The Oliver Wolcott Library Welcomes New Officers and Trustees

Sept. 24, 2012 - PRLog -- The Oliver Wolcott Library welcomes two new trustees and a new slate of officers elected at its annual meeting and subsequent board meeting. Trustees share many responsibilities and play a vital role in ensuring the Oliver Wolcott Library remains a vibrant cultural and educational center that enlightens, entertains and informs. The Board provides strategic vision, oversees its financial needs and responsibilities including fundraising, advocates for the library.

The 2012- 2013 Board includes new officers John Boyd as President, Alan Cohen as Vice President, Patrick Boland as Treasurer and Lynne Sherman as Secretary, as well as Margret Delves Broughton, Kathryn Milano, James Rindos, Susan Spencer, Mary Ellen Spiegel, and James Stedronsky. Completing the twelve board members are two newly elected trustees Emily Dalton and James Huffstetler.

Emily Dalton is the co-founder and Executive Vice President of Jack Black, a premium line of men’s grooming products. Jack Black is the fastest growing prestige men’s grooming brand in the U.S. and is ranked as a top prestige brand in the U.S. She earned her M.B.A. from the University of Texas.  Emily has served on OWL’s annual Festival of Trees for more than five years, and since 2011 has served as the Chair of the Festival. Under her leadership, last year’s Festival had record-breaking attendance and revenue. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Susan B. Anthony Project and chairs the Development Committee.  Recently, she was one of only six women selected by Litchfield Magazine as local “shakers: leaders in business and fashion”. She was also selected to be a featured speaker for the upcoming WOW Forum Conference. Emily lives in Litchfield with her husband and their two daughters.

Jim Huffstetler is the one of the founders of Zero Odor LLC, a company that markets and distributes a ling of breakthrough odor control products under the Zero Odor brand name. Zero Odor is based in Litchfield. He is also a founder and partner in Free Enterprise LLC, an advertising agency that is honored to work with clients such as Select Comfort, maker of the Sleep Number Bed, and HealthGrades. Free Enterprise is based in Connectcticut and New York. Prior to his entrepreneurship, Jim worked for a number of years in the marketing and advertising industry. He has served on the Festival of Trees since 2011, and this year is the Chair of the Program Ads Committee for the Festival. He was instrumental in achieving a significant growth in ad revenue for the Festival program. Jim lives in Litchfield with his wife Trish O’Reilly and their two sons.

New OWL Board President John Boyd recently retired from the Connecticut Junior Republic where he served as the Executive Director. The Connecticut Junior Republic provides residential, education, in-home and community-based services for at-risk and special needs young people at ten locations in Connecticut.  He is past President of the Children’s League of CT, served on the CT Judicial Selection Commission and been active in state and national children’s advocacy organizations. John received a B.S. from Bradley University and a M.S. in Community Mental Health from Northern Illinois University. He and his wife Colette have lived in Litchfield for 35 years.    

Alan Cohen is a retired Toyota executive and corporate lawyer. While with Toyota he served in various positions including Vice President General Counsel of Toyota Financial Services, Vice President Law and Public Policy in Toyota’s Washington D.C. office and with Toyota’s holding company for U.S. manufacturing and sales.  Alan is an adjunct professor at the graduate and undergraduate level at Sacred Heart University and Albertus Magnus College, and continues to consult with a Toyota group automobile supplier on various legal and business issues.  Alan was a director and the secretary of the not-for-profit Litchfield Hills Food Systems, Inc.  He is a graduate of UCLA Graduate School of Management Executive Program, and obtained his J.D. Southwestern School of Law, a B.A. from California State University Los Angeles.  Alan and his wife, Martha Green, have been Litchfield residents since 2002.  

OWL Board Treasurer Patrick J. Boland is a resident of Litchfield and is a retired Managing Director of Credit Suisse First Boston. He is also the Board President of the Connecticut Junior Republic. He was the chairman of the First National Bank of Litchfield until the bank was sold to Union Savings Bank in April of 2010, and is currently the chairman of the Union Savings Bank Foundation. Pat holds a BS degree from the State University of NY at Buffalo and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He worked for over 30 years as a banker in New York City. Mr. Boland began his banking career in 1974 with J.P. Morgan and Company.

OWL Board Secretary Lynne C. Sherman, has been a member of the Library's Board of Trustees since 2009 and was co-chair of the Festival of Trees from 2005-2010. Since 2011, Lynne has served as the Chair of the Library’s Annual Fund Drive. Lynne attended Elmira College for Secondary Education, Central Connecticut College for Special Education and taught for several years in both Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Lynne is a member of the Litchfield Garden Club and lives in Litchfield with her husband, Alan. They have two children and three granddaughters.