Granby Living Aug2018

ding in 2006, about an hour northwest of town.
In 2007, they moved to Granby — and have
been residents ever since.
“We love the small-town feel,” Mara says,
“and are always surprised at how much this
tight-knit community offers.”
Mara and Chad made Granby their
hometown because it was “the perfect fit,” she
affirms.
They were looking for a town close to Simsbury,
where she worked at Westminster School,
and to Chad’s job at UTC Aerospace Systems in
Windsor Locks.
Since then, Mara has left Westminster, where
she was the associate director of admissions,
and become more involved in the warp and
woof of Granby. She served on the board of the
Valley Pre-School in town while her children
attended there and worked part-time in the records
office for the Granby Police Department.
Today she co-leads Women on the Way, a
program for high school girls through Granby
Youth Services, and also works for Junior
Achievement of Southwest New England in
Hartford.
Meanwhile, Chad is an aerospace engineer in
the Propeller Division at UTC Aerospace. He
was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and grew up in
Galena, Illinois.
His Chicago-area roots explain Chad’s first
communication to Mara when they met via an
online dating service.
“When my husband first reached out to
me on Match.com,” Mara says, “the only thing
in the message was ‘Cubs or White Sox?’ I
answered Cubs and the rest is history.”
They were married in ’06 at Race Brook
Lodge in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
Mara was born in Sharon, Connecticut, but
was raised on Boston’s South Shore. Then she
“When the bad winter
storms hit, neighbors will
help each other shovel and
plow.” — Chad Henze
moved to Austin, Texas, followed by Chicago,
Illinois — explaining her Cubs fandom — and
then returned to Connecticut.
By the way, the Henze family “tends to
cheer for all Illinois sports teams — or anyone
playing the Packers,” says Chad, who moved to
Connecticut right after completing his graduate
program at the University of Illinois.
That family includes a daughter and a son:
Ella (10) and Griffin (9).
Ella completed fifth grade at Wells Road
Intermediate School in June and says she is “really
excited” to go to Granby Memorial Middle
School this coming school year.
“I love the friends I’ve made at school,” says
Ella, who has danced for the past six years at
Nutmeg’s Dance & Theatre Co. in Southwick,
Massachusetts.
“She has loved every second of it,” Mara says.
Griffin, who has dabbled in musical theater
and hip-hop at Nutmeg’s, will soon enter fourth
grade at Wells Road after making strong connections
with teachers and friends in his first
year there. (Granby students in pre-K through
second grade attend Kelly Lane Primary
School.)
Griffin appreciated that a teacher “shared
snow cones with her buddy groups on their last
day” of the school year. He also relishes another
summertime favorite: Grassroots Ice Cream
in Granby and the “friendly people” who work
there.
While Griffin likes virtually everything about
Wells Road, there is one thing he’d change: the
school’s shape.
“The building is in the shape of a D,” he
observes, “but I think it should be a W — for
Wells.”
His Mom says: “Makes sense!”
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Award Winning Beers
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Lunch: Tues, Wed, & Sun 11:30am-4pm | Dinner till 9pm
860-653-2739
357 Salmon Brook St., Granby CT
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Lunch: Thur, Fri & Sat 11:30am-4pm | Dinner til 10pm
GRANBY LIVING | 5