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Printed From Acorn-Online.com Greenwich Post Among the backcountry trees and rolling hills of Conyers Farm, it was the manicured lawn of Rick Fuscone and his wife Marjorie Cheney Fuscone that played stage to the “spirit of Greenwich” Tuesday evening.
An annual event for the town’s YWCA, the Spirit of Greenwich Awards pay tribute to the volunteerism of Greenwich women. Unlike the organization’s BRAVA awards, which focus on the work done in women’s professional lives, the fall honors are bestowed for what is done in their personal lives. They’ve been handed out since 1994. “The Spirit of Greenwich Awards seeks to recognize and honor women volunteers in vision, devotion and accomplishment that enhance our community,” said Chris Hikawa, chairwoman of the YWCA Board of Directors, just before introducing the recipients at Tuesday’s ceremony. The work of this year’s recipients ranges from organizing fashion shows to benefit the Breast Cancer Alliance to becoming the first female president of the Church Council of Second Congregational Church. The 2007 honorees include Pamela A. Farr, Elise Hillman Green, Phyllis Jacob, Patricia B. McDonald, Linda Munger, Brita Darany von Regensburg, Nancy Voye Weissler and Martha “Muffin” Zoubek. Women received a gift from the YWCA, “Spirit” certificate, citations from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Mr. Nickerson, and a congratulatory letter from United States Congressman Christopher Shays. As each recipient was introduced to the crowd of more than 100, each expressed gratitude to the organizations to which they had and continue to serve, as well as the people who helped them along the way.
Pamela A. Farr “Despite a gratifying professional career, I clearly received the most satisfaction from assisting not-for-profit organizations in my own community,” Ms. Farr said. “One thing, however, that I am absolutely sure of is that none of us do the things we do without the help and support of so many others.” Nominated by Jody-Lynn Breakell of the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross, Ms. Farr has a background in management consulting in the profit and nonprofit sectors. She has been a volunteer with the American Red Cross since 1997 and was named the first national American Red Cross volunteer chairwoman for finance in 2004. She became president of the local chapter’s board of directors in 2001, a year in which she also served as a member of the Tri-State Metropolitan New York Disaster Response Design Team and the 9/11 Recovery Program Advisory Council. Ms. Farr volunteers on a national level for two arts groups. Locally, she has been president of the parents’ association and member of the board of trustees at Convent of the Sacred Heart, and has co-chaired the luncheon and fashion show for the Breast Cancer Alliance. Ms. Farr also developed the Corporate Donor Program as a member of the Antiquarius Committee for the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich.
Elise Hillman Green Apologizing for reading her speech, Ms. Hillman Green jokingly explained to the crowd, “When you are the spirit of Greenwich, you’re a very busy girl, so there’s no time for memorizing your speech.” The mother of four young children, Ms. Hillman Green has been on the Greenwich Academy Alumnae Board for more than 15 years and was president of the Alumnae Association for a three-year term. In that capacity, she co-chaired various capital campaigns, annual fund appeals and special gifts. She has also been a member of the school’s Diversity Steering Committee. She is very active at Greenwich Country Day, her other Greenwich alma mater, and has been involved with the Junior League of Greenwich for the past 16 years, recently being recognized with the group’s Phyllis Finn Mentor Award. Ms. Hillman Green also has been on the United Way of Greenwich Sole Sisters Committee, the Greenwich Land Trust’s Go Wild! and Junior committees, and other committees in town and in Manhattan, N.Y. She also has served as hostess for the Historical Society’s Antiquarius House Tour. Upon accepting her award, Ms. Hillman Green said that everyone has the responsibility to give back to the community from which they come.
