Offered By: Representatives Donahue of Northfield and Grad of Moretown

NO. R-511Page 1

NO. R-511. House concurrent resolution congratulating the founders of the GrayBuilding Coalition in Northfield on receipt of a community achievement award.

(H.C.R.330)

Offered by: Representatives Donahue of Northfield and Grad of Moretown

Offered by: Senators Cummings, Doyle and Scott

Whereas, for many generations, starting in 1874, the NorthfieldGradedSchool was the primary education hub for young children in the WashingtonCounty town of Northfield, and

Whereas, by the 1990s, it was apparent that Northfield needed a modern building to serve its scholastic needs, and this impressive, but by now very antiquated, old white schoolhouse’s doors were shut tight in 1994, and

Whereas, before disaster alarms tolled for this grand edifice, three leading citizens of Northfield stepped up to the challenge and started the Gray Building Coalition, and the dream of creating an active community center in the old school has now become a miraculous reality, and

Whereas, these three visionary founders and incorporators of the Gray Building Coalition and their primary roles were Anne Gould, who served as the coalition’s board chair, Margaret Clarke Donahue Davis, who was the secretary, and Kerri Hoffman its treasurer, and

Whereas, their efforts, in tandem with those of additional coalition members who they recruited and consulting professionals who provided the expertise and technical support needed to make their dream a reality, paid major dividends when the building, after a major fundraising campaign and construction effort, opened in 2005 as a community center for nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and the community at large, and

Whereas, the first board president, Anne Gould, has resided in Northfield for over two decades, and

Whereas, from 1999 through 2001, she served as president of the Northfield Community School Organization, and

Whereas, from 2001 to 2004, Anne Gould expanded her connection with the local public school system when she held a seat on the Northfield School Board, and she remains involved in programs associated with NorthfieldHigh School as a member of its Booster Club and through her work on other parent-teacher-student activities, and

Whereas, secretary Margaret Clarke Donahue Davis became a permanent town resident in 1990, but her ties to the town date back to her first summer residency in Northfield in 1923, and

Whereas, her community activities during her years as a permanent Northfield resident have focused in large measure on youth- and arts-related programs and organizations as did her role as a grant writer, and

Whereas, she served as a board member of the Northfield Youth Center, and was a founder of both the Greater Northfield Arts Activities Group and of the Study Partners, a collaborative mentoring program with Norwich University that partners Norwich University students as study partners for local youths, and

Whereas, more recently Margaret Clarke Donahue Davis has served as a member of the Northfield Senior Center, the Northfield Historical Society, and R.S.V.P. of Central Vermont’s Advisory Board, and

Whereas, founding treasurer Kerri Hoffman is a comparative newcomer to Northfield, having only arrived in 2000, but she immediately took a strong interest in efforts to improve the town’s quality of life, both through her role in the Gray Building Coalition and as a member of the Downtown Development Committee of Northfield, and

Whereas, Kerri Hoffman’s other community roles have also drawn on her numeric skills as she has held the position of treasurer for a number of other local organizations, including the Northfield Amateur Hockey Association, the Association of VT Conservation Committees, and St. Mary’s Nursery School, and she has performed bookkeeping services on a pro bono basis for several area businesses, and

Whereas, each of these remarkable women was extremely proud when Governor Douglas presented a community development award to Northfield, recognizing the effort that led to the GrayBuilding’s restoration and rebirth, now therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:

That the General Assembly congratulates the founders of the Gray Building Coalition in Northfield on Northfield’s receipt of a community achievement award, and be it further

Resolved: That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Anne Gould, Margaret ClarkeDonahue Davis, and Kerri Hoffman in Northfield.