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“Jim Marpe and Bob Zappi are two truly outstanding Westporters who donate their time and talents in service to our community,” gala co-chair Brandi Briggs said in a statement. “They epitomize leadership, self-sacrifice and commitment to our town, and we are proud to have them as leaders in the Republican Party.”
Marpe, who is running for first selectman in November’s municipal election, served on the Board of Education from 2005-12. Of those seven years, he served as vice chairman for five. After former chairman Don O’Day retired last August, Marpe served as the acting chairman until November, when he retired to pursue his bid for first selectman.
Marpe has long been active in the community. He is chairman of the Westport Weston Family Y Board of Trustees, a member of the Westport Rotary Club, and has served various other organizations,including Homes With Hope, Green’s Farms Congregational Church and the Stamford Symphony Orchestra.
Marpe is a retired business professional who spent 32 years at the New York office of Accenture, a global management consulting and computer technology services firm. He retired from the firm in 2002 as a senior partner.
Zappi, founder and chief executive officer of the integrated marketing firm Catalyst International, is a former chairman of the Westport Republican Town Committee, a position he held from 2007-12. He has also been an adjunct professor at New York University’s Center for Marketing since 2003,
Despite his busy career, Zappi found time to be active within the community for many years as chairman of a local Cub Scout pack and coach of his sons’ little league baseball and rec teams. He is also an active member of St. Luke Church.
In 2010, Bob and his son Mark published the coffee table book, “Westport: A Classic New England Town,” with three local photographers.
During Friday’s ceremony at the Westport Inn, Marpe and Zappi were given awards by state Sen. Minority Leader John McKinney and 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley.
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