The founder of the Connecticut based Stew Leonard’s grocery chain died Wednesday. Stew Leonard, Sr was 93 years old. He passed away yesterday at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City after a brief illness, according to a statement released by the company. Leonard was born in Norwalk, and he worked for his family’s dairy business. He graduated from Norwalk High School and then from UConn’s School of Agriculture. After opening his first store in Norwalk… that carried just 8 items… in 1969, he grew the company into a $600 million businesses with seven locations in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Stew Leonard Sr. leaves behind his wife of 70 years, four children, and 13 grandchildren.
Ed Histed
Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.