Housing Priorities Met With Enthusiasm

Winchester Housing Authority executive director is a job that would seem to be challenging for most people, but when you really get down to what Fred Newman does every day, his task is, to say the least, amazing. And he loves every minute of it.

Newman’s job at the WHA is by no means boring. Day to day he must manage three properties: Greenwoods Gardens, Chestnut Grove and Laurel Commons. He works for a board of five commissioners and 164 senior residents. He manages 250 Section-8 voucher recipients in 15 towns and 11 single-room occupant apartments at the YMCA, as well as a waiting list of more than 130 senior housing residents.

Newman was born in Winsted and grew up in New Hartford. A 1961 graduate of Northwestern High School, he entered the Navy right after graduation.

From 1961 to 1965, Newman served on the USS Boxer during the time of three major military events — the Berlin Wall Crisis in 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the Vietnam War. However, he did not have to fight overseas.

After he completed his service to the Navy, Newman worked for General Motors in Indiana before returning to Connecticut.

Several jobs in the industrial engineering field led Newman back to New Hartford where he spent 11 years at Waring and raised a family with his wife, Mary.

By the mid-1980s, Newman and his family returned to Winsted, and he worked for several businesses as a facilities manager, including TRW, Howmet and The Cheshire Academy.

"I went from machines to a school," said Newman. "That was quite a change, from adults making a product at the least amount of cost...to children who didn’t want to go to school and would make things break."

While at The Cheshire Academy, Newman created a preventative maintenance plan that he has adapted to his present role as executive director of the Winchester Housing Authority (WHA), which he began in 1999.

More recently, Newman has taken on the task of designing, planning and funding a fourth senior community through the WHA, Carriage Maker Place, which will consist of 30 to 40 additional units and residents. He is also looking to put a 15-unit addition on Chestnut Grove and build 14 affordable single-family homes on Florence Street.

In addition to managing every aspect of the WHA properties, Newman works with several government agencies that regulate the properties, such as HUD, CHFA and the state of Connecticut, in addition to privately owned corporations and banks.

Newman is also a member of several work-related boards, including the Tri-Corner Alliance, the Northwestern Housing Council and the Connecticut and National Association of Rental Housing Organizations.

"It’s the best job I have ever had," said Newman.

While he does admit that sometimes he gets a little upset and sometimes he loses sleep at night, the rewards that come with his position outweigh any bad day Newman has encountered.

Spare time doesn’t come often; however, Newman has a passion for history and railroads.

"I am a history nut," said Newman. "I like sharing what I have learned about the railroads."

In fact, next month, Newman will host a presentation at the New Hartford Senior Center on the history of railroads in New Hartford.

Newman also has a book about the history of the Newman family. While he began researching his family in 1964, and spent countless hours researching the old-fashioned way, only recently, with the help of the Internet, was Newman able to complete the book and have it published for family and those with an interest. Copies can be found in the library and the historical society.

Newman has sat on several boards, outside of work, including Friends of Main Street, where he was vice president; the New Hartford Historical Society; the Winchester Historical Society; and church council at St. Joseph’s Church.

In the near future, Newman looks forward to doing some traveling with his wife and even taking a cruise.

But Fred Newman likes to be busy.

"I don’t think I would like it any other way," said Newman. "I can be as busy as this through the help of the small staff I have here."

Three women help Newman manage the Section-8 program and the office. Though that may seem a small staff, it doesn’t deter Newman, who will keep on doing what he does best, providing housing for the senior population, managing the properties and doing it with a smile.