ironic,” says Charlotte. “I moved to Branford during a very emotional part of my life. It was after a divorce, my daughter was three, and being a single mom, I was looking for a safe place to live with great schools for my daughter. We have lived a tremendous life in Branford. Now, I’m leaving for yet another very emotional part of my life—my daughter is now grown and starting a family of her own [in Massachusetts], and asked me to move there.”
Currently a senior vice-president with Webster Bank, Charlotte is grateful for her company’s continued support as she transfers in her duties to a new area. She’s also thankful to have been able to put her experience as a business development officer to work to assist Branford community efforts.
“I’m very fortunate,” she says. “It’s a combination of my passion for my career path as well as my passion for whatever event I’m putting together. If there is going to be a benefit for others, not me, I’m in it 100 percent,” says Charlotte.
She serves on the board of BHcare with the Finance Committee and is proud to have created Cupcake Wars to benefit BHcare. The dedicated Branford Rotary member of 20 years also volunteered with Branford Fireworks Committee. Charlotte served with Branford Festival for 22 years including as a board member. In 2013, for her community involvement, Charlotte was honored with a Beacon Award presented by Shore Publishing.
Some of the community programming she’s helped established tie back to her first community commitment, volunteering with Branford Festival in the early 1990s.
“Branford Festival was my first step into this type of community involvement,” says Charlotte. “When I moved into town, I knew nobody. I tried to find ways to invest in the community so I would feel a little more comfortable.”
She well recalls the discussion between herself and ‘Fest compatriots Dale Izzo and Catherine Kiernan that led to founding the Branford Holiday Parade.
“We had just finished another long, hard night, and we were talking about how great the festival was, and how could we have more events to bring the town together,” says Charlotte. “And someone said, well, we have the tree lighting on the Green. And Catherine said, ‘I want a parade!’ So we put it together,” says Charlotte.
A few years back, Charlotte finally turned over her volunteer parade responsibilities, as well as her Branford Fireworks committee role.
In 2009, Charlotte’s Branford Festival connections also helped her found the Branford Summer Jazz Series.
Together with the Recreation Department, “the Festival used to do an extended concert series on the Green,” says Charlotte. The Sunday afternoon concerts featured everything from blues to big band, country, and more.
“The idea we had was to transfer that over to jazz,” she explains.
Working as part of a community group, Charlotte helped not only change the focus to jazz of all styles, but to create another Branford signature summer event. Since 2009, the Summer Jazz Series presented by the Branford Recreation Department and the Branford Festival Corporation is held every summer Thursday evening from mid-June through August. The series draws thousands to hear some of the most gifted artists around. Charlotte has spearheaded gathering corporate sponsors to offset jazz series costs and attract national talent to town. Thanks to the series sponsors, all the shows are free to the public.
“Eighty percent of the jazz series sponsors have been with me from the beginning,” says a grateful Charlotte, adding she’s leaving them in great hands. “You try to surround yourself with good people, and fortunately the Jazz Committee is a very strong committee. I’ve done about 90 percent of the fundraising for the jazz series, but I just I know someone else will be picking up that baton and moving along with it.”
She’s also proud to have helped leave a legacy with an annual Jazz Scholarship, now entering its third year of being offered to community members.
“It was important to me, when we first started this series, that the committee understood that when we got to a point where we’re rolling, that we find a way to give back to assist other young musicians,” says Charlotte.
As she goes through the process of saying goodbye to her Branford connections, Charlotte is also working on starting the next chapter in a new hometown. She’s strongly considering living in the coastal town of Beverly, Massachusetts.
“My daughter has taken a liking to it because it reminds her of Branford,” says Charlotte.
Of course, Branford’s loss would be Beverly’s gain, as there’s really no question Charlotte will become involved in supporting her new community. In fact, she’s already got something on her radar.
“I was driving around Beverly about a month ago, and I found this great park. The backdrop was the beach and it had this beautiful concert shell! I looked on the town website and it doesn’t appear it’s used as much as I’d like to be,” says Charlotte, smiling.
On a more serious note, Charlotte says it’s hard to express her thanks to those who have helped her to forge such strong ties to Branford.
“Not just me, but also my daughter; we have been blessed to be able to be engaged. It’s one thing to want to be involved. It’s another thing to be accepted.”
From friends and acquaintances to interactions with many resident and business owners, and Town Hall that “always had their doors open” to help get things done, “everybody has just been fabulous,” says Charlotte.
“There’s no possible way for me to thank everybody that’s touched my life,” she says, adding, “I believe I got a lot more out of the town and the people than I can ever give back. I’m just a person who wanted to get involved; and everybody has the opportunity to do the same thing.”