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.
