Press Release:
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center Elects Four New Trustees
News from Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
May 20, 2014
Contact: Judith Bellamy
judith@brattleboromuseum.org
802-490-2470
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center Elects Four New Trustees
BRATTLEBORO, VT — The members of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) elected four new trustees at the museum’s April 30 annual meeting. They are R. Mark Burke, Christopher Chapman, Margaret Everitt, and Jim Meltzer. In addition, Suzanne Flynt was elected president, replacing Bruce Berg, who had served in that capacity for the past three years.
R. Mark Burke, MD, is a cardiologist and medical director of Cardiovascular Services along with other roles at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH). He is a trustee of the Vermont Arts Council and a former member of Brattleboro’s Town Arts Committee. Burke originated “Art for the Heart,” which brings artwork curated by BMAC into BMH’s cardiology offices. Burke is also an active photographer and a juried member of the Vermont Center for Photography.
Christopher Chapman, a Brattleboro native, has been a principal with the Trust Company of Vermont for the past 14 years. Before joining the BMAC board last year to fill a vacancy, he had served on several boards, state committees, and the Brattleboro Selectboard. “Getting to know the museum up-close-and-personal has been an eye-opener,” Chapman said, noting that he was impressed with BMAC’s wide-ranging and deep connections in the community through its programs and events.
Margaret Everitt of Dummerston, Vermont, served as artistic director of the Opera Company of Philadelphia for 12 years, where she produced seven operas for PBS nationwide broadcasts. Her late husband, Robert Montgomery Scott, was president and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Everitt previously served two three-year terms on the BMAC Board, during which time she played a leadership role in raising the funds to renovate BMAC’s Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason gallery.
Jim Meltzer moved from New York City to Hancock, New Hampshire, in 2006. A retired psychoanalyst, he has collected American folk art and antiques for more than 30 years, focusing on early 19th-century folk portraits painted in New England. Meltzer is on the board of the American Folk Art Society and is a former board member of Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
New BMAC president Suzanne Flynt joined the board in 2011 and has served as both secretary and vice president. A resident of Dummerston, Vermont, she has been the curator of Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts, for over 30 years, where she wrote and published two significant books on Deerfield’s art history. Also a photographer, she is a recent past president of the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro.
Of Flynt’s predecessor, Bruce Berg, BMAC director Danny Lichtenfeld remarked, “Bruce’s presidency has been transformational for the museum. Thanks to Bruce, BMAC has one of the most dedicated, on-task, strategic-thinking, and generous Boards of any organization in the region.”
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, founded in 1972, presents rotating exhibits of contemporary art, complemented by lectures, artist talks, film screenings, and other public programs. The museum’s exhibits and gift shop are open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 11–5; Friday 11–7; and Saturday 10–5. Regular admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for students. Members and children under 6 are admitted free of charge. Located in historic Union Station in downtown Brattleboro, at the intersection of Main Street and Routes 119 and 142, the museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information call 802-257-0124 or visit www.brattleboromuseum.org.
Major support for BMAC is provided by its members and Entergy Vermont Yankee, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, People’s United Bank, Brattleboro Ford Subaru, Whetstone Station Restaurant & Brewery, and Allen Brothers Oil.