Occupation: I’ve been a pharmacist since 1994. I worked for a large pharmacy chain while I went for my MBA in New Jersey. When I got a job in Litchfield County running a small, independent chain, we wound up looking in Newtown for a home. In 2008, I ended up buying one of the stores I had managed in Connecticut, and in 2016, I opened a store in Wilton with my wife’s brother. I also help him run the pharmacy in Weston that he owns, and in September of 2017, we purchased the Salisbury Pharmacy.

Family: I have a daughter, Francesca, who will be graduating from Newtown High School and going off to college this year. My son, Sam, will be graduating from eighth grade and having his confirmation this year. My wife, Michelle, and I met the first day of orientation at Northeastern University for pharmacy school. We’ve been married 22 years as of this October. She is a hospital pharmacist and has been working at Danbury Hospital for 15 years.

Pets: We have a dog, Root Beer, who’s 6½ years old. He’s a shih tzu/poodle mix — a shih-poo. He has tons of nicknames like “Rooty” and “Toots.” My wife loves to take him for walks.

How long have you lived in Newtown? Since February of 2003. We lived in New Jersey when my wife was teaching at Rutgers University and for November, December, and January leading up to the move, I commuted four days to Connecticut before we closed on our house here.

What do you like to do in your free time? Sam is very active in baseball and basketball, so I go to those games; and Francesca dances a lot, so I go to the sporting events where she dances as well as competitions and recitals. I’m also secretary on the executive board of the Babe Ruth Baseball, and I was the president and now treasurer of the Kent Chamber of Commerce.

What is your favorite travel destination? Somewhere warm. We are definitely beach people. We went to Costa Rica this last April and St Lucia before that.

What is the best part about Newtown? We have made so many friends here. I really feel like it’s a community with smaller communities in it. I find you tend to become friends with the parents of kids your kids went to grammar school with. The town is so family-oriented, and I am all about family first. I think a lot of people here are, too.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? My Uncle Sam. He was my mother’s sister’s husband. He was a father and a best friend to me growing up, and I spent a lot of time with him. We named my son, Sam, after him. Uncle Sam was actually on his death bed when my wife was pregnant, and we told him if we had a girl, we’d name her Samantha and if we had a boy, we’d name him Sam. Before he died, he also got to see the Red Sox win, and he was a Red Sox fan all his life.

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? My 18-year-old self. I’d want to tell myself the things that are really important in life and to not sweat the things that at the time you think are life-changing but are really insignificant.

Who is your favorite musical artist? I like easy listening, folk music like James Taylor, and my wife loves the Bon Jovi hair-band music.

Do you have a favorite movie? I’m a really a big movie buff. Three movies I always have to watch when they are on are Shawshank Redemption, Unforgiven, and Moonstruck.

What is your favorite quote? Dalai Lama’s quote “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” I think it’s especially poignant to Newtown.

What is something you cannot live without? My family. Everything else is second. I got that from my Uncle Sam.

What is your proudest accomplishment? My children.