Canton NY Rotary - Member Profiles

The following are current members of the Canton Rotary Club. If you read through these brief profiles, you will see how diverse the group is-in personal backgrounds, professions, and interests. This will give you some sense of the vitality of this membership as leaders of the Canton community. The number that appears in brackets following each name is the year that the member joined the Canton club.

Kevin Acres [2005] is the owner of Brandy Brook Haven Farms LLC, which is comprised of a thousand acres of land and five hundred head of dairy cattle. He lives in Madrid with his wife Phyllis and is the father of three sons--Brandon, Sean, and Gavin. He enjoys spending time in his summer house in Waddington, playing and coaching soccer, and in the winter, playing in a men's hockey league. His favorite hobbies other than competitive sports are reading history and listening to all kinds of music, particularly jazz and blues. Kevin was a former participant in a Rotary International Group Study Exchange that traveled to Central America.

Rev. Evette Austin

A. Vincent-Barwood [2004]

Severn P. Brown [1987] was born and raised a midwesterner, but left the Chicago area immediately upon graduation from high school. All his interests, education, and experience have been focused on geology, especially mining and prospecting, nationally and internationally. Sev came to Canton to teach at St. Lawrence University, but returned to commercial work after four years as an academic. He's nominally retired but retains a full-time interest in the mining industry. When not working in the garden or traveling with his geologist wife, Sally, traveling anywhere is their passion

Sonya Butler [2005] is the Director of Sales at the Best Western University Inn. She has been employed at the Best Western for 17 years. Along with spending time with her family, she enjoys reading, gardening and, of course, community service.

Denice Button [2004] has been a member of Rotary since August, 2004 and is currently employed by the Town of Canton as the town bookkeeper and Assistant. to the Supervisor, her husband David. Prior to moving to the North Country, Denice and David were officers and shareholders for many years in a family owned, multi-station conglomerate, with radio stations in Texas, Arizona and Hawaii. For 17 years, the couple co-owned and operated Canton's very own MIX 96 WVNC, The Voice of the North Country, which was at the center of major local public and charitable events. Denice also worked for a brief period for St. Lawrence County in billing and finance. Away from work she enjoys her grandchildren, painting, camping, real estate, interior design, charitable church work, and travel abroad.

David Button

Charles Carvel [1995]

Brad Catling

Varick Chittenden [2002] is founder and currently Heritage Center Project Director of Traditional Arts in Upstate New York [TAUNY], a regional folk arts organization. In 2001, he retired from SUNY Canton as Professor Emeritus of Humanities. He received both bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Lawrence University and an MA in American Folk Culture from the Cooperstown Graduate Programs. For TAUNY, he has produced exhibitions, festivals, and radio features and has written for both scholarly and general interest publications. In addition to several professional organizations, he is a member of the Grasse River Heritage board and past president of the St. Lawrence County Historical Association. He and his wife Judy live in Canton with their Basset hound, Abby.

Mahlon Clements [1979]

Michael Crowe [1975] Mike Crowe, a devoted alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, is an attorney in private practice, as well as justice of the peace for both the Town and Village of Canton. He and his wife Kathy have lived in Canton since 1976 and have hosted Rotary exchange students and a Group Study Exchange member from Brazil in the past. Kathy, a retired school counselor, and Mike have three adult children and three granddaughters. They enjoy travel, with recent trips to China and to Turkey, where Mike visited his "Turkish brother," whom he first met as an exchange student himself.

Kathryn M. Del Guidice [2008] is Director of the Center for Lifelong Learning at SUNY Canton. There she is responsible for community outreach, workforce training, professional development programs, customized corporate training, and special initiatives. Kathy did her undergraduate work at Cazenovia College and SUNY Potsdam and earned her MBA at Clarkson University. Prior to her joining SUNY Canton, she was the executive producer of a professional summer theater company and owned a fundraising business, providing services to the not-for-profit sector. Kathy lives in the wilderness of the Adirondack Park with her husband Richard and two beloved golden retrievers. She is an active member of the Canton Rotary Club, currently serving as the club's publicity chair.

