Redding Resident of the Week: Stephanie Oulton

Name: Stephanie Oulton

Age: 44          

Occupation: Mom, volunteer and Customer Service Specialist for Verde Energy USA.

How long have you lived in Redding?

I was born in Redding on New Pond Farm and then lived in Georgetown until I was 15. I moved, but then I came back here in 2005.

Why did you move back? 

I wanted my children to be raised in this community. I knew I wanted to be back here [after I moved away]. It’s kind of an idyllic place for children. It’s different from old neighborhoods where you could open the door and just let the kids run. You definitely have to take your kids to go to someone else’s house to go play, but forcing people to drive means you have to work more and it creates a more tightly-knit community. I know that some people don’t like the driving, but I think those who do really fall in love with the town. It’s kinda hard with six feet of snow on the ground but we make it happen.

Also, Redding has great schools, a safe environment and great people! I have two daughters, Gracie, 9, and Isabel, 7; they both go to .

What keeps you here? 

The relationships I have formed in the community and especially with the families I’ve met through my children. Both my daughters dance at the Conservatory of Dance in Georgetown, which I got kinda involved in—if your kids go there, you end up getting involved, too. I am also only an hour from my mom in Wallingford. I think [the reason] a lot of people who move here and are unhappy here is probably because they don’t have children.

What do you think about the education system in Redding?  

Love it. Our kids get a very high quality education here.

Is there anything that you feel can be improved in the school system?

No. I have not experienced the middle school yet, but I hope the kids get the same attention there as they do in the elementary school. I think the kids here get a private school’s worth of education. The education here is phenomenal, on the same caliber as Wilton.

You do some volunteering at the ?

I’m part of the Frog Frolick at and part of the library’s Annual Art Show in December. [At the Art Show], my friend Vanessa Alward and I helped organize the catering, the wine, the decorations, everything. At the Frog Frolick I handle publicity, sell tickets for the cake walk, support the silent auction, help out with a lot of stuff and generally fill in the gaps.

What is your favorite thing about Redding? 

New Pond Farm, The Mark Twain Library and all the Land Trust open land. It makes Redding unique.

What is your fondest memory that takes place in Redding?  

Driving around Redding with my father. We would go out at dusk and watch the deer grazing on Diamond Hill Road, take a look at the waterfall behind the library and then go down Umpawaug and fly off the seats when he went over the bumps! Usually we ended up at Heibeck’s for ice cream after.