 |
 |
|
Kathryn Roberts |
Richard Greene |
The Board
of Trustees unanimously elected two new officers at the Annual Meeting
on Saturday, May 12, 2007. Kathryn Roberts was elected president to
replace L. Robert Duffy who resigned in January. Richard Greene was
elected Vice President. The positions of secretary and treasurer were
re-instated with incumbents, Paula Moats, a descendant of Rev. Adonijah
Bidwell and long-time board member, Barbara Tryon.
Kathryn Roberts has been a neighbor and friend of the Bidwell House
since 1989 when she and her husband, Marc, purchased their home on Art
School road. She has been on the board since 2001 and enthusiastically
brings her entrepreneurial skills to many areas, especially development
and fund raising.
Since 1973, Ms. Roberts has been active in national and international
business. She started her career as manager of a large sportswear
division for Oxford Industries, importing apparel from Asia. In the mid
80's she was promoted to vice president and developed shop in shop
retail fixtures program for Polo Ralph Lauren Boyswear Division. In
1986, she was founding member of Triangle Woodworks, a company that has
evolved into the largest retail interiors company in the nation.
Following twenty years in retail interiors, Kathryn recently founded
Sequoia Group and Superl Sequoia with three partners to expand into
hospitality, gaming and restaurant interiors. She is often seen walking
her dogs or riding her horses on the Bidwell acres.
Richard Greene's relationship with the Bidwell House began in 1992 with
a tour by first director, Shirley Klute, followed by a second tour the
following year by Lisa Simpson. Greene installed an 18th century flower
garden around the Georgian colonial under the guidance of Bluestone
Perennials who both designed the garden and donated the flowers.
“Bidwell House is so much more than a house with furnishings,” he says.
Greene points out that Bidwell House is decades earlier than Hancock
Shaker Village and unlike other historic homes in the area, it has
occupied the same site on 200 original acres. “Much is known about the
life and times of its builder, The Reverend Adonijah Bidwell and his
descendants who continued to live here for a century.” Greene considers
the house his “second home.”
In 1993, Greene was invited to join the board and is now the longest
serving board member. He is active in board activities and enjoys
maintaining the marked woodland trails with his friend and fellow board
member, George Emmons. Chair of Programming, the position feeds into his
curiosity about history and education. Greene has read widely on
domestic life of pre-industrial New England; in 1989 he attended a four
day workshop at the Washburn Norlands Museum in Livermore, Maine. He has
also been a board member at Hancock Shaker Village.
Greene grew up in Valley Stream, NY, adjacent to JFK Airport and
relishes the quiet of the Berkshires. A graduate of University of Rhode
Island and Albany Medical College, he is board certified in internal
medicine and dermatology. He is clinical instructor at Berkshire Medical
Center, a major teaching center of the University of Massachusetts
medical system. He has been in private practice since 1990. Most
recently he wrote Midnight Rounds,
a medical mystery and his next novel will be released later this year.
|
|
Article first published in the Bidwell House Museum 2007 Newsletter |
|