Robert DeGraaff [2009] Bob was born in Milwaukee in 1942, and moved to Lake Geneva, WI, at age 4. When he was 15, his family moved to Denver, where he graduated from Denver Christian High in 1960. Bob earned a BA in Education (English major) from Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI) in 1964; an MA in English from Miami (Ohio) in 1966; and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Duke University in 1972. Between the last two degrees, Bob taught at SLU (1966 to 69), returning after Duke to spend his whole teaching career there (1972 to 2008); he served a term as Chair of the English Dept. and a stint as Director of the London Program, and is now Emeritus Professor of English. He was married to Judy Shapiro from 1967 to 1999, with two children: David (b. 1971), and Kathleen (b. 1974). He is now married to Prof. Sarah Gates (since 2001), and has two step-children, (Max, b. 1989, and Emma, b. 1994). Bob is a secular humanist who enjoys gardening, tennis, weight training, fishing, and writing poetry. In addition to several professional articles on writers such as Charles Dickens, he is the proud author of /The Book of the Toad/ (1991).

Ives DuPont

Mary Ellen DuPont

Marela Fiacco (2008) is a Director of International Office at SUNY Canton. She works closely with the international students and scholars year round as well as with the overseas universities promoting online dual degrees. Marela is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina and has been living in the North Country since 2005. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Marketing at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee and her MBA at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and their beagle Freckles at their home on Norwood Pond.

René-Paul Forier [2006] has lived on a farm outside of Canton since his retirement as a paper mill executive for nearly thirty years. He continues today as a consultant for operation and management in the paper industry. He has a PhD in physical chemistry from the State University (MONS) in Belgium. A French native, René-Paul became a United States citizen in 2004. He's fluent in French, English and Dutch. He's currently president of the board for SOAR at SUNY Potsdam. He is a runner (5 miles a day), enjoys reading, classical music, gardening, and foreign travel (mostly in England, France and Belgium), Most important, he and his wife Janice love to visit their three grandchildren in Europe. Rene-Paul is immediate Past President of the Canton Rotary Club and currently an Assistant District Governor [District 7040], with responsibilities for clubs in AuSable Valley, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake.

Scott Goldie [1997] is a partner with the law firm of Conboy, McKay, Bachman & Kendall, LLP, working primarily in the Canton branch office. He lives with his wife Carol and their 3 children outside of Canton. Scott has been an active Rotary member for 10 years, and served as the Canton Club's President in 2003 - 2004. Every February his fingers are stained a deep blue from all the blueberry pancakes he makes for the Club's Pancake Breakfast.

Angela Gray

William Gregory Bill is Superintendent of the Canton Central School District and a diehard Nittany Lion fan, having graduated from Penn State in 1975 with a degree in education and a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. His 23 years of active military service included assignments as a company commander at Fort Jackson, South Carolina; a battery commander in the then Federal Republic of Germany; Chief of Plans for the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; Joint Action Officer, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; Senior Aide to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command; and Professor of Military Science at Clarkson University. No stranger to public schools--having earned a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from Rutgers University and having served as a music educator and high school band director from 1979-1982--Bill transitioned to a career in public school administration following his retirement from the military and completion of an administrative internship through St. Lawrence University in 2001. Prior to his appointment as Canton's superintendent on January 2, 2008, Bill served as Dean of Students for the Colton-Pierrepont School District and as principal of Canton's Hugh C. Williams Senior High School.

Farid Haq [1988] (a.k.a. Syed Farid-ul Haq) retired as Director of the Library at SUNY College of Technology at Canton in 2002 after 22 years of service. He previously worked at Herkimer County [NY] Community College in Herkimer for ten years. Farid graduated from SUNY Albany with a Master of Library Science degree in 1970 and has a Master of Arts degree in Library Science from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. He was born in Moradabad (U.P.) India and in 1948 migrated to Pakistan at the age of 10 with his family. He came to the United States in1968 as a graduate student and landed in Albany, where he met his future wife, Sylvia. They have four children: Omar, Arif, Usman, and Aliya. They became American citizens in 1975. Farid joined Canton Rotary Club in 1988, served as Club president during 1992-93, and was awarded the Paul Harris Award in 1999.

