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Montpelier Alive Thanks Our Legacy Member
Board of Directors
Top Row: Executive Director Suzanne Eikenberry,Linn Syz, Pinky Clark. Bottom Row: Greg Gossens, Jon Anderson, Rob Hitzig, Colleen Paull, Greg Guyette, Shawn Bryan, Peter Ricker. Missing: James Bressor, John Mayfield, Brooke Pearson
Shawn Bryan, President
Community Member
Shawn Bryan retired from National Life in January, 2009. He is the Treasurer and a board member of the Vermont Green Building Network, on the board of the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) and serves on the board of the Montpelier Alive, Chairing the Economic Restructuring Committee. Shawn has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Norwich University and is a lifelong resident of central Vermont, currently residing in Berlin. He has held senior management positions in the administrations of both Richard Snelling and Howard Dean and with Cabot Cooperative and National Life. He has been an active advocate for sustainable business operations and management, local food through the Community Supported Agriculture Movement (CSA) and when he has spare time rides motorcycles on long trips.
Linn Syz, Past President
Vermont River Conservancy
A high school social studies teacher for twenty-three years, Linn started work in the nonprofit world in 1998 at the New England Grassroots Environment Fund where she was a grant reviewer and program administrator for eight years. She is currently the Office Manager for the Vermont River Conservancy. Besides the Montpelier Alive, Linn volunteers as a fundraiser for the Vermont Mountaineers, a collegiate summer baseball league, and is a reading mentor in the Everybody Wins! program at Union Elementary. She fills her spare time playing tennis and broomball (captain of her team), working in her gardens, biking, kayaking and sailing. She and her husband, Stephan, have two grown sons who live in California.
Rob Hitzig, Vice-President
The Lazy Pear Gallery
Rob Hitzig is a Montpelier artist and gallery owner since 2005. In 2008 he was awarded "Volunteer of the Year" by the State of Vermont for his work in promoting the arts in Montpelier through his work in organizing SculptCycle 2008 and the Montpelier Art Walks. Prior to moving to Vermont, Rob worked for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC and was a forester with the Peace Corps in West Africa.
Claire Benedict, Secretary
Bear Pond Books
Peter Ricker, Treasurer
Denis, Ricker & Brown Insurance
Jon Anderson
Burak, Anderson & Melloni
A Board member of Montpelier Alive since it was founded and past President, Jon practices law in several areas in which he can use his engineering background and problem solving and project management approaches to serve clients. These areas include complex real estate projects and transactions including, especially, permitting and siting, litigation (especially over technical issues such as contaminated sites liability and clean up, valuation of complex property), administrative law including defense of environmental enforcement actions, utility regulation, environmental law, solid waste disposal including permitting and siting, land use including Vermont’s Act 250, and zoning. Jon has been designated as one of the best lawyers in America in the field of environmental law. Jon served as a member of the Montpelier City Council for eight years and represented Montpelier in the Vermont House of Representatives. With his wife Betsy, Jon owns Betsy’s Bed & Breakfast. They have two children, Tyler and Katie.
Justin Bourgeois
Community National Bank
Pinky Clark
Community Member
Pinky Clark owned Minuteman Press for 25 years, selling it in 2005. He is on the Montpelier Alive Promotions Committee, a member of the MDCA Montpelier Business Association, co-coordinator for Green Up Montpelier, and is chairman of the Montpelier Flower Committee. Pinky works in Food Service for Montpelier Public Schools, as well as owning his own delivery and courier service, Thinkin’ Pink. He was elected Montpelier Citizen of the Year in 2008 by the Montpelier Rotary Club.
Greg Gossens
Bachman Gossens Architects
Greg Guyette
Kiosko, Inc
Greg Guyette is a lifelong member of the Central Vermont community. He is a former member of the Montpelier City Council and currently serves as the Montpelier Alive’s Promotions Committee Chairperson. Greg is passionate about the preservation and promotion of Montpelier’s rich history and architecture which he describes as “distinctive attributes that define our downtown as an exceptional place to work, shop and socialize”. As the parent of a Montpelier middle school student, Greg is closely involved with the Montpelier school system and has served as an “Everybody Wins” student mentor for several years. Greg is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kiosko Inc., a Vermont-based millwork company.
John Mayfield
Julio’s Cantina
John Mayfield lives in Barre, Vermont with his wife, Shannon and his daughter, Madelyn. He has been involved in the Vermont hospitality and travel industry since he moved to the Green Mountain state from New York in 1978. His professional experience includes time at Killington Ski Resort as Vice President of Resort Operations and New England Culinary Institute as Chief Operating Officer. John and his wife Shannon are the proud owners of Julio's Cantina on State Street and are extremely pleased to be part of
Montpelier's wonderful downtown.
Suzanne Rexford-Winston
Union Institute and University
Suzanne Rexford-Winston is a local artist, educator and Assistant Director of Admissions for Union Institute & University, Montpelier Center. She is a graduate of Montpelier High School, Johnson State College and Lesley College. She has lived in Central Vermont all her adult life and watched Downtown Montpelier grow into the vibrant, busy place it is today. Suzanne and her husband Jon originated the Drawing Board art supply and frame shop on Barre St. in 1975, moved it to its present location and sold to Ray and Jody Brown in 1982. Suzanne’s roots are deep in Vermont and it would be her pleasure to be part of an organization working to care for and promote its beautiful capital city.