BVUUF Board of Officers and Trustees

The BVUUF board of officers and trustees is comprised of four officers and three trustees. Each trustee position is elected by the Fellowship for a three-year term, staggered such that two positions expire each year. Terms begin and end in July, allowing for some overlap between departing and new trustees.

Officers

Diana Forrest, President
Kathy Partridge, Vice President
Cindy Beeler, Secretary
Don Price, Treasurer

Trustees

Jean Cannella
Rusty Robison
Baldwin ‘Baldy’ Ranson

Officers

Diana Forrest

President
Term expires 06.30.10

Becoming a UU was inevitable with my varied religious background. I’ve had relatives who were Quakers, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Christian Scientists and Episcopalians, and I’ve ‘hung out’ with people who were Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Islamic. Some of the ideas of all those religions seemed reasonable … some didn’t … so the only good fit was Unitarian Universalism.

I joined the UU Fellowship when I moved to Boulder in 1998 and have participated in many activities. I was Capital Campaign Treasurer for 3 years, Fellowship Treasurer for 1 year, Trustee for 2 years, and co-chair of the Auction for several years. Currently, I coordinate the Book Club and recently became a Covenant Group facilitator. The Fellowship provides part of my social life and I love the shared dinners, potlucks, and activities purchased through the annual Auction.

In my past life I worked for Wendy’s International, Inc. for 18 years, the last 8 as Risk Manager, and I worked for Schwinn and Nautilus in the Credit Departments, retiring from Nautilus in 1992. I like to play bridge, read, write stories, cook, quilt, and be Nana to my 3 grandchildren.

Kathy Partridge

Vice President
Term expires 06.30.10

Kathy was raised a Methodist out on the Great Plains and became a Boulder resident and peace activist in 1975 when she began her studies at CU. She sought out the Fellowship in 1993 for religious education for her two daughters (now 18 and 24) because her elder daughter had been getting invited to conservative Sunday Schools. Within a year, Kathy was on our Board where she served as a Trustee for 6 years. Unitarian Universalism, especially within this beloved congregation, answered her longing for a freethinking spiritual home where her deep commitment to peace and social justice would be honored.

In addition to a long Board tenure, Kathy has served the congregation on the Nominating and CYRE Committees, the Welcoming Congregation Implementation Team, the Covenanting Task Force, and as a pledge canvasser. She has led Evensong groups and is part of a small group ministry. She currently heads the Abbott-Nachman Forum Series and is active in building community among BVUUF members in Longmont. She was Dean of the Russell Lockwood Leadership School in 2000, has attended a number of General Assemblies, and is on the board of the UUSC Just Democracy organization. Her younger daughter has been an active participant in our YRUU group and has worked in the nursery and at day camp.

Kathy’s passion, outside of UUism, is community radio, and she has hosted talk shows on KGNU (88.5 fm/1390 am) for 25 years. Professionally, Kathy has worked for over 15 years in philanthropy, with a focus on congregation-based community organizing. She currently directs Interfaith Funders, a national association of secular and faith-based grantmakers. She has also worked with local non-profits including Eco-Cycle, Global Response, and Community Food Share. After 20 years on a beautiful country farm, Kathy moved with her new partner, Ira Chernus, to Longmont in 2004 where she continues her organic gardening.

Cindy Beeler

Secretary
Term expires 06.30.10

Since joining the Fellowship in 2006, I have really enjoyed teaching K-1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE) classes, as well as 5th grade Our Whole Lives (OWL). I have also had the opportunity to work with the Worship Committee tocollect, tabulate and present the congregational surveys conducted last year, and I have been a member of the CYRE Committee.

My partner, Susan Bateman, and I live in Lafayette with our teenage daughter and son. We joined the Fellowship with the goal of making time in our lives for spiritual growth, and to join a community with social justice values similar to ours.

My volunteer work outside the Fellowship includes service as the Secretary on the Board of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Boulder County. Professionally, I have a job with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and I feel passionate about this organization whose mission is to protect human health and the environment.

