Congratulations and Sympathy,
compiled by Edd Merritt
April 8, 2010, page 23

Congratulations

to Roxanne Butler Gignoux and Sam Gignoux of Hinesburg on the birth of their daughter, Phoebe Claudine Gignoux, on March 20 at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington. The daughter of Diane Butler, Roxanne grew up in Charlotte.

to Megan Dodge, a second-year student at Syracuse University College of Law, who earned placement on the Dean’s List for the first semester, ranking academically in the top 25 percent of her class.

to Cameron Davis, painter and lecturer in art and art history at the University of Vermont whose essay appeared in the “I Believe” section of the April 4 Burlington Free Press. Davis advocated incorporating the arts in responses to the huge challenges facing mankind through such things as global warming, city and community planning, sustainability and the like. She says that she believes the arts play an important role in “orienting us toward compassion for Earth and the community of life.” She favors a coming together in communities of all sorts of individuals – “thinkers, feelers, makers, doers, lovers, seekers, celebrators and innovators” in order to “summon our greatest intellect, creativity and joy, loosening the paralysis, providing synergistic actions.”

to Mark Nash and the Vermont Stage Company who received a $5,000 Vermont Community Foundation Award. The foundation granted a total of $281,250 to 60 nonprofit organizations as part of its Community Fund Grant Program. The program supports, among other things, “Successful Communities” that include organizations involved in the arts, humanities and cultural heritage, environment and economic development. The Vermont Stage Company was one of ten such organizations recognized in Chittenden County. All grants are intended to provide general operating support.

to Charlotte resident William Gourlay who was hired recently by NRG Systems, Inc., as an embedded software engineer. He comes to the firm from General Motors Powertrain in Michigan. Gourlay earned a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and is pursuing a master’s degree in energy systems engineering. A gardener and home-repairer, he recently discovered the joys of home brewing.

to Elizabeth Richards, a student at Rice Memorial High School who served as a costumer in the school’s recent production of the one-act play The Bottle Imp. The play was Rice’s entry into the annual one-act play festival held at Harwood Union High School in early March.

to Dylan Woolf who was named “Volunteer of the Week” by the Burlington Free Press in its April 5 issue. Dylan was cited for his work with the Vermont Resettlement Program (VRRP) to which he devotes four or five days per week organizing storage space in its warehouse and office. Dylan lives in Charlotte with his mother, Laurie Stavrand.

to Bill Leckerling, attorney with the firm of Lisman, Webster and Leckerling, who along with two of his colleagues was selected as one of New England’s Super Lawyers for 2009. Leckerling specializes in employment law.

to Jesse Price, co-author of EatingWell Comfort Foods Made Healthy published by The Countryman Press, which has been nominated for a 2010 James Beard Foundation Award in the category of “Healthy Focus.” These prestigious awards go to professionals in the food and beverage industry.

to the Borracano family members who won first place in the best costumes contest for their bumblebee attire, to Hadley Murphy and her dog Lula for winning second place, and to all the dogs and their handlers who won red ribbons for participating in the first annual CCS PTO Dog Show on March 20.

to Genni Patane, Kiki Hollender and Will Strausser, students at the Vermont Commons School, who joined with the Very Merry Theatre to perform in a recent production of the musical comedy, Thoroughly Modern Millie, in the Black Box Theater at Burlington’s Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center. This was the first year Vermont Commons School has worked with the Very Merry troupe.

Sympathy

is extended to family and friends of Virginia Meyerson of Shelburne who passed away April 1 at the age of 96. An artist and photographer in New York, Meyerson moved to Charlotte in 1976, later moving on to Wake Robin in Shelburne where she lived at the time of her death.