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Montpelier Alive Thanks Our Legacy Member
Board of Directors
Top Row: Executive Director Suzanne Eikenberry,Linn Syz, Pinky Clark. Bottom Row: Greg Gossens, Jon Anderson, Rob Hitzig, Colleen Paull, Greg Guyette, Shawn Bryan, Peter Ricker. Missing: James Bressor, John Mayfield, Brooke Pearson
Linn Syz, President
Vermont River Conservancy
A high school social studies teacher for twenty-three years, Linn started work in the nonprofit world in 1998 at the New England Grassroots Environment Fund where she was a grant reviewer and program administrator for eight years. She is currently the Office Manager for the Vermont River Conservancy. Besides the Montpelier Alive, Linn volunteers as a fundraiser for the Vermont Mountaineers, a collegiate summer baseball league, and is a reading mentor in the Everybody Wins! program at Union Elementary. She fills her spare time playing tennis and broomball (captain of her team), working in her gardens, biking, kayaking and sailing. She and her husband, Stephan, have two grown sons who live in California.
Rob Hitzig, Vice-President
The Lazy Pear Gallery
Rob Hitzig is a Montpelier artist and gallery owner since 2005. In 2008 he was awarded "Volunteer of the Year" by the State of Vermont for his work in promoting the arts in Montpelier through his work in organizing SculptCycle 2008 and the Montpelier Art Walks. Prior to moving to Vermont, Rob worked for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC and was a forester with the Peace Corps in West Africa.
James Bressor, Secretary
Norwich University
James Bressor is a native Vermonter who has lived in Montpelier since 1985. He works at Norwich University, is a member of the Montpelier Rotary Club, and volunteers for the Red Cross. He and his wife Julie have raised their three children in Montpelier.
Peter Ricker, Treasurer
Denis, Ricker & Brown Insurance
Jon Anderson
Burak, Anderson & Melloni
A Board member of Montpelier Alive since it was founded and past President, Jon practices law in several areas in which he can use his engineering background and problem solving and project management approaches to serve clients. These areas include complex real estate projects and transactions including, especially, permitting and siting, litigation (especially over technical issues such as contaminated sites liability and clean up, valuation of complex property), administrative law including defense of environmental enforcement actions, utility regulation, environmental law, solid waste disposal including permitting and siting, land use including Vermont’s Act 250, and zoning. Jon has been designated as one of the best lawyers in America in the field of environmental law. Jon served as a member of the Montpelier City Council for eight years and represented Montpelier in the Vermont House of Representatives. With his wife Betsy, Jon owns Betsy’s Bed & Breakfast. They have two children, Tyler and Katie.
Shawn Bryan
Community Member
Shawn Bryan retired from National Life in January, 2009. He is the Treasurer and a board member of the Vermont Green Building Network, on the board of the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) and serves on the board of the Montpelier Alive, Chairing the Economic Restructuring Committee. Shawn has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Norwich University and is a lifelong resident of central Vermont, currently residing in Berlin. He has held senior management positions in the administrations of both Richard Snelling and Howard Dean and with Cabot Cooperative and National Life. He has been an active advocate for sustainable business operations and management, local food through the Community Supported Agriculture Movement (CSA) and when he has spare time rides motorcycles on long trips.
Pinky Clark
Community Member
Pinky Clark owned Minuteman Press for 25 years, selling it in 2005. He is on the Montpelier Alive Promotions Committee, a member of the MDCA Montpelier Business Association, co-coordinator for Green Up Montpelier, and is chairman of the Montpelier Flower Committee. Pinky works in Food Service for Montpelier Public Schools, as well as owning his own delivery and courier service, Thinkin’ Pink. He was elected Montpelier Citizen of the Year in 2008 by the Montpelier Rotary Club.
Greg Gossens
Bachman Gossens Architects
Greg Guyette
Kiosko, Inc
Greg Guyette is a lifelong member of the Central Vermont community. He is a former member of the Montpelier City Council and currently serves as the Montpelier Alive’s Promotions Committee Chairperson. Greg is passionate about the preservation and promotion of Montpelier’s rich history and architecture which he describes as “distinctive attributes that define our downtown as an exceptional place to work, shop and socialize”. As the parent of a Montpelier middle school student, Greg is closely involved with the Montpelier school system and has served as an “Everybody Wins” student mentor for several years. Greg is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kiosko Inc., a Vermont-based millwork company.
John Mayfield
Julio’s Cantina
John Mayfield lives in Barre, Vermont with his wife, Shannon and his daughter, Madelyn. He has been involved in the Vermont hospitality and travel industry since he moved to the Green Mountain state from New York in 1978. His professional experience includes time at Killington Ski Resort as Vice President of Resort Operations and New England Culinary Institute as Chief Operating Officer. John and his wife Shannon are the proud owners of Julio's Cantina on State Street and are extremely pleased to be part of
Montpelier's wonderful downtown.
Brooke Pearson
Montpelier High School
After graduating from college, spending three years in the Army (including a year as an Infantry officer in Vietnam), going to graduate school in City Planning, and getting a law degree from Georgetown, Brooke moved to Vermont in 1975 and began his career as an attorney with a law firm in Burlington. After four years in private practice, he took a legal position in State government and moved with his family to Montpelier. After 23 years serving as legal counsel to two different departments, Brooke took early retirement in 2002 to return to school (UVM) to obtain his teaching certificate and fulfill a lifelong dream of teaching. For the last five years, he has been working with students in Montpelier High School's Community Based Learning program and coordinating community service activities there. A lifelong singer, Brooke continues singing in the Unitarian Church choir, a barbershop quartet (State and Main), and occasionally in other choruses and musical theater productions, most recently CATS and The Full Monty with the Barre Players. Summers find him on the stage at Unadilla, Lost Nation, or some other Central Vermont theater. Brooke has served on the Montpelier Planning Commission, the Board of Bar Examiners, and the boards of the Barre Opera House, Lost Nation Theater, and the National Association of Unemployment Insurance Appellate Boards. He has two grown children, Peter in Seattle and Betsy in St. Louis, and an adorable 5 year old granddaughter, Kylie, in Seattle.
David Hall
Christ Church
David Hall has lived in Montpelier for over 20 years. He serves as Rector of Christ Episcopal Church on State Street. Presently he is President of the Montpelier Interfaith Council and serves on other boards in the community. His three children attended and graduated from the Montpelier School system. He and Lisle live in the Meadow and enjoy the vibrancy and connections of the Montpelier Community.
Collen Paull
Vermont Trading Company
Colleen Paull, a Montpelier native, is co-owner of Vermont Trading Company, a women’s and men’s natural fiber clothing store specializing in exotic jewelry and unique gifts from around the world. “Being a retailer in downtown Montpelier I am very interested in the capital city continuing to be a strong viable city.”