Congratulations Are in Order

We are pleased to extend warm wishes and heartfelt thanks to the following members of the Ridgefield Library family:

To Ginny Canfield and Kirby Klump, winners of the Friends of Connecticut Libraries Individual Achievement Award for their tireless work fulfilling Internet sales orders for the Friends of the Ridgefield Library since 2014.  In that time, they packaged and shipped 12,521 items that netted over $156,000 the Friends can use to support Library programs and services.

To Circulation Clerk Megan Klein, who has left the Library to finish up the student teaching requirements for her Masters in Library Science; to shelver Fran Walton who has been promoted to take Megan’s place; and to long-time volunteer Anne Kain who has taken up Fran’s shelving duties.

To Bob Whitton and Mary Mann Smith, who are retiring from the Library Board at the completion of two, three-year terms of service.  Each was an invaluable part of the team that made our New Ridgefield Library a reality, and they will be missed.

To Karena Landler and McKinley Walsh, the Library’s 2017 Ridgefield High School interns, and all of their classmates, on their graduation and move onwards and upwards to college, career and other adventures.

Introducing Remaining New Library Board Members

As promised, here are profiles of two more talented individuals who have joined the Library Board this summer.

Alison Greeley moved to Ridgefield with her husband and two sons in 2005. She spent 14 years at Morgan Stanley, beginning in a brokerage office in Aspen, CO and later joining the Investment Management Division in New York City. She managed teams and projects in sales and marketing developing marketing campaigns, including new product launches, and building new departments. Since leaving Morgan Stanley in 2008, she has served as the Chair and Treasurer of the Ridgefield Arts Council, and is a co-founder of the Ridgefield 9/11 Memorial.

Stephen DeMatteo has lived in Ridgefield since 2003 with his wife Anissa and their three children, James, Charles and Audrey.  As a shareholder of York International Agency, Steve leads the firm’s Commercial Insurance Practice.  Prior to joining York in 2005, Steve held a similar role with Marsh & McLennan.  Steve is a 1989 graduate of Fairfield University. Around town Steve has spent the past decade on the sidelines of his children’s youth sports teams.  He was a 10-year member of the Town of Ridgefield Insurance & Risk Management Committee where he was an advisor to the Board of Selectmen on property/casualty insurance matters.

Library Board Welcomes New Members

The Ridgefield Library welcomes four new members to its Board of Directors.  Two are profiled here, and the others will be introduced in a future column.

Rob Freeman moved to Ridgefield with his wife and two children in 2010. He is a Vice President with Venbrook Insurance Services. Before joining Venbrook, Rob was founder and CEO of Green Buildings Online Inc., an award winning provider of e-learning and online training for employees of global institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to that he worked for six years for a New York commercial real estate private equity group. Rob earned a BA from Skidmore College and an MBA from Babson College.

Tizzie Mantione has lived in Ridgefield 16 years with her husband Tom and their two children, Nico (13) and Jax (12). She grew up in neighboring Pound Ridge, NY and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. Her career has spanned multiple industries including sports marketing, event management, financial management, executive search and software sales. Tizzie has volunteered in Ridgefield in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts as well as various programs at Farmingville Elementary and East Ridge Middle School. She is currently serving on the Ridgefield Prevention Council. She is an avid cyclist, golfer and reader who loves to travel. 

Meet our New Board Members

The Ridgefield Library is pleased to introduce the following new members of its Board of Directors, who began their service in July 2013. 

William B. “Woody” Harford recently retired as Chief Revenue Officer at private jet operator CitationAir by Cessna. Prior to that he left a 20 year career at British Airways as SVP Commercial Americas.  He is married to long-time Ridgefielder Suni Pedersen Harford and has three children enrolled in the Ridgefield schools. 

George Nichols was born in Stamford.  He graduated from Amherst College and the Harvard Law School, served four years on active duty in the U.S. Navy, and then practiced law for 33 years in Fairfield County. He has lived in Ridgefield since 2004, while holding management positions with the public libraries in Stamford and Westport.

David Schaffer is a corporate partner with the law firm Wiggin and Dana LLP. He practices out of the firm’s Stamford and New York offices and serves as Chair of the firm’s China Practice. David, his wife Michelle and their two daughters Sofia (8) and Natalia (6) moved to Ridgefield from Southern California in 2006. 

We would also like to thank retiring directors Nancy Brandon and Karin Fallon for their invaluable contributions to the Board and the Library.

2013-2014 Library Board of Directors (not pictured: Shane Casey, Philip Lodewick)

 

Bill Wyman Joins Library Board

We are continuing this month with our profiles of new members of the Ridgefield Library Board of Directors. This week we get to know William Wyman, who has a long and rich history of involvement with Ridgefield organizations. Bill and his wife Barbara have lived in Ridgefield since 1975 and have four children, all graduates of the Ridgefield school system.