Phyllis Howard [2005] is Branch Manager, AVP of the Canton Branch of North Country Savings Bank where she has been employed for the past 18 years. She resides in Canton with her husband Paul and children Erik and Megan. Phyllis is active in various community organizations including the Board St. Mary's School and of the Canton Chamber of Commerce, as treasurer of Canton Minor Hockey and member of the Canton Athletic Booster Club. She enjoys watching her children participate in various sports such as soccer, hockey and lacrosse.

Paul Kessler

Tom Kulick [2001] is the General Manager of the Best Western University Inn in Canton with twenty years experience in the hotel and hospitality industry. A native of western Pennsylvania, he attended the University of Pittsburgh. He has lived in twelve states and worked in fourteen, for such hotel chains as Sheraton, Marriott, Ramada, Hilton, Hampton Inn and some independents. His three grown children are all graduates of the West Virginia University. Since his arrival in Canton, he has been a member of the Canton Chamber of Commerce and on the board of directors of the St. Lawrence County chamber. In his time away from work he's a dedicated fan of "all things Pittsburgh," especially the Steelers.

Gerald Lambert [2005] is a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) teacher at Canton HS, a local business owner of the Bagelry in Potsdam and a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. He is a native of Whittier California with degrees in Engineering from the United States Military Academy, EMBA from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA from St. Lawrence University. Gerry is always busy with the activities of the three HS children, still at home, along with being a board member for the Potsdam Holiday Fund and a community board member for the Canton Potsdam Hospital. When time is available he enjoys walking with his wife Susan, working on the computer and traveling. He joined Rotary in 1994 and is currently the club Past President.

Mary Lawrence [[2001] is and LPGA Professional and Director of Golf and Head Golf Coach for St. Lawrence University's men's and women's golf teams. A Canton native, she graduated from the University of Miami with a Rotary academic/athletic scholarship from the City of Miami Rotary Club. Mary was first team All-American for the Miami women's team in 1977 and 1978 when they were NCAA golf team champions. She competed on the LPGA tour from 1978 to 1983, winning five professional events. She joined the Canton Rotary Club in 2001.

Tom Lee [1976] is a farmer who is presently growing corn, soybeans, barley and hay and raising dairy heifers for other farmers. We are looking at the possibility of growing grasses to be made into pellets which will be burned for heat as a new enterprise. Tom grew up on a farm located near Lake Ontario west of Watertown,NY. After graduation from General Brown, he attended Cornell University, worked with his father on the family farm then purchased the present farm in Madrid with his wife Marie. Between them they have five children and six grandchildren. Since joining the Canton Rotary Club, he was treasurer for ten years, then president in 2005-06

Theodore C. Linn [1988] Ted is University Chaplain Emeritus at St. Lawrence University with a B.A. from Allegheny College, a B.D. from Drew Theodogical School, and Phd. From The Graduate School at Drew University. He has been very involved as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, The Frederic Remington Art Museum, SOAR at SUNY Potsdam, and the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. He is an avid tennis player and fan and enjoys digital photography.

Aron McLaughlin

Linda McQuinn [2005] is Director of Economic Development for the Town and Village of Canton, and has served in that capacity since April 2005. She is originally from Moira, New York and currently resides in Lisbon with her husband, Thomas A. Smith. She has a degree in Urban and Regional Planning from SUNY Potsdam and a MS in Public Administration from Sage Graduate School. She and her husband operate their own consulting business that specializes in small business management strategies and grantsmanship. She is the mother of three adult children and a grandmother to four (soon to be five) spectacular grandchildren. She is currently President of the Canton Rotary Club.

Eleanor Menz

Amanda Mereau

Dick Miller [1995] is Professor Emeritus and former department chair of Electrical Engineering Technology at SUNY Canton. He came to Canton in 1946 from the General Electric Company in Schenectady. SUNY Canton has acknowledged his teaching career with a Distinguished Faculty Award and his contributions to the community with a Distinguished Citizen award. His generous philanthropy has been recognized by the College by the naming of the Richard G. Miller Campus Center in his honor. After his teaching career ended, he became chair of the Village of Canton Planning Board and was elected as a village trustee. Today, he remains active as president of the St. Lawrence County Community Development Program and with the local Masonic, where he has held several different offices over the years. Dick is a longtime member of the Stillwater Club and an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hunting, fishing, camping, snowmobiling and ATVing.

