provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The Sanibel Historical Village held its annual meeting of members last week at which three new board members were elected. After the meeting, the board elected officers. New to the board are Gary Kebbekus, James C. LaVelle, and Celina Kersh Monte-Sano.
Kebbekus spent 31 years with Industrial Towel & Uniform, 16 of which were in the IT Department. He managed the direct sales, screen print and embroidery division for 10 years. In the IT Department, his duties included managing the company’s corporate identity and logo usage, managing the Help Desk and training for remote laptop users. Outside of work, Kebbekus managed for 10 years all of the Apple computers for his church along with recommendations for equipment and network upgrades. He also served on various church boards and committees.
LaVelle worked for 35 years in commercial banking in Chicago, New York, and Milwaukee. He holds degrees in Finance from the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago. In Milwaukee, he was president of the United Performing Arts Fund, board member of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. On Sanibel, he is president of the Committee of the Islands, board member of Rotary Club of Sanibel, treasurer of League of Women Voters of Sanibel, a member of Captiva Island Yacht Club, and a member of the Current Events Discussion Group.
Kersh Monte-Sano has worked for approximately 40 years in architectural design, planning, project management, and in corporate facilities management in the New York City area. Prior to her retirement in the spring of 2017, she spent 10 years as the Overseas Property Manager at the United Nations in New York, which entailed large-scale building projects, their funding, construction, and/or renovation globally. She was a member of the Junior League in Larchmont and also served as a religious instructor and Girl Scout leader. On Sanibel, she helped the BIG ARTS Construction Committee and is a member of the Dunes Tennis & Golf Club, the Captiva Island Yacht Cub, BIG ARTS, the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, and the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Four new officers were elected at the board meeting following the Annual Meeting.
Bill Rahe was elected to serve as president of the board. A docent at the village for several years, Rahe previously served as vice president. Rahe worked in management at a major U.S. corporation and after retiring worked as a management consultant. He has served in volunteer capacities at the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club, the Sanibel & Captiva Chamber of Commerce, the city of Sanibel Recreations Center, and Saint Michael and All Angels Church. He served in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of captain.
Tracey Tenney was elected vice-president. Tenney spent much of her career working for General Electric and Sprint Telecommunications after earning a bachelor of science in math and computer science from Penn State University. She progressed to Senior Systems Manager responsible for managing a group of 30 software developers.
Annette Hendrick was elected treasurer. Hendrick earned a bachelor of arts in mathematics from the College of St. Benedict and a master’s from the University of Minnesota. Hendrick spent her 25-year professional career at Northwestern Bell and Qwest responsible for network planning and engineering across a five-state area. She was responsible for a staff of 1,500 people and was the first woman to be a technical assistant vice president at Bell Communications Research.
Sherry Halleran was elected secretary. Halleran is a long-time volunteer at the village. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and attended the University of Wisconsin. She taught kindergarten for 25 years and has a master’s degree in elementary education from Lewis University. She is involved with BIG ARTS and has co-chaired benefits. She also co-chairs the Congregational Church’s high tea and fashion show.
The board said goodbye to President Bill Bachman, Secretary Gail Garlinghouse, and Blair Wyatt.
Bachman has been a volunteer at the village for almost 15 years and served as president for two terms. Before becoming president, he served as treasurer of the board and chaired a number of committees.
Garlinghouse served as secretary for two terms and is a long-time volunteer at the village.
Wyatt headed the board’s development efforts and reached the end of her term limits on the board.
This keeps the number of directors at 15.
The Sanibel Historical Village is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. The village is located at 950 Dunlop Road (next to BIG ARTS). Admission is $10 for adults 18 and older; those under 18 and members are free. Due to the COVID pandemic, docent-guided tours are available by reservation only for groups of no less than six and no more than 10 and are based upon docent availability. All CDC guidelines are being followed, with masks required and social distancing in practice. There is handicap access at the Village. For information, call 472-4648 during business hours or visit http://www.sanibelmuseum.org.
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