Naugatuck VFW to hold Citizen’s Awards ceremony   

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NAUGATUCK — Naugatuck VFW Post 1946 will honor six community members Sunday with its annual Citizen’s Awards.

Awards will be given to a veteran, police officer, firefighter, fire police volunteer, citizen and emergency medical technician during a ceremony at the Crystal Room, 98 School St. The event starts at 12 p.m. with a cocktail hour followed by lunch at 1 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person.

For information or tickets, call Charles Barnsley at 203-233-2318 or Jack LeBlanc at 203-231-8714.

Citizen of the Year

Dolly Lengyel, who was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and immigrated with her family to the United States, has been involved with VFW Post 1946 and VFW Post 1946 Axillary for the past 40 years.

Over the years, Lengyel, whose husband, John Lengyel, is an Air Force veteran, has helped raise money for the Post and has organized a variety of events. She’s held numerous positions in the Auxiliary, serving as president for the past 11 years.

For the past 25 years, Lengyel has organized efforts to put together for care packages for troops deployed overseas. She also helps to prepare food baskets for families in need.

EMT of the Year

Jason Durnin of Hamden has been an EMT at Naugatuck Ambulance for four years.

Durnin, a 2014 graduate of Hamden High School, is a field training officer and EMT supervisor for Naugatuck Ambulance. He served as a volunteer at Oxford Ambulance and worked for American Medical Response before joining Naugatuck Ambulance.

Firefighter of the Year

Capt. Jason Alford joined the Bolton Volunteer Fire Department in 1999. He was hired as a firefighter for the Naugatuck Fire Department in 2003, rising to the rank of captain this March.

Alford has received the Firefighter of the Year, Five Unit Citations and the Medal of Merit awards from the Naugatuck Fire Commission during his time in the borough. He’s served numerous terms as a member of the Naugatuck Firefighters Local #1219’s Executive Board and is the treasurer of the union.

Fire Police of the Year

Jeffrey Allen Perry, a Seymour High School graduate, is in his fifth year as an active member of the Naugatuck Volunteer Fire Police team.

Perry joined the Seymour Civil Defense team as a junior in high school. He later became a firefighter with Citizens Hose Volunteer Fire Company in Seymour, and then joined Citizens Hose Volunteer Fire Company in Shelton, where he completed his firefighter certification.

Perry has completed Fire Police basic training and three levels of Federal Emergency Management Administration incident command training.

Police Officer of the Year

Nikolaus Murowsky, a 2006 graduate of Naugatuck High School, joined the Naugatuck Police Department in 2016 and is assigned to the overnight shift.

Before joining the department, Murowsky enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard in 2007 as an infantryman and became a mortarman. Murowsky’s unit deployed to eastern Afghanistan in 2009. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge.

After returning home, Murowsky remained in the military and attained the rank of sergeant. He was a squad leader for a gun team and later worked in the battalions mortar platoon as a fire direction control sergeant. He was honorably discharged in 2018.

Veteran of the Year

Attila “AJ” Bordas was born in Hungary in 1974 and immigrated to the United States in 1976, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1982.

In 1991, Bordas joined the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Moosbrugger, an anti-submarine destroyer, and became a signalman 3rd class petty officer.

Bordas, who is a senior program manager at Microboard Processing, became involved with the Mission 22 Hike in 2016. The hike raises funds for Mission 22, a nonprofit organization that seeks to end suicide among veterans. He leads the hike, which has raised $20,000 so far in Connecticut.