Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announces new president
Sheffield — The board of directors of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF) announced Monday (Oct. 26) the appointment of Peter Taylor as president. Taylor, who was selected after a national search, will be the fourth president in the foundation’s nearly 30-year history.
Taylor comes to BTCF from the Maine Community Foundation, a statewide community foundation with $400 million in assets and 1,500 funds, where he currently serves as the vice president of program development and grantmaking services.
In addition to overseeing Maine Community Foundation’s $24 million annual grantmaking, scholarship and impact investing programs, Taylor has led implementation of its three strategic priorities: increasing postsecondary degree attainment, fostering leadership and helping Maine’s environment and downtowns flourish.
With parents in Lenox and a brother recently returned to the Trinity-Pawling School as headmaster, Taylor has strong ties to the Berkshire Taconic region. He will assume his new role at Berkshire Taconic in early January 2016.
Taylor has served in leadership roles and on committees for several national and statewide professional associations, including the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and Maine Philanthropy Center, the statewide association of foundations where he currently serves as board chair. His civic leadership experience includes past appointments to Maine’s Commission for Community Service and its Department of Education’s Citizen Education Task Force.
–E.E.
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Sex trafficking survivor summit to be held at BCC
Pittsfield — Six sex trafficking survivors from around the country, who are leaders in their communities and beyond, will participate in a panel discussion on Thursday, October 29 at 12:15 p.m. in the K-111 Lecture Hall of Berkshire Community College’s Koussevitsky Arts Center. Th event is free and open to the public.
The event will be presented by Shout Out Loud Productions whose founder, Jeanet Ingalls, is a survivor of sex trafficking. The other survivor-leader participants attending the summit are Nikolaos Al-Khadra; Tina Frundt of Washington, D.C.; Shandra Woworuntu of New York City; Margeaux Gray of Kentucky; and Kristy Childs of Kansas. The six will also be special guests at “A World Without Sex Trafficking,” a fundraising dinner which will be held on Friday, October 30 at 6 p.m. at Eastover Estate and Retreat Center and feature a farm-to-table dinner prepared by John Andrews Restaurant chef-owner Dan Smith.
For more information about the summit, email jeanet@shoutoutloudproductions.com. Tickets to the dinner may be purchased online.
–E.E.
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Hopkins Forest welcomes deer hunters
Williamstown — Hopkins Memorial Forest will be open to deer hunting by special permit during the 12-day shotgun season of Monday, November 30 through Saturday, December 12 (excluding Sunday, December 6).
A limited number of complimentary permits will be issued to hunters from local communities. Applications are due back to the Center by Sunday, November 1. They will be evaluated on a first-come, first served basis and permits will be issued to selected hunters by mid-November.
Annually, 75 to 100 hunters are awarded permits to hunt in this research and teaching forest owned by Williams College, which closes the forest to other recreational users during the hunt. Hunter surveys from recent seasons indicate that typically five to 10 deer are harvested from the area each year. Such reductions in the herd help to minimize browse damage to the forest’s understory and herb layer and protect ecological research areas. Due to possible conflicts with other forest uses, no other hunting, aside from the 12-day deer shotgun season, is allowed in Hopkins Forest.
The college gives preference in awarding permits to its neighbors; although, in the past, hunters have come from across the state to hunt the forest’s rugged terrain. Hunters may obtain a no-fee permit application by calling the Center for Environmental Studies at (413) 597-2346 or by e-mailing ajones@williams.edu.
–E.E.
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Southern Berkshire free flu clinics
Great Barrington — Fairview Hospital is sponsoring several public flu clinics in southern Berkshire County in the next two weeks. This clinics will take place:
- Tuesday, October 27, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. in the Fairview Hospital small conference room
- Wednesday, October 28, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., in the Mount Everett Regional High School cafeteria
- Wednesday, November 4, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., in the Monument Valley Regional Middle School gym (offered in collaboration with Berkshire Public Health Alliance)
All residents 6 months of age and older are welcome to receive a flu vaccination at any of the clinics. There is no charge to receive a flu vaccination, although please bring your insurance card if you have one. For more information contact Heather Barbieri at Fairview Hospital at (413) 854-9635.
–E.E.
New BHRSD committee seeks members
Stockbridge — The Berkshire Hills Regional School District School Committee is seeking residents from its three member towns to serve on a Regional Agreement Amendment Committee. The Committee will set a schedule and likely meet regularly for one year. The number of residents requested from each of the member towns are:
- 3 residents from West Stockbridge
- 3 residents from Stockbridge
- 2 residents from Great Barrington
If you would like to be considered to serve on this committee, please send a letter of interest and include your town of residence and contact information to Peter Dillon, Superintendent of Schools at peter.dillon@bhrsd.org or Stephen Bannon, School Committee Chair at scbannon@gmail.com no later than 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 29. The information may also be mailed to Berkshire Hills Regional School District, P. O. Box 617, Stockbridge, MA 01262, Attn: Superintendent’s Office. Please contact the District Office with questions at (413) 298-4017 x19.
–E.E.
