The APHNYS Board of Directors held its organizational meeting on January 9 and elected the following slate of officers:
President – Ray LaFever, Town of Bovina Historian
1st Vice President – Julie Madlin, City of Ogdensburg Historian
2nd Vice President – Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County Historian
Secretary – Samantha Hall-Saladino, Fulton County Historian
Treasurer – Zachary Studenroth, Village of Southhampton Historian
The board welcomed two new members, elected at last fall’s annual meeting in Kingston, Stan Cianfarano, Warren County Historian and Jason Parkman, Town of Elbridge Historian. A complete list of our officers and directors, as well as of our regional coordinators, is on our website at Association of Public Historians of New York State - APHNYS Officers, Trustees and Regional Coordinators
I’m taking on the role as APHNYS President with some trepidation, following in the footsteps of Christine Ridarsky, Rose Tucker, Gerry Smith and Carol McKenna, but I’m grateful for the great Board of Directors who help to ensure the smooth running of things and to keep me on my toes. I’m particularly grateful to Julie and Lauren for stepping into the Vice President positions. I’m breathing a little easier!
Kudos and hats off to Christine Ridarsky, who shepherded APHNYS through one of its most challenging times as everyone coped with the pandemic. She was instrumental in making it possible for members to renew and to register for our conference on-line. Christine also led us through a much-needed change to our by-laws. And a thank you to departing board member and 1st Vice President Matt Urtz, who was instrumental in coordinating the streaming options at our conferences over the past three years, among many other things during his tenure on the board. Matt still intends to be involved with APHNYS, thank goodness.
We have started work on our fall APHNYS conference, which will be September 18-20 in Ithaca in Region 10. We will have a streaming option for those not able to come in person. More information, including the call for proposals, is coming soon. And we’ll be encouraging our regions to hold a spring regional meeting. One suggested topic of discussion at these meetings will be succession planning.
While we interpret and save the history of our communities, we have to think of the future of preserving that past. As we think of retiring from our positions, or even before that thought enters our minds, it wouldn’t hurt to start looking around for someone suitable to follow us and make sure that whatever information we have as local government historians passes smoothly to our successors.
Succession planning is something that APHNYS is working on also. APHNYS is getting new faces and new viewpoints on our board, but we are always looking for more. Out of our twelve regions, three of them have no regional coordinator, so we’re hopeful that some of you will step up to ensure that all the regional coordinator spots filled, allowing us to get a broad perspective statewide.
So, here’s to a successful 2023 for APHNYS and all local government historians.
Ray LaFever
President, Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS)
PS – If you haven’t joined APHNYS or renewed your membership, I hope you will consider doing so today. You can join on-line at Association of Public Historians of New York State - Join (aphnys.org) or send in a membership form to APHNYS, P.O. Box 1363, Sag Harbor, NY 11963. You can download the form at 2023 APHNYS Dues and Membership Form.pdf
