Patrick Gribbon Guided by Passion for Long Beach West

Patrick Gribbon grew up in a house along Laurel Beach in Milford. "Hence my passion for the waterfront and Long Beach West," he said.

Gribbon is the chairman of the recently appointed , formed by Mayor John Harkins to come up with recommendations for the use of the unique, town-owned shoreline property.

He said Harkins named his as chairman of the panel because he knew of Gribbon’s interest and, Gribbon said, "he trusted my judgment."

Gribbon served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and he also got a degree in marketing and finance from the University of Connecticut.

After his military service, he worked for several large and small corporations. In 1987 he started the Paperworks Products Company, which specializes in large catalogues and other corporate printing jobs.

He is also a member of the Stratford Waterfront & Harbor Management Commission.

The Long Beach West Blue Ribbon Commission had its first meeting this month. "My main goal was to get people to introduce themselves and we accomplished that," he said.

Gribbon said he wants to limit the meetings to about one and a half hours in length and envisions it would finish its work before the end of 2011.

At the first meeting, he gave the members an assignment that he called "homework," to come to the July meeting with a vision of how they want to develop Long Beach West.

"It’s just an obvious request to get started," he said.