Hamilton College President Joan Hinde Stewart has announced the names of five people who are joining the Hamilton College Town-Gown Fund Committee.
They will work with the committee's four continuing members to award grants from the fund, which each year supports educational, cultural and public safety organizations in the Town of Kirkland.
New to the committee this year are: Gill Goering, mayor of Clinton; Amy Goodfriend, daughter of Mary Lou and the late Frank Owens of Bristol Road, who graduated from Clinton Central Schools and Hamilton College and is a member of the college's Board of Trustees; Tom Owens, president and CEO of Access Federal Credit Union; Margie Thickstun, the Elizabeth J. McCormack Professor of English at Hamilton; and Nick Venero, supervisor of gas operations for National Grid and councilman for the Town of Kirkland.
"The work of the Town-Gown Committee is important," said Stewart, "and I appreciate the opportunity this committee provides each of its members to learn about the issues facing the college and the community. There is a significant long-term benefit in having all of us working together."
Those who are remaining on the committee include: Andy Burns, president and chief investment officer of Strategic Investment Advisors and a 1978 Hamilton graduate; John Fehlner of Fehlner & Associates and owner of the Clinton Cider Mill; Jeff Roudebush, superintendent of Clinton Central Schools; and Jack Withiam Jr., a 1971 Hamilton graduate, executive vice president of George Little Management LLC in White Plains, N.Y., and a college trustee.
Stewart will continue to chair the committee, and Dick Tantillo, Hamilton's vice president for communications and development, and Mike Debraggio, the college's executive director of communications, will remain on the committee as ex officio members.
In establishing the fund, the original donors described the broad outlines of a committee that would meet regularly to award grants and to foster greater communication between the college and the local community. The committee is expected to have at least one representative each from Hamilton's board of trustees and employees, Clinton Central Schools, local government and public safety organizations, and an at-large member from the community.
Stewart also expressed gratitude to the original members of the committee who served since its inception in 2001. They include Town of Kirkland supervisor Annette Foley, local businessman and former Clinton fire chief John Nester and Hamilton trustee Jeff Little. Hamilton professor Carole Bellini-Sharp has also been a member of the committee for the past several years.
"It has been a pleasure for me to work with people who care so deeply about the local community," Stewart said. "This committee has been a springboard for broader discussions about Hamilton, Clinton and Kirkland, and I look forward to continuing the relationships that this group has fostered."