Don Price

Treasurer
Term expires 06.30.10

Don and family immigrated to Boulder in early 2007 by way of Charleston; Atlanta; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; and Annapolis. They discovered the UU way in Annapolis in 2004, and upon arriving in Boulder, immediately felt at home at the Fellowship. Don’s current family consists of his lovely first wife, Sheri; his two favorite (at times) children; Rudy the dog; Max, Elvira and Izzy the cats; and Marina and Nina, the foreign exchange students. Don spends his time hiking, biking, running, yoga- ing, teaching CYRE, leading reading and math groups at Whittier Elementary, serving as Secretary of the Wilderness Kids section of the Colorado Mountain Club, helping with the BVUUF Finance Planning and CYRE Committees, and gardening. In his spare time, he tries to make ends meet working as a management consultant to electric utilities throughout North America.

In his distant past, Don worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and drove a nuclear submarine. His formal education includes a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a 30-second interview with Admiral Rickover followed by a rear-end chewing and a toss out of his office, an M.A. in Personnel Management from Central Michigan University, and an MBA from the Wharton School.

Don hopes his experiences at the UU of Annapolis can help serve as a model for a successful mid-size, growing, welcoming, green, liberal congregation.

Trustees

Jean Cannella

Term expires 06.30.11

Jean was born and raised in New Orleans. She started her faith life as a Catholic and spent 12 ½ years as a Catholic nun. She has been a UU for 10 years and a member of the Fellowship since 2004.

Here at the Fellowship, Jean serves the congregation as a greeter/usher on Sundays and is chair of the Adult Religious Education Committee. She is also a member of the Expansion Group as liaison to the Longmont-area Fellowship members.

Professionally, Jean spent 8 years as a grade-school and middle-school teacher before getting a Master’s degree in occupational therapy. She currently works at Longmont United Hospital, and in the past has worked in a variety of clinical settings with adults who have physical disabilities. Jean has also taught occupational therapy at Towson University in Baltimore, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Jean lives a (relatively) quiet and (very) happy life with her partner, Elena, and their dog and 4 cats.

Rusty Robison

Term expires 06.30.09

Born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in northeast Arkansas, Rusty currently lives in Longmont with wife Beth and their 3 children. The Robison family came to UUism at the UU Church of Little Rock, Arkansas, and they joined the Fellowship 9 years ago.

Rusty is an IT professional at Intrado where he manages a team that performs network security administration and data center management. Intrado provides 911 products and services for the nation. A musician with a degree in Music Performance, Rusty plays French horn in the Longmont Symphony and the Mahlerfest Orchestras. He is currently learning to play the guitar and having a ton of fun making music with his family — the children on drums, guitar and vocals, and Beth (aka “I kinda like playing the bass”) on bass.

Rusty has participated in this Fellowship as the leader of the Children’s Choir, has taught kindergarten through 5th grade CYRE classes, and has served one term as Board Treasurer during 2007-2008. He is currently coordinating the Fellowship’s volunteers to the Boulder Homeless Shelter. Rusty has agreed to serve another year as Treasurer.

Rusty will serve as Assistant Dean at the Mountain Desert District Russell Lockwood Leadership School for summer 2008, then as Dean in 2009.

Baldwin ‘Baldy’ Ranson

Term expires 06.30.10

My wife, Ellen, and I moved to Longmont in 1993 — I to retire from teaching economics for 25 years at Western State College of Colorado and 2 years at the American University in Bulgaria, and Ellen to continue Ellen’s B & B, begun in Gunnison, and to turn years of amateur acting into a professional career.

We made many acquaintances in Longmont but found no community with common interests or close personal friends. We were not actively involved in churches for many years and felt that Unitarian Universalism might be a good fit. After looking at several UU websites and liking the looks of the people (and the dog) on the Fellowship site, we made a visit. We instantly felt surrounded by kindred spirits, endorsed the vision of Bringing love and reason to life, and have become active in the community.