Vermont Historical Society receives two national awards
Dateline: November 5, 2012
Photo Caption: Vermont Historical Society executive director, Mark Hudson, accepted two Leadership in History awards from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). Only 59 awards were conferred nationwide. The Vermont Historical Society won an Award of Merit for A Very Fine Appearance: The Vermont Civil War Photographs of George Houghton, a Vermont Historical Society publication by Donald Wickman and the second Award of Merit for the Vermont History Explorer website (a vital research tool for teachers and students at www.vermonthistory.org/explorer).
Neil Kvasnak of Shelburne was officially voted in to his first term at the Vermont Historical Society Annual Meeting in September. Mr. Kvasnak had served on the VHS Board of Trustees since October 2011, filling an unexpired term. He has over 30 years experience in the financial services industry with an in-depth knowledge of commercial lending, capital markets and investment management. During this time he has been employed by Chemical Bank, Bank of Boston, First Union (now Wells Fargo), KeyBank and most recently UBS Financial Services. He is a Middlebury College graduate with a B.A. in American literature and possesses a strong passion for Vermont’s heritage, particularly Rogers Rangers and the region’s Colonial history.
S. Crocker Bennett II, of Hinesburg, was recently re-elected to the Board of Trustees for the Vermont Historical Society. He is the president and a director of Paul Frank + Collins, P.C. a Burlington law firm. He is a trial lawyer whose practice primarily involves defending physicians and hospitals in malpractice and licensing cases. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1972 with a B.A. in English literature, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. After an eighteen-month stint as a newsman at WCAX-TV in Burlington, he worked toward an M.F.A. at The School of Performing Arts at the University of Southern California, leaving after a year to attend law school at Franklin Pierce Law Center (now UNH School of Law), where he received a J.D. in 1978. Mr. Bennett has served on various boards, including the Westford Planning Commission, the Vermont Judicial Nominating Board, the Mozart Festival and the Vermont Health Foundation. He has written about his Vermont ancestors for the Vermont Judicial Historical Society, collects books by and about Winston Churchill and is an avid clock collector. Crocker served previously on the VHS Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2011.
James “Jim” Gallagher was recently elected to the board of trustees for the Vermont Historical Society. Jim is a native of Lyndonville and a graduate of Lyndon Institute. He graduated from Tufts University and earned a law degree at the Cornell Law School. He received honorable discharges from the U.S. Air Force and the Vermont Air National Guard and has been employed by the law firm of Downs Rachlin Martin for over 40 years. Jim currently serves on the board of the Lyndon Institute, having served as president from 1994-2003. He also serves on the board of the Vermont Bar Foundation, the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital Board of Corporators and is president of the Upright Steeple Society, a historic preservation organization committed to the preservation of a Greek Revival church building in Lyndon. Jim and his wife Susan have two sons, Patrick and Kevin. Jim enjoys fly fishing, gardening, and traveling, while he is learning to play the piano and speak Italian.