Hello! I live in the Village of Van Etten, about 20 miles south of Ithaca and three miles west of Spencer, in New York State. We're in Chemung County, just south of the Central New York, Finger Lakes region [map].

My wife, Virpi and I are essentially life long residents of Van Etten. We have been in the same home since 1980 and have two adult sons. We both enjoy life in a small community, such as gardening and hiking the many back roads and trails in the area. We also volunteer with Chemung County RSVP and the Senior Information Resources Service (SIRS) of INSPIRE S-VE, which Virpi directs.

In 2007, I was elected as a Village of Van Etten Trustee, with committee responsibility for the Village Cemetary. I was also involved with the concluding stages of establishing a Village water system. We recently completed purchase of an existing building in the center of the Village, to be renovated for use as a Village Center. It will provide space for Village offices and meeting rooms.

I have been privileged to serve the Spencer – Van Etten Central School District (SVECSD) as a member of the Board of Education, on and off since 1973, with 16 years of mostly simultaneous service on the Schuyler – Chemung – Tioga Board of Cooperative Education Services (SCT BOCES, now Greater Southern Tier BOCES) Board of Education. Currently, I'm serving as Board President with the SVECSD Board of Education.

My other work with public education has involved serving on the New York State School Boards Association Board of Directors, representing central New York (Area 4), and represented a similar area with the Board of Directors of the Rural Schools Association of New York State. As a past president and interim executive director, I remain as Member-at-Large on the Board of Directors for RSANYS. As a delegate from RSANYS, I also chaired the New York State Commissioner of Education's Advisory Council of School Board Members from its creation in 1992 until its dissolution in 2008.

After hearing discussions about electronic voting by Bo Lipari, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Verified Voting at the Finger Lakes Progressives, I became more involved with NYVV. I have long been concerned about the integrity of our election process and became a certified as an Election Inspector for Chemung County.

As the Program Director for the Community Access to Technology [C-A-T Lab] workshops for the Youth and Community Foundation [YCFSVE], I was responsible for preparing and delivering instruction about home computer use. I have been involved with YCFSVE since its formation and continue on the Board of Directors of INSPIRE S-VE.

In the spring of 2003, I retired as Director of Production Facilities, at the Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College. Over my 34 years at the College I worked in several other positions and completed my Bachelor of Science in Television-Radio in 1984. I followed that with a Masters in Communications in 1995, both from the Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College.

Thanks for Visiting!