Kingston, NY - The Ulster County Community Foundation Advisory Board announced that the following community leaders have agreed to serve on the first Ulster County Community Foundation Advisory Board. "We are grateful for their dedication and willingness to serve. The geographic diversity and skill set they represent is in keeping with our goal that this Foundation is by Ulster and for Ulster. We look forward to the many opportunities for partnering donors and causes throughout the county."
Philip Coombe III, CFP, is with the firm of Coombe, Bender and Co., LLC in Wawarsing. Phil lives with his family in Grahamsville and is active in the Ellenville Noonday Club and the Ellenville Hospital Foundation. He is also a member of the Tri-Valley Lions Club.
William W. Davenport retired as the Chairman of Heritagenergy, Inc. and lives with his wife, Tildy, in Stone Ridge. Bill is on the Board of Empire State Bank. He is a past Chairman of the Benedictine Health Foundation and the Benedictine Hospital and is active in the Stone Ridge Library Foundation and the Ulster County Historical Society.
Brian Drabkin is semi-retired from the wholesale lumber business and lives with his wife in High Falls. In the late winter/early spring he spends a great deal of his time tapping his maple trees and making maple syrup. The rest of the year he is an active emissary of the Community Foundation.
R. Abel Garraghan chairs the advisory board and is the President of Heritagenergy. He and his wife reside in Kingston. Abel is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mount St. Mary College and a director of Health Alliance Planning and the Hudson Valley Economic Council.
Stephen Hakim is the owner/manager of Raymond James Financial, the owner of Steve Hakim Asset Management and the owner of Twin Lakes Lodge. Steve and his family live in Hurley. He is a board member of the Boy Scouts of America Rip Van Winkle Council and a member of the Kingston Kiwanis Club.
Elizabeth S. Manion retired as the Library Director of the Marlboro Free Library. Libby and her husband live in Marlboro. She chairs the Town of Marlborough Greenway Committee, is the President of the Community Garden Club of Marlborough and is a member of the Town of Marlborough Historical Society.
Marianne Murray and her husband recently moved to New Paltz from Orange County. Active in many fundraising causes in the past, one of Marianne’s first activities in Ulster County was to establish an annual fundraising event at her home. The event, Carve for a Cause, takes place around Halloween and raises money for a different nonprofit organization each year.
Marjorie S. Rovereto is the President and CEO of Ulster Savings Bank. Marjorie and her family live in Kingston. A short list of Marjorie’s nonprofit board involvements includes Health Alliance Planning, the SUNY New Paltz Foundation, Pattern for Progress and Rural Ulster Preservation Company.
Arthur R. Upright is currently a consultant and was previously a Senior Vice President with Central Hudson Gas & Electric. Art and his wife live in Highland. Art is currently a construction volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, a Director of the Central Hudson Enterprises Group and a Board Member of the Lutheran Care Center.
Community foundations are independent philanthropic organizations working in specific geographic areas which, over time, build permanent collections of endowed funds contributed from many donors. Any individual can contribute any amount of money to a community foundation. The foundation then invests the gifts for growth and income and uses the generated income to make grants that will strengthen the community. With nearly 700 community foundations nationwide holding roughly $35 billion in assets, they are a cost effective alternative to private foundations and make up one of the fastest growing sectors of philanthropy in the U.S. today.
