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First Human Spirit Awards hosted in Hartford

The event honored the late WFSB news anchor Deniise D'Ascenzo, an industry legend in Connecticut.

HARTFORD, Conn. — The first Human Spirit Awards took place in Hartford Saturday evening, honoring longtime WFSB news anchor Denise D’Ascenzo.

The event occurred downtown at the Marriott. According to D’Ascenzo’s daughter, Kathryn Cooke, about 300 people were in attendance for the celebration that was hosted by the Denise D'Ascenzo Foundation.

Cooke says she remembers her mom being funny and reporting the news accurately. Denise D'Ascenzo would do a happy dance too every time she had a good take on air, Cooke said. 

D'ascenzo passed away on Dec. 7, 2019. 

At the time, she  was the longest serving news anchor at any Connecticut television station. 

The event celebrated D'Ascenzo's legacy of courage, kindness and openness.

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It also paid tribute and honored those who have shown those same qualities in their lives. 

The foundation's 2024 Kindness Award was presented to the family of the late Dan Nolan of Waterford, a veteran and firefighter. 

Credit: Cayla Cade

Five others received the Human Spirit Award. 

Cooke says this event is everything her mom stood for.  

“She was a big champion of the human spirit. She did a number of stories of people who have just shown so much courage in their life, overcoming crazy adversity. And those are people who we're honoring tonight, and we're really excited to have them here to share their stories and hopefully shed some light on expressing kindness,” Cooke said.   

Cooke says she loves meeting people who share stories of her mom,  it’s a reminder of how great she was.  

She hopes they can continue having this event every year. 

RELATED: Connecticut media icon Denise D’Ascenzo passes suddenly

RELATED: Gov. Lamont declares ‘Denise D’Ascenzo Day’ in recognition of CT media icon’s birthday

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Cayla Cade is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at ccade@fox61.com. Follow her on FacebookX and Instagram.

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