Bob Sanford ’77

ALUMNI BUILDERS BOB SANFORD ’77 BUILDING ON RELATIONSHIPS

Traditions run deep in the Sanford family. Bob Sanford ’77 is the fourth generation at Sanford and Hawley, a building supply company founded in 1884 in Farmington, Connecticut.

Dedication to value and a customer-centric approach has kept Sanford and Hawley in business at their original location for 138 years, which makes them the oldest business in Farmington. Their success is due to their “down home” attitude, hard work, and dedication, and today they have nearly fifty employees across four sites in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Following their father’s path to Millbrook many years later, children Abby ’16 and Bobby ’14 are involved in the family business and maintain their connections to Millbrook School.

Boarding schools were familiar to the Sanford family, and it was natural that Bob would attend one as he was completing his final year, 9th grade, at Renbrook School. When the time came, he had many options. Seeking a little space from his twin brother, Ted, who attended Avon Old Farms, Bob chose Millbrook, which had a zoo and was not terribly far from home. Millbrook had a significantly different look in the mid-1970s than today. 215 students were enrolled at Millbrook in the fall of 1974, including 137 boarders and 78 day students (some forty of those being females since the school had recently become co-ed). It was a picturesque drive past the marshes and down a dirt School Road, and after a visit to campus, Bob was certain that Millbrook was the place for him. During his three years, he served on the Fire Department Community Service, as a dorm prefect, and as president of the ‘Strongbox,’ the studentrun bank located in the Barn. Bob fondly recalls his advisor, Mr. Gadd, thirds football, track and field, and Saturday night movies in the Barn, which was then, as now, the social hub on campus.

Faculty care and attention have always made Millbrook special, and Bob’s connection to the school was strengthened both through extracurricular and weekend activities and in the classroom. Mr. Gadd was a memorable math teacher. Finding

• The family tradition continues - Bob with son Bobby ’14 and daughter Abby ’16

physics challenging, Bob asked for help and benefited from oneon-one tutoring from faculty member Robert Smart, whom he credits with his success in science. Standing extra help sessions nightly in Callard House after study hall ensured his success. After graduation, Bob attended the University of Vermont, following in his older brother’s footsteps, and then went to work in the family business. Working in the family business during school vacations and every summer had prepared him for this most of his life.

“Millbrook was very formative in my life, especially in terms of leadership opportunities. Now, when I am on campus, I am enamored by the designs that Millbrook’s architects—whether that’s John Allee, Voith & MacTavish, or Gil Schafer—come up with. I am not creative; my strengths are on the other end, determining which materials will hold up better or be more practical in the long run. I enjoy working with the school and the architects to make the best choices for Millbrook.”

In the early-1980s, Bob worked with a contractor undertaking a renovation of Schoolhouse and has returned to supply building materials on campus regularly over the many years since. When architects are involved, Bob typically enters the process in the middle of the design-build process to give suggestions and input. When working directly with the physical plant staff on smaller renovations and improvement projects, he is involved from the start. In forty-odd years, he has worked in virtually every building on campus. Bob’s expertise in windows, doors, cabinets, and all building materials has proven invaluable in the upkeep and improvement of the physical plant, and his love of Millbrook is evident in the time and care he devotes to his work here.

Frequent family visits to the area and to the Trevor Zoo made Millbrook seem like the home away from home it would eventually become for Abby ’16 and Bobby ’14. A tri-varsity athlete in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse, after graduating, Abby attended Skidmore College and today is in commercial sales at Sanford and Hawley. Bobby played hockey at Millbrook and is operations manager, responsible for overseeing inventory and deliveries at the busy distribution center.

Tangible evidence of the Sanford family’s longstanding and ongoing relationship with Millbrook abounds. Millbrook thrives in facilities that are well-maintained and well-designed for durability, efficiency, and beauty thanks, in great part, to Bob and now, his children.

“Through my own experience and looking through the eyes of my children I appreciate what Millbrook does in terms of youth development. This is one of the reasons I maintain close relationships—with the school in terms of building, but also with my former classmates, and with the current school leadership. I hope Millbrook continues to reach for the stars.”