Richard Hokin

Photographs by William Taufic.

 

“I ’ve always had an intimate relationship with the sea,” says Richard Hokin, who grew up in Chicago and has lived on Noroton Bay in Darien for the past forty-one years. “I’ve been a fisherman since age five and messing around in boats since age nine. By osmosis I’ve become very committed to the sea. When one lives in a place closely connected with the natural environment, it becomes part of your life. The tides, the weather, the fish, the migratory birds and boats—the Sound is a dynamic landscape. It’s pretty engaging.”

Not surprisingly, Hokin was easily engaged when asked to serve on the board of the Maritime Aquarium back in 1990. “The biggest measure anyone can take to protect the natural environment is learning about one’s environment. That’s where it starts. You can tell people environmentally correct behavior, but it doesn’t mean much unless the person has a fundamental grasp of the ecology system that he or she is part of,” he explains. “The aquarium is a portal to the Greater Long Island Sound ecosystem. Twenty million people live in that ecosystem. The mission of the aquarium is to engage as many of those people as possible in understanding and feeling they are part of that ecosystem. I’m privileged; I live where I can see the Long Island Sound dynamic every day. Many people are not that fortunate but still ought to have the opportunity to learn about it and be stimulated to do more. That’s the source of my passion for the aquarium.”

Hokin and his wife, Wendy, a Darien native, donated about one quarter of the $4.5 million raised for a major renovation that resulted in a complete upgrade of the aquarium’s main galleries, now called the Hokin Family Sound Voyage. As a trustee, Hokin has helped to steer the aquarium’s various environmental educational programs for youth, including the Red Apple Fund for Student Enrichment. The fund helps cover field trip costs for schools that might not otherwise be able to bring students to Norwalk. Hokin, who also won the aquarium’s prestigious Red Apple Award, was pleased to have his granddaughter volunteer there this summer.

“Richard Hokin has recognized what a powerful tool the Maritime Aquarium is in educating the public and helping to create future environmental stewards,” comments Maritime Aquarium President, Jennifer Herring. “The Hokin Family Sound Voyage exhibits introduce people to the wondrous living world beneath the surface of Long Island Sound in a powerful, personal way. He has been incredibly generous in enabling us to tell this story.”

As with any long-term relationship, Hokin and the Sound have had their ups and downs. “Storm surges have flooded our property twenty times, if not more,” says Hokin nonchalantly. “Sometimes we’re not just living on Long Island Sound; we’re living in it.” Hurricanes Irene and Sandy clobbered the Hokins’ circa-1850 house and left quite a mess. Hokin wouldn’t move from his idyllic spot, but he acquiesced to constructing a new house thirty feet farther from the shoreline.

“If you happen to be a squatter on King Neptune’s doorstep,” quips Hokin, “once in a while he comes around to collect the rent.”

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