Monday, January 23, 2012

Nominees for First Unitarian Church Positions


Listed below are the nominees for the Church elections that will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, along with a brief biography of each.

Moderator  - Scott Hayman. Scott, his wife Cassandra Datena, and their children, Madeline and William, live in Worcester and have been active in the church for more than 10 years. Scott taught Sunday School for many years and has served as a BYKOTA Advisor, Assessor, and Vice Moderator. He has also organized special event fundraisers and participated on a variety of task forces, including, most recently, the Future Ministries task force. Scott and his family enjoy a number of church activities, including Monday Night at the Church, the annual Ferry Beach retreat with the Holden Street Church, and the Mt. Wachusett climb.

Vice Moderator - Seth Popinchalk. Seth grew up in a UU church in West Hartford, CT. He joined First U with his wife Sue and two daughters, Kate and Lauren, in 2009.  Since joining the church Seth has served on the Lay Leadership Council as well as the RE Search Committee that found Jessica Gray. He works as a manager at MathWorks and volunteers in the Worcester Public Schools to promote engineering and science.

Clerk - Jay Lavelle. Jay has been clerk of the parish for 8 years.  A life-long Unitarian, Jay coordinates the summer lay-led services and the NYC trips. He also serves on the Ministerial Review Committee and assists the Tibetan Teachings group. When not at church, Jay is a software engineer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, president of the Worcester County Poetry Association, and an aspiring yoga student.

Treasurer - Karen Reilly. Karen has been a member of First U since 1996, a Unitarian since 1988. She has taught in the Sunday School, is currently active in the Women's Group and the Women's Bridge Club, occasionally records the service, and has served as Assistant Treasurer for one year. She works as the Associate Director of Library Services at Holy Cross and has two grown children, Kaitlyn (23) and William (18).

Assistant Treasurer - Lisa McCarthy. Lisa has been self-employed as a bookkeeping consultant for several local non-profits for the last 7 years. Her previous work experience includes many years as a Medical Office Manager and Medical Secretary for two private practices and at Umass Memorial Hospital and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Lisa enjoys volunteering in the Girl Scouts with her daughter Amelia and attending live music performances with her husband/drummer Rick.

Head Trustee of Parish Funds - Jeanine Beratta. Jeanine has been a member of the church for about four years. She has served for two years as a Trustee and was involved in the development of the current investment policy statement. Jeanine is a financial advisor and enjoys hiking in her free time.

Head Assessor - Wendy Innis. Wendy was raised in the First Unitarian Church and returned as an active member eight years ago. She always has her dog, Thompson, with her and is happy to talk about her five grandchildren. She is looking forward to the challenge of finding the funding to support the church budget.

Assessor. Kate O'Dell. Kate became a UU in 1986, after attending a humanistic conference at a UU church in Pittsburgh. In various congregations, she has participated in a variety of ways, including as treasurer, board member, and RE teacher. Professionally, Kate is on the faculty at UMass Medical Center, where she works as a nurse-midwife.  She would be delighted to have an opportunity to support First U in the historic and interesting role of assessor.

Trustee of Parish Funds - Michael Keating. Michael is the owner for over 45 years of Keating Enterprises, Inc., a Landscape design, construction and maintenance company.  He has a Master's Degree from Clark where he focused in on Emersonian Philosophy. He has spent most of his life helping his church in any way he could: participating in choirs, fund raising, and in various services. He also spent over 20 years involved in libraries, first as a trustee and president of the Worcester Public Library as then as a State Commissioner.

Lay Leadership Council (3 nominees for 3 open positions).

Laura Kirshenbaum. Laura has been a member of First U since 2008.  She and her wife, Shannon, have two children, Hazel (3) and Emerson (1). Since joining the church she has taught Spirit Play classes, served on the Lay Leadership Council, and served on the 2010 RE Search Committee to find our new Director of Faith Development. Laura is a 6th grade Science teacher in Marlborough and was recently elected to serve on the Middle Level Commission of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEAS&C).

Linda Wyatt. Linda is a speech-language pathologist and writer and has been a member of the choir and the Court Hill singers for about nine years. She taught RE throughout the years since becoming a member in 2005. Currently she is on the Faith Development and Family Ministries Team and Caring Community Task Force and is serving as a BYKOTA advisor. She co-hosted the 2011 Winter Gala and is chairperson for the 2012 Gala.

Gene Johnson. Gene is a retired social worker who, with his wife Gini, moved to Worcester twelve years ago from Oregon. He is a volunteer for the Department of Children and Families as a case reviewer, and he also works with a group of people who assist the Lost Boys of the Sudan. He and Gini have been members of First U for over four years and actively contribute to MNATC.

Nominating Committee (2 nominees for 2 open positions).

David Spanagel. David, a professor of history at WPI, has been singing in the choir at First Unitarian since 2001. He signed the membership book in 2004. In 2005 David began his involvement in cultivating parish leadership as a one-year fill-in on the Nominating Committee, and since then he has served as an Assessor, Vice-Moderator, and, most recently, church Moderator.

Steve Knox. Steve has been a member of First Unitarian for 21 years and has served the congregation in a variety of committee positions and strategic roles. He is a software engineering manager who sings in the choir. He would be pleased to participate once again on the nominating committee.

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