Jim Monroe [1984]

Floyd Morter [[1955] grew up on a farm in the Ithaca area. After graduating from Cornell University, he began a career for Cornell Cooperative Extension in 1952 in the 4-H Youth Program. He retired in 1982, after 28 years with St. Lawrence County 4-H. Floyd and his wife Ella have been married 51 years, have seven children and twenty grandchildren. The couple has been actively involved in several community organizations over the years. Floyd served as president of both the Canton Central School board and the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. In retirement, they enjoy traveling in their RV and their winter home in Punta Gorda, Florida. Floyd has served as both president and, until recently, longtime secretary of the Canton Rotary Club.

Kathryn L. Mullaney [1995] is the Vice President for Finance and Treasurer at St. Lawrence University. She received her B.S. in biology at Union College and worked for the GE Company starting in Schenectady on the Financial Management Program. Kathy left GE after the merger with Martin Marietta coming to St. Lawrence University as the Vice President for Finance in 1994. At St. Lawrence she has responsibility for the financial operations, budgeting and financial planning, treasury management, investments, and risk management. .Kathy, one of the first women to attend Union when it went coed, has served on the Board of Trustees of her alma mater, earned their alumni gold medal and was the first alumna to partner with her father to endow a scholarship in their names there. She is on the board of the Canton Day Care Center and is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Potsdam. Kathy is the current President-Elect of the Canton Rotary Club.

David Nelson [1996] is a retired St. Lawrence County Family Court Judge, and for five years was a Judicial Hearing officer. He just accepted appointment as settlement officer for the Appellate Division, 3^rd Dept, NY Supreme Court, mediating appeals. Before becoming a judge, David practiced law in Washington, D.C. and Gouverneur, NY. David is active in his church and is a member of the board of directors of the St. Lawrence County chapter of NYSARC. David is a native of Gouverneur., presently residing in Canton, and is a graduate of Oberlin College and of Columbia University School of Law. David and his wife Constance, have two children and three grandchildren. He joined the Canton Rotary Club in 1996 and is currently chair of the Vocational Services Committee.

Ryan Niles [2007] is a financial analyst for Niles Asset Management in Canton. He has been employed with Niles since 1996. He is originally from Brushton, New York, with a degree in financial information and analysis. Ryan was married on September 26, 2009. He enjoys playing golf, camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities in his spare time. Ryan is currently the chair of the International Committee and the President-Nominee for 2011-2012.

Dan O'Connor [1964] is now retired after thirty years as a Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies and Classical Languages at St. Lawrence University. He received an AB from Dartmouth College and to Masters degrees and a PhD from Columbia University. Dan is active as a docent at the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg and reads to the blind over North Country Public Radio. He has been a member of the Canton Rotary Club for 43 years, was president in 1972-73 and served as District Governor of District 7040 in 1987-88. Currently he is an honorary member of the club. At 82, he enjoys extensive reading and the carving and painting of song birds and waterfowl for shows. He still likes to hunt for antique "treasures" and garage sales and shops in the area.

Cathleen O'Horo [1988] is a Canton native who graduated from St. Mary's School and Canton High School. She received a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University with a major in political science and a law degree from Albany Law School of Union University. She has been a practicing attorney in Canton since 1974, During that time, she served as an assistant district attorney and as law clerk to Family Court Judge David Nelson. She currently serves as a Town Justice in Canton. She is active in St. Mary's Church and serves on the board of the St. Lawrence County Historical Association and Grasse River Heritage. She is secretary of the St. Lawrence County Bar Association. Cathie has been a Rotarian since 1988, the first woman to join the Canton club, which she later served as President in 1991-1992. She enjoys ice skating, quilting and sewing.

John Parcell [2005]

Fred Peets [1997] is Director of Operations for the Canton Central School District, where is responsible for buildings, grounds, and transportation. Born and raised in Massena and after graduating from SUNY Canton with a degree in Heating & Air Conditioning Technology, he spent 17 years working in industry in Rochester, New York. Fred relocated to the North Country and began work for the school district in 1993 as head of maintenance. He became director in 1996. He enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and, especially, snowmobiling. He joined the Canton Rotary Club in 1997 and is currently the club secretary.

