STONINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ELECTS OFFICERS

And new board members at annual meeting

The 112th Annual Meeting of the Stonington Historical Society took place on September 8 at the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House. Committee and staff reports were received and officers and board members were elected for the coming year.

Michael H. Adair, re-elected to a second one-year term as president, has been playing a major role in the Society’s fund-raising efforts. Mr. Adair, after a career in business, was for 14 years a teacher of history and economics at the Greenwich Academy. Meredith M. Brown, a continuing board member, was re-elected as vice president and also became chair of the community participation committee, which is in charge of Society public events, publications, and educational programs.

A new board member, Bryan Bentz, was elected treasurer. A physicist, Mr. Bentz has his own business designing intelligence software while pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut and raising three children. Michele Delmhorst, also a new board member, was elected secretary. A CPA and a practicing lawyer, she has been long been active in the Stonington community.

Other new board members are:

Martha Geehan, a Westerly resident, who has served as volunteer curator of the Society’s textile collections for the past several years. Mrs. Geehan has 35 years of experience in the field of nursing and has served as a key organizer in many charitable initiatives. She is a member of the collections committee for the Society.

Julian Gillespie, a relative new-comer to Stonington, is self-employed as a financial adviser, having already had a successful career with a number of firms in the field. Mr. Gillespie serves on the Society’s finance committee.

Laura B. Smith is a New York interior designer. She has been associated with the National Gallery of Art and locally is a founding member of the Stonington Land Trust. She is a member of the nominating committee and also the development committee.

Nancy L. Wells is a recent transplant from California who has already taken root helping on the properties and grounds committee of the Society.

Departing board members are Priscilla Winn Barlow, Patricia Flaherty, and Evelynn Lyons.

Continuing on the board of directors are: Norman F. Boas, Scotty Breed, Fred E. Burdick, Anne Connerton, Tertius de Kay, Bill Emberton, Jack Fix, Phil Johnstone, Deb Kotchen, Steve Martin, Marsha Standish, Nancy Steenburg, and Chris Turrentine. Dr. Boas continues as chair of the structures and grounds committee, and Ms. Turrentine and Ms. Kotchen continue as heads of the collections and development committees, respectively.

Evelynn Lyons, vice president from 2004 to 2007, chair of the community participation committee as well as chair of the annual dinner dance, the Society’s major fund-raiser, was honored with the Society’s Service Award. Also honored with this award were Betsy Wade and Jim Boylan for their contributions to the Society’s publications, including the award-winning Historical Footnotes. The award recipients received standing ovations.

Executive Mary Beth Baker introduced the staff: Louise Pittaway, curator, and Mary DiCecco, assistant curator, at the Old Lighthouse Museum; and Anne Tate, librarian at the Woolworth; Library. A new staff member, Kathy Peterson, now serves as the Society’s business manager.

Betsy Wade and Jim Boylan, recipients of Service Award.

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