Bill’s professional career has spanned several areas that will be useful to the Library in its marketing and communications efforts:

• First, focusing on getting consumer products to market (sales and sales management) with companies like Procter & Gamble and Clorox;
• Later, understanding what drives consumers to make decisions (marketing research) with MAJERS and Nielsen;
• Currently, helping organizations as a consultant to market their products more effectively and efficiently.

Of his role on the Library Board, Bill says, “There are a limited number of organizations that truly make a difference in a community-- a good library is one of the most important. Ridgefield’s Library serves a greater percentage of the town’s population annually than any other organization and yet its purpose/role is not understood by many. My goal is to help expand the community’s awareness of the benefits that the Library provides.”

Karin Fallon One of Four New Library Board Members

The Ridgefield Library is pleased to announce that several new members have joined its Board of Directors. This week we introduce Karin Fallon. Karin is shown at right with Bill Wyman, one of the other new directors who will be profiled in coming weeks.

After ten years of corporate experience in the commercial insurance industry, Karin Fallon began to serve various nonprofit organizations in Ridgefield over the last 20 years. She has served on the boards of the Ridgefield Community Kindergarten and the PTA boards of Branchville Elementary, East Ridge Middle School and Ridgefield High School. She is also active in the leadership of her church in Stamford, Connecticut. As a young child, a visit to the town library was a weekly event, and Karin's interest and desire to serve our town library is based on the joy of those experiences and utmost appreciation for the many ways the Ridgefield Library currently serves its community. In Karin's words, “While the education our public school system provides is the basis for the future of our children, it is the library that is the heart of the community, where all are welcome and all are served. I am honored to be a part of this great tradition by becoming a member of the Ridgefield Library board.”

This week we introduce the 2nd new person who has joined the Ridgefield Library Board of Directors this summer. Beverley Rogers moved to Ridgefield in 1993 and fell in love with our town. Ridgefield was so very different from Brooklyn, New York, where Bev grew up. Bev is an attorney with offices in Ridgefield and White Plains, New York. She graduated from Pace University School of Law in 1998 and was admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York. “My first job out of law school was working for an attorney in Stamford. I worked for him for almost two years and decided I’d be happier working for myself. I was right.”

When Attorney Rogers considered whether to open her practice of law in White Plains or Ridgefield, her decision was fairly easy. “I loved living in Ridgefield. I thought that since Ridgefield was a great place to live, it would probably be a great place to work. I was active in the community and having my own practice gave me flexibility in my daily schedule. I am co-president of the Ridgefield Discovery Center, a nature and historical organization in Ridgefield, and I am also on the Board of Directors of the Ridgefield VNA.

“I am very pleased to have been appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Ridgefield Library. I look forward to working with the library’s director, Chris Nolan, my colleagues on the board, and the library staff as we focus on how best to meet the needs of our patrons in the future. I hope everyone in town will help support the library as we expand our facilities. The library is one of Ridgefield’s treasures, and I look forward to helping preserve it and its importance to our community in the future.”

Each June, the Ridgefield Library Association’s Board of Directors gets an infusion of fresh energy, when new directors are elected to this group of talented and dedicated volunteers who provide governance to the organization. We are pleased to introduce our two newest Board members, the first of which is profiled this week.

Eileen Walker has a long history of professional and volunteer leadership which will be an important asset to the Library. She has already shown her commitment to the organization through her service for the past year on our capital campaign steering committee and will bring valuable professional human resources experience to the personnel committee. “My support and interest in community, literacy and education make this opportunity a natural fit for me,” Eileen notes.

After graduating from Cornell University with an AB in Industrial Psychology and an MBA concentrating on Organizational Theory, Eileen began an 18-year career with IBM in Human Resources. In 1994 Eileen left IBM and shifted her energy to local activities.

Eileen has served on the Boards of many area organizations, including the Ridgefield Community Kindergarten and The Harvey School in Katonah, NY. When the Branchville Elementary School re-opened, she became Co-President of the Branchville PTA and served in that capacity for two years.

Eileen is also very involved with the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association, joining its Development Committee in April 2006 and its Board of Directors and Business Development Committee in October 2006. In July 2007, Eileen became President of the Board of the newly formed Western Connecticut Youth Ballet Company, which promotes excellence in dance for young people who want to pursue a professional career in ballet.

Eileen stays involved with Cornell University, serving on numerous alumni and advisory councils and as the current President of the Class of 1976.

Eileen is married to Jay Walker, and they have two grown children. They have lived in Ridgefield since 1990.