By Ellen de Saint Phalle, Member, Board of Trustees, The Bronxville Historical Conservancy

Jan. 17, 2018:  More than 100 members of The Bronxville Historical Conservancy ("BHC") gathered for the annual meeting and holiday reception at Siwanoy Country Club on December 13. Co-chairs Erin Saluti and Jack Bierwirth highlighted the year’s accomplishments, including the Brendan Gill Lecture with Mo Rocca and Linda Greenhouse, The Crows Nest house tour, the annual boat trip around Manhattan, and the third Ghosts of Bronxville event. William Zambelli presented his final report as treasurer, as he will succeed Jack Bierwirth as co-chair in 2018. 

Erin Saluti thanked Jack Bierwirth for his service as co-chair. Remarking on his outstanding leadership, Saluti said, “His most important bequest was establishing a strong working relationship between the BHC and The Bronxville School and setting us on a path to further this partnership, particularly through his involvement with National History Day.” 

Saluti also introduced five new BHC board members:  Tina Adams, Chris Goff, Jennifer Russo, Morgan Seamark, Bob Shearer, and Lyndal Vermette.  Tina Adams has lived in Bronxville for 13 years and served on the Ghosts of Bronxville committees in 2015 and 2017; she will assume the role of co-chair of Ghosts 2019. Chris Goff has lived in Bronxville since 1983. Recently retired from a career in law in the publishing industry, Goff serves on the board of directors of the Friends of the Bronxville Public Library. Jennifer Russo is a trustee of The Bronxville School and worked on the 2015 and 2017 Ghosts of Bronxville committees. Morgan Seamark is a managing director at Havas, a large New York advertising agency. He is raising his family in Bronxville’s oldest house, the Abijah Morgan House, believed to have been built in 1820. Bob Shearer has enjoyed a long career in law and finance and has shared his professional expertise with numerous village volunteer committees and organizations. Shearer is serving as chair of the Bronxville Board of Assessment Review.  Lyndal Vermette is a working artist and active volunteer in the Bronxville Elementary School.  She has served on the Ghosts of Bronxville committee in 2015 and junior chair in 2017.  Lyndal will assume the role of co-chair of The Ghosts of Bronxville, 2019. 

The evening’s program also featured the presentation of the 2017 Preservation Award. Sarah Normand, chair of the board of trustees of the Bronxville Public Library, accepted the award on behalf of the Bronxville Public Library’s art collection. The art collection was selected as a demonstration of excellence in stewardship, as well as preservation, restoration, and conservation. "This award is particularly meaningful in that it recognizes 'stewardship,'" remarked Normand. "So many community members over the years played a part in the restoration, cataloguing, appraisal, security, and overall conservation of this collection." She thanked members of the Friends of the Library, the trustees of the library, and curator Jayne Warman for their efforts in preserving this important collection of American paintings, drawings, sculpture, etchings, and prints and securing Bronxville’s history as an art colony.   

Saluti concluded the program by announcing plans for 2018, the BHC’s 20th anniversary year. With art as the theme, the BHC is planning a series of mini-programs, publications, and special events, including 20 Years on the 20th, a gala dinner on October 20, 2018, at Siwanoy Country Club. The year-long celebration will commence on January 21 with a family-focused event at The Bronxville School. Students and their families will work with architect Steven Schwartz from Building Blocks Workshop to recreate 50 Bronxville homes and public buildings with LEGO.

For more information on The Bronxville Historical Conservancy’s 20th-anniversary programs and events, please go to www.b-h-c.org.

Pictured here: The Bronxville Historical Conservancy's annual meeting and holiday reception at Siwanoy Country Club.

Photo courtesy The Bronxville Historical Conservancy