Lawyer named honorary starter for Thanksgiving Day race

    Valley lawyer and long-time supporter of the Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race, Dominick J. Thomas Jr., has been named as the Honorary Starter for the 2011 Race.
    The 10th annual Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race will be run through the streets of Shelton and Derby on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 24. The race is designed to promote the history of the two communities and Isaac Hull, who commanded the USS Constitution during the War of 1812.
    Proceeds from the race benefit the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley. More than $70,000 has been raised in previous years.
    A Derby native, Thomas is an attorney/owner at the law firm of Cohen & Thomas in Derby where he has practiced since 1977. He has a record of volunteer leadership.
    He has been a member of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys & Girls Club for 30 years and is a past president of the club. He has also been a member of the Birmingham Group Health Service, Inc. for 27 years and has served as its General Counsel.
    He has a long-standing relationship with the Valley Association for Retarded Children and Adults, and served on its board for 17 years. He isy a member of the Board of Directors at Valley United Way and has served on the cabinet for the Annual Community Fund Campaign effort.
    His involvements have also included service on the Board of Trustees for the Archdiocese of Hartford Catholic Charities/Catholic Family Services. From 2001-2005 he was a member of the Katharine Matthies Foundation Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Valley Advisory Committee of the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven.
    In 2010, he was the recipient of the prestigious Charles H. Flynn Humanitarian Award. In 1991, The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Gold Seal Award and in 2005 the Connecticut Bar Association presented him with a Distinguished Volunteer Service Award.
    In 2006 the Boys & Girls Club presented him with the Raymond P. Lavietes Award. He was also the winner of the 2009 Sharon Bryce Holly Community Hero Award given by the Volunteer Action Center.
    Thomas is a graduate of the College of Holy Cross, and received this law degree from the University of Virginia. He is also an Honor Graduate of the United States Army Judge Advocate General Schools. He served as a Lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and a Captain with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Corps.
    Thomas and his wife, Sally M. Thomas, have three children, Christopher, Gregory and Scott, and five grandchildren.
    For information about the race, visit http://electronicvalley.org/derby/HullRace.