Occupation: I'm a dentist. I love my job - dentistry is never static, it's always moving. What's new today is old in a year. There is never an opportunity to get bored. I've been a dentist for 16 years, and I have had my practice in Newtown for 15 of those years. My patients can tell you that my office is always up to speed with the latest technology. I love to see what others are doing overseas and how technology changes between continents.

Family: I have a wife and two kids. We live in Milford. I have been married to my wife, Cathy, for the past 24 years. She works in IT in banking - a totally different field than mine. Maybe that's why we hit the 24th year together. Cathy is a very outgoing person, and she is involved in many social activities, such as the Sunday school superintendent at Mary Taylor Methodist Church in Milford, our church, and as the Comity Chair for Cub Scout Pack 75, where I'm the cubmaster. My oldest son is Stefano, he is a seventh grade student at St Mark School in Stratford. He is a Boy Scout, and he is avid X-Box games player. He loves that. I used to play it before he it took over. My youngest is Matteo. He also attends St Mark School and is in fifth grade. He is a more outdoorsy kind of guy. He has sailed with me since he was 2 years old, and he still loves it.

I have two cats. One is a Siamese, whose name is Sarah. The other one is a 22-pound Maine Coon, who suffers from learning disabilities. They were my mother-in-law's cats. We inherited them after she passed away. Neither my wife nor I were cat people before, but they grew on us. Now we love them.Pets:

What do you like to do in your free time? I love to work on my sailboat. I own an old Catalina 30. I'm at the marina a lot doing things I probably should leave to professionals, but I do it myself. In the spring, my youngest son and I set it up to go on the water, then in the fall we clean it up to be ready for the winter. I became interested in sailing, because as a student in college I used to windsurf a lot. In windsurfing you learn how to sail, and I really enjoyed that. Then I got old and windsurfing was too much for me, so I decided to buy a boat. I started out with a smaller 25 foot boat - that's when my son started working on them - then we upgraded to a 30.

What is your favorite book? Service by Marcus Luttrell. I have a lot of respect for service men.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? My favorite destination is Milford, because we travel a lot. My parents live in Milan, Italy. I travel for work, and my wife's family is spread all over the United States, in North Carolina, Virginia, and Alaska. So, I really enjoy spending time at home. We live walking distance from the beach; we have a two-person sea kayak, ride bikes, sail on the boat, or sometimes we just relax on the patio with a glass of wine. To me that's the best vacation.

What is the best thing about Newtown? The small town America atmosphere. You go to the bank and the manager knows you by name; so do restaurants. I like the fact that there is a low crime rate and you don't have to worry about where you're walking. Also, I love the times when my patients in the waiting room all know each other.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? His name is David. He's a friend of mine from when I was living in Washington, DC. We used to bike ride together when I had just moved here from Italy. I was frustrated with the job I had at the time. During one of our conversations he said to me, "Why don't you go back to school?" And I did. Those few words changed my life.

If you could spend the day with anyone, who would you choose? Comedian Ron White. I think he is hilarious. It would be fun to see what he would say if he spent the day with me in the office.

What is your guilty pleasure? Cruising on my sailboat. It takes two or more days to cruise on the water, and with a family it is tough, because there are so many activities. My son and I make excuses so we can cruise; like this past summer, my son had a science project where he tested water from different parts of Long Island Sound.

What is your favorite TV show?Iron Chef America. I love to cook, and I'm so impressed how they put them through so many challenges and they come up with something amazing.