Punctuating a summer of considerable upheaval, the Vineyard Trust announced changes in board leadership Tuesday, and said it had launched a search for a new executive director.
The Trust also said it had established a series of new committees to “ensure operational transparency and to include broader representation from the Island community,” according to a press release.
John Klein of Edgartown has been named new board chairman, the release said. Mr. Klein is described as an experienced chief executive who has led public companies and chaired the advisory board for the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard.
“I could not be prouder to take on the leadership role for this most important Island organization,” Mr. Klein said in part in the release.
He takes over for chairman Patrick Ahearn, who remains on the board of trustees, according to the Trust website.
The Trust, which owns and manages 20 historic properties around the Island, has been in the public spotlight this summer, beginning with the abrupt departure of its president and executive director following the discovery that documents had been altered in applications for public funding for restoration work on two signature Trust properties.
Executive director Funi Burdick resigned in early June. Meanwhile, Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding has been placed on hold for restoration projects at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown and the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs, and a police investigation remains ongoing into irregularities surrounding the CPA applications.
In the upbeat press release Tuesday, the Trust announced that new officers had been elected at the annual meeting on an unspecified date this month, that a search is under way for a new executive director, that visitor traffic is well up at Trust properties this summer, that a fundraising campaign is under way to raise money for the work on the Whaling Church, and that Alley’s General Store is set to open — soon.
Few details were provided on any of the topics.
The release said the Trust had formed a search committee to recruit a new executive director, with a job description appearing on the Trust website.
The five new board committees include finance and audit, properties, special events, trustees and governance, and community outreach, according to the release.
The release also reports that a grass-roots fundraising campaign is underway “to ensure the restoration of the Old Whaling Church with work commencing in October,” according to a statement from Mr. Klein. No details are provided about the genesis of the campaign or how much money has been raised.
Finally, the release also indicated that Alley’s General Store, the famed Dealers in Almost Everything in the heart of the West Tisbury village which has been shuttered all summer, will be reopening soon — although no date is specified.
“The restoration work and structural repairs at Alley’s General Store . . . have been completed with the focus now on finishing touches, installations and stocking in preparation for a grand re-opening in the near future,” said interim Trust president Sally Rorer in the press release.
Michael Levandowski, co-owner of LeRoux in Vineyard Haven who with his wife and business partner April has taken over the Alley’s lease, said in the release: “April and I are delighted to have the opportunity to operate this iconic Island general store and we look forward to welcoming the community when we open.”
Mr. Levandowski was a board member for the Trust at the time the Alley’s lease was signed. According to the Trust website, he is no longer a member of the board.
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