Francine Perretta [1994] received her bachelor's degree from Plattsburgh State University and her Masters from St. Lawrence. She has been Director of Probation for St. Lawrence County since 1987. She is active at the state and national levels in the probation and leadership fields and provides training throughout the state and beyond in the best practices for rural probation issues. Francine is an active kayaker, golfer, and outdoor enthusiast.

Daphne Pickert [2005] has been Executive Director of St. Lawrence NYSARC-a non-profit organization that provides services in the community for persons with intellectual and other disabilities--for the past ten years and recently celebrated thirty years of employment with the agency. Born and raised in northern New York, she received an Associates degree in Liberal Arts from SUNY Canton, a BA in Education and Psychology and an MS in Education from SUNY Potsdam. Daphne is past Chair and current Vice-Chair of the St. Lawrence County Community Services Board, was recently appointed to the St. Lawrence County Workforce Investment Board, and is current President of One World Foundation. She lives in Waddington and, in her spare time, enjoys gardening, crafts, canoeing, and travel.

Fred D. Pollard

Leigh Rodriguez

Kathleen Rogers [2006] was elected St. Lawrence County Surrogate Judge in 1988 and appointed an Acting Supreme Court Judge in 1995. She graduated from Albany Law School, Mount Holyoke College and Canton High School. She has two children, Jessica, currently completing her PhD from Columbia University and Tom, who hopes to attend graduate school in Montana. Kathy is a past president of Potsdam Rotary and was one of the first women to be inducted into that club. She currently resides on the St. Lawrence River in Morristown.

Martha Foley Smith [1992] is News Director at North Country Public Radio. She joined the staff of the radio station as morning host in 1981, after a stint at The St. Lawrence Plaindealer. The NCPR news department has won dozens of state and national awards for reporting on regional issues. Martha has been an active member and director of Public Radio News Directors, Inc., an organization of over 100 local newsrooms which supports high editorial and ethical standards at public radio stations across the country. She grew up between Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls, on a southern foothill of the Adirondacks. She lives outside Canton with her husband, boatbuilder Everett Smith. Son Emmett is a recent graduate of Hampshire College.

Margie Strait [2005] is now in her ninth year at St. Lawrence as Director of Athletics and Chair of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics & Recreation which sponsors a minor in Sports Studies & Exercise Science. She is a graduate of Cortland State College with a Masters from St. Lawrence University and was inducted into the Cortland Hall of Fame in 2003. She lives with her husband, Russ, owner & manager of H.A. Rogers Insurance Agency in Waddington and Norfolk. They are the parents of two children. Their son, Hawley, is a graduate of Bates College and Pace Law School and is now an attorney in Portland, Maine. Wendy, their daughter, is a graduate of Connecticut College and presently enrolled in an MBA program at George Washington University. In Margie's free time she enjoys squash, tennis, biking and gardening.

Brett W. Thacher

Peter Van de Water [1990] spent most of his career at St. Lawrence University where he was Director of Admissions and, for 13 years, Vice-President for Student Affairs. A graduate of St. Lawrence (1958), he has a master's degree from Cornell and a Ph.D from Michigan. At various times he has been a prep school headmaster, bed and breakfast owner, history teacher, coach of basketball, soccer, and tennis, and a candidate for the NYS Assembly. Currently Peter chairs the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Foundation and is president of Grasse River Heritage. He is a gardener, hiker (ADK 46'r), canoeist, and traveler to exotic places. He and his wife Becky are parents of three and grandparents of six.

John Vose [1981]

Bob Wells [1999] is a former Mayor of the Village of Canton and Professor Emeritus of Government at St. Lawrence University. A native of Connecticut, he earned his bachelor's degree and doctorate from the University of Michigan and started teaching at St. Lawrence in 1965. Among many other professional accomplishments, he was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Malaysia in 1995-1996. He was director of the summer Rotary Critical Issues Conference for teenagers at St. Lawrence for 25 years. Bob served on the Canton Central School board of education from 1979 to 1988, has been chair of several community fund drives, including the Red Barn Capital Campaign for the St. Lawrence County Historical Association from 1996 to 1999, and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of WPBS-TV in Watertown. He's a champion of Saint Lawrence athletics, ice hockey especially, but the blue and gold of Michigan really stirs his heart.

Frank White [1950]