Phyllis Jacob Having moved to Greenwich 41 years ago, Ms. Jacob — who at the awards ceremony acknowledged the support of her husband, three children and seven grandchildren — immediately embarked on decades’ worth of service, serving as president of various nonprofit organizations. They include serving on the boards of the Friends of Sunny Hill, the Women’s Fellowship of Second Congregational Church, the YWCA of Greenwich and the Junior League of Greenwich. She was also the first woman president of the Second Congregational Church Council. Ms. Jacob has also been chairwoman of the town’s Board of Social Services, and has lead fund-raisers for Greenwich Library and the Red Cross. She and her husband are on the board of Heart Care International Inc.
Patricia B. McDonald The first president of Hill House, the senior home in Riverside, Ms. McDonald first volunteered with the elderly at The Nathaniel Witherell in 1969. She returned to the Hill House board of directors in 1998 and has chaired its fund-raising committee since. Ms. Jacob has been Community Answers’ information manager from 1976 to 1985 and executive director of the Greenwich Arts Council from 1985 to 1996. While her daughter was in school, Ms. Jacob served as president of the parent-teacher associations at Riverside, Eastern Middle and Greenwich High schools. She has also worked with the United Way, Greenwich Library, the Junior League of Greenwich, her parish council and the region’s agency on aging. “Volunteers make good things happen and we have a lot of fun doing it,” Ms. McDonald said.
Linda Munger Ms. Munger has worked with the Bruce Museum for 10 years, leading fund-raising efforts and strategic directives. She is a longstanding trustee and has chaired the Board of Trustees. She is currently its treasurer. Ms. Munger is on the boards of the Arch Street Teen Center, the Avon Theatre and the Historical Society, as well as the Harvard Business School Club of Connecticut Community Partners. She also participates in fund raising for many town groups. Among other leadership roles, she is a founding member of Northwestern University’s Council of 100, a group of alumnae who provide networking, mentoring and leadership development for young women on campus. “There’s no better feeling than being given the opportunity to make a difference,” Ms. Munger said.
Brita Darany von Regensburg Ms. Darany von Regensburg has advocated for the needs of grown children with autism for more than a decade, founding Friends of Autistic People (FAP) in 1997. A former interior designer and the mother of an autistic daughter, Ms. Darany von Regensburg has served as the nonprofit’s president, bringing internationally renowned autism experts to Greenwich. The latest initiative of FAP is to create the first farm living and learning academy village for grown autistic children in Connecticut. Ms. Darany von Regensburg has also been involved with Kids in Crisis, the Greenwich Library Flinn Gallery, the Red Cross, Greenwich Hospital, the Bruce Museum, Greenwich ARC, and many other groups locally and regionally. She and her husband, Tibor, were honored as Greenwich Volunteer Couple of the Year by the Volunteer Center and the United Way of Fairfield in 2005.
Nancy Voye Weissler Since retiring from a 20-plus-year career as a securities analyst and research director at J.P. Morgan, Ms. Voye Weissler has been active in workplace mentoring and college alumni career counseling programs, as well as being a volunteer consultant for the National Executive Services Corps. She was elected to the school board in 2005, and is secretary and a member of its Executive and Labor Negotiations committees. She is founding co-president of the Greenwich Coalition to Combat Underage Drinking and an advocate for education through a number of school groups She has served on the Representative Town Meeting, the Riverside Garden Club and the Board of Governors of the Riverside Association. “By all of us working together for our community, we’ll succeed in making this the proverbial shining city upon a hill,” Ms. Weissler said.
Martha ‘Muffin’ Zoubek A Greenwich native, Ms. Zoubek, who said her family mantra is “do it for the love,” has been co-chairwoman of the Bruce Museum for the past three years and has been on the board of directors for nine. She has chaired multiple committees, edited exhibition catalogues and won awards for her service. As curator of education in the 1980s, Ms. Zoubek founded the museum’s education department and launched the Brucemobile, an outreach program to schools and the community. She is active at Greenwich Country Day, Greenwich High School, the Arch Street Teen Center, the Breast Cancer Alliance, the Greenwich Choral Society and the Green Fingers Garden Club. Ms. Zoubek, president of and singer with the Grace Notes, is a contributing editor to Greenwich Magazine. © Copyright 2007 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers |
