LAKEVILLE — The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News will award the 2025 Estabrook Community Leadership Award to Bunny Williams at a Jubilee celebration on Oct. 12 at the Grove in Lakeville. The award is presented to honor outstanding leadership in community service, as exemplified by Mary Lou and Robert Estabrook. Betsy Smith of Sharon is serving as Chair of the event.
As a successful design professional, Bunny Williams of Falls Village is an active and prominent supporter of a wide range of community organizations that provide essential services throughout our towns. According to Williams, “We live in not only the most beautiful part of the country, but in a community of such generous people who help make these events so successful. I think we all feel we want to do what we can to help support the things we care so much about. I am humbled by this honor by The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News, our connection to knowing what is happening in the community .”
Twenty-five years ago, Williams was instrumental in starting Trade Secrets, a popular event featuring the sale of rare plants and garden antiques, along with a garden tour. The proceeds benefit Project Sage, a nonprofit domestic violence agency serving Northwest Connecticut and the surrounding communities in New York and Massachusetts. She has also hosted events for local libraries, has been a supporter of the Falls Village Daycare Center, and Music Mountain. Five years ago, she started The County Mutt Show as a fund raiser for The Little Guild, which also has a 5K fundraising race named for her. Williams created an artisan’s collective in Falls Village, 100 Main, that features the work of area artists and makers, and she was involved in the 2010 restoration of the Falls Village Inn, a landmark built in 1843.
According to Betsy Smith, Chair of the Jubilee, “Bunny is a force of nature! She has made a tremendous difference in this area, with her creativity and devotion to community, which is exactly what the Estabrook Award was designed to celebrate.”
The award was inspired by Mary Lou and Robert Estabrook, who were owners of the papers from 1970-1986, and later, dedicated board members. Committed to public service, they believed that independent, quality news was only one way to serve the community, and they honored the efforts of their fellow townspeople who ran businesses, volunteered for non-profit work and were active in local government. During their tenure, the papers flourished and Robert Estabrook’s local editorials were twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
