Moving On
Norwalk Seaport Association elects 2010 officers & trustees
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Feb 17, 2010 - 4:14 PM

(left to right): 2010 Norwalk Seaport Association officers are Anne Griesmer, treasurer; Donna Riddell, secretary; Tom Shrum, vice president; and John Lindgren, president.

The Norwalk Seaport Association, a non-profit environmental, preservation and maritime educational organization, elected officers and trustees during its annual meeting in December. 2010 officers are John Lindgren, president, and Tom Shrum, vice president, both of Wilton; and Anne Griesmer, treasurer, and Donna Riddell, secretary, both of Norwalk.

Five first-time trustees were elected for one-year terms through 2010. Susan Snider, the Seaport’s executive director, told Norwalk residents John Barber, Irene Dixon, Stephanie Frederick, and Sharon McIntosh and Weston resident Ruth S. Castillo, “We welcome the energy, enthusiasm and talents of this new class of Trustees. 2010 will be ‘all hands on deck’ as we continue to develop our programming and awareness of the Norwalk Islands.”

Barber is the Hardware Department Manager at Klaff’s in South Norwalk and has been involved with the Seaport Association for many years, including 10 years as captain of the NSA Oyster Festival wine tent. He also is active in and a former board member of the Norwalk Exchange Club.

Castillo is Executive Administrative Assistant to the Director of Xerox Worldwide Audit in Norwalk. She is active in the XCIP (Xerox Community Involvement Program), working on projects like the Bennett Cancer Center Walk-A-Thon, Smith’s House Christmas Party, American Cancer Society Daffodils Day and Babe Ruth Baseball.

Dixon is Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hilton Garden Inn in Norwalk. She has been an active supporter of the Seaport Association for many years, most recently working with the NSA on Lighthouse Lover’s promotional packages. She chairs the NEON Marketing Advisory Board and also is on the board of the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and Coastal Fairfield County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. She also serves on the board of the Norwalk Education Foundation, from whom she received the first Individual Partner in Education Award.

Frederick is Vice President, Systems Manager, of First County Bank in Stamford. She serves on the Board of the Norwalk YMCA and is a volunteer for the NSA Oyster Festival, All Saints & Trinity Catholic Schools Career Society and the Norwalk Athletic Association.

McIntosh is Director of Global Internal Communications for PepsiCo in Purchase, NY. She serves on the board of Under One Roof, which operates The Marvin, an intergenerational senior housing and childcare initiative, and is a volunteer with Lab 4 Rescue.

(left to right): First-term Norwalk Seaport Association trustees are Irene Dixon, Ruth Castillo, Stephanie Frederick, John Barber and Sharon McIntosh.

Current trustees elected for a one-year term are Chris Bacco and John Leskovsky of Norwalk and Mark Roman of Easton. Trustees elected for three-year terms are Norwalk residents Ray Cooke, Patricia Fales, Andy Garfunkel, Patty Kolkmeyer, Urban Mulvehill, Art Petrone, Carol Pote, Pauline Schlegel and Norma Zukin; and Shenton King of Milford. Fred Gagliardi of Stamford was elected an honorary trustee. Trustees with unexpired terms are Norwalk residents Brenda Catugno, Jim Erotopoulos, Greg Goomirgian, Chuck Kriewald, Rick McQuaid, Steve Sabol, and Jerry Toni; and Ed Schmidt of Darien.

Snider opened the annual meeting with an overview of Seaport Association accomplishments in 2009. “ In 2009 our programming made a tangible environmental impact on the Norwalk Islands. More than 50 tons of garbage and several acres of invasive plants were removed from Sheffield Island by the Youth Conservation Corps in July. More than 30 children experienced nature this summer on Sheffield Island and more than 200 people attended our Bird Watching cruises. Looking forward to 2010, we will begin additional restoration work on the Lighthouse and also expand bird watching cruises, nature photography classes and Sheffield Island Adventures. Our partnership with the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge folks will be an important part of this programming.”

Attendees were asked to save the date of March 26 for the annual Norwalk Seaport Association Light Keeper’s Gala at the Dolce Norwalk Center. This benefit is among the organization’s ongoing fundraising efforts, which also include the annual Norwalk Seaport Association Oyster Festival, the largest festival of its kind in Connecticut. Funds from both of these events help support environmental education programs, habitat restoration projects on the Norwalk Islands and the preservation of Sheffield Island Lighthouse, which the Seaport Association has owned since 1986.

Founded in 1978, the Norwalk Seaport Association has its headquarters at 132 Water Street, Norwalk, Connecticut 06854. For more information call (203) 838-9444 or visit www.seaport.org.

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