NAUGATUCK — Local attorney Kevin McSherry fondly recalls the many community volunteers who helped guide him on a path to success when he was a child growing up in Naugatuck.
As an adult, McSherry has donated countless hours to make sure other area children have the same opportunity.
“When I was kid, there was always somebody who was doing something on a volunteer basis to improve my life,” he said. “That community service was impressed upon me as a young kid, and I kept wanting to give back to the community in various ways.”
McSherry, who has been heavily involved in numerous nonprofit and charitable organizations for more than three decades, will be honored for his altruism by the Naugatuck Rotary Club. The organization has announced McSherry is this year’s recipient of its highest community service honor, the Paul Harris Award.
The Rotary Club states that McSherry’s dedication to the community is astounding and his service to the Naugatuck YMCA is unparalleled.
He has been member of the Y’s board of directors since 1986, is past president, chairman of the board of trustees and has served as the nonprofit organization’s general counsel. In 1992, he won the Rotary’s Fred Zonino award for his efforts to secure capital repairs to the facility and for helping the YMCA financially.
“He is committed to developing the youth of Naugatuck through giving of his time and energy to sports, school mentoring and reading programs, as well as the McSherry Community Services Opportunities,” the Rotary states in a news release.
For several years, McSherry has offered local young people an opportunity to participate in community service either at the YMCA or through the high school recreational basketball league he oversees — the Naugatuck Basketball Association. Community service offers an opportunity, he said, for young people to better themselves.
McSherry has served as commissioner of the Naugatuck Basketball Association for 28 years and has been involved as a volunteer for 35.
“The opportunity to play is a big thing because it really occupies their time, and teenagers, especially, need a chance to have an outlet,” he said. “It gives them the opportunity to play a game that most either like or love, and it gives them an opportunity to work hard and focus on something in addition to their school work.”
Additionally, McSherry is a member of the Holy Cross High School board of directors, Family Services of Greater Waterbury and is a corporator at Griffin Hospital in Derby. He’s also a member of the Assumption College Hall of Fame and the Naugatuck Hall of Fame.
McSherry, an attorney for the past 25 years, former town attorney and current town attorney for neighboring Bethany, is also co-founder of a pet adoption agency called Flora’s Pet Project.
McSherry said he’s humbled to receive the award from what he called a “tremendous service organization” in the Rotary Club.
He will be honored during a dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Crystal Room in Naugatuck. For tickets and information, contact Cathie Mauritz at the Naugatuck YMCA at (203) 729-9622 or cathiemauritz@yahoo.com.
