Advertisement. Advertise with us

Village Gives Thanks

To Retiring Barown

Mayor Praises Her Institutional

Knowledge, Efficiency, Expertise

A tearful Teri Barown – she retired Friday after 15 years as village clerk, then village administrator – was joined at this afternoon’s farewell ceremony on 22 Main’s pillared veranda by daughters Julie, center, and Nicole, and son Matt. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)

By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www. AllOTSEGO.com

Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch presents Teri Barown with a plaque “from a grateful Cooperstown community.”

COOPERSTOWN – Despite the rain, they came to praise her:  Teri Barown, village administrator for the past five years and village clerk for 10 before that.

“Teri’s leadership abilities were always apparent and so very valued,” said Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch, who also emceed the ceremony.  “…All have benefited from her professional and skillful handling of village administration.

“She could keep the day-to-day operations of this village flowing smoothly and, at the same time, was willing to take on new tasks, learn new skills and accept new challenges,” the mayor said.  “And she always did it calmly and impartially.”

Also praising her were two past mayors, Jeff Katz and Wendell Trip, and Bill Waller, whose wife Carol, was mayor when Barown joined Village Hall.

Tripp called her “the steering wheel” of village government.  Katz praised her for handled a “sub-job” that landed on her lap: grantsman.

“I could see how amazing she was” handling downtown restoration grants that ran in to the many millions, said Katz.  When it became clear that Cooperstown could spend money, complete projects and process the paperwork in a timely way, more grant came, he said.

“The reputation of the village rested on how well she did her job,” he said.

On behalf of the village trustees, the mayor presented the retiring administrator with a proclamation calling her “a true role model, a working mom and hero”; a plaque “from a grateful Cooperstown community,” and a 1890 lithograph created by Trustee Jim Dean’s New York Archival Prints company, “selected and paid for by the entire Village Board.”

For her part, Teri tearfully thanked the board the the dozens who gathered to honor her, saying she loved the job because “it allowed me to see people I’ve known all my life.”  She is a Native Daughter of Cooperstown and a CCS graduate.

In particular, she thanked her deputy clerk, Pat Winsor, Nancy Morton and DPW Superintendent Mitch Hotaling for the support they provided her.

She announced her resignation at the Village Board’s September meeting, reporting that, in time of COVID-19, her children needed her to tend her grandchildren.

Two were among those attended, Blake Barown, 4, and his sister Olivia, 2, along with dad Matt Barown and mom Haley Groat.  Matt’s sisters, Nicole and Julie, also attended.

Jenna Utter, a former deputy clerk of the county Board of Representatives, has been appointed to succeed her.

 

 

Posted

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Articles

SCOLINOS: It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide

COLUMN VIEW FROM THE GAME It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide Editor’s Note:  Tim Mead, incoming Baseball Hall of Fame president, cited John Scolinos, baseball coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly Pomona, as a lifelong inspiration, particularly Scolinos’ famous speech “17 Inches.” Chris Sperry, who published sperrybaseballlife.com, heard Scolinos deliver a version in 1996 at the American Baseball Coaches Association in Nashville, and wrote this reminiscence in 1916 in his “Baseball Thoughts” column. By CHRIS SPERRY • from www.sperrybaseballlife.com In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching…

Piper Seamon Scores 1,000th point

1,000 THANKS! Piper Seamon 5th CCS Girl To Hit High Mark The Cooperstown Central student section erupts as Piper Seamon scores her 1,000th career point in the Hawkeyes’ 57-39 win over Waterville at home last evening. Seamon becomes the fifth girl and only the 14th player in school history overall to score 1,000 points.  Inset at right, Pipershares a hug with teammate Meagan Schuermann after the game was stopped to acknowledge her achievement. Seamon will play basketball next year at Hamilton College. (Cheryl Clough/AllOTSEGO.com)  …

Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told

CLICK HERE FOR MEMO TO SCHOOLS Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told COOPERSTOWN – In a memo released Friday evening, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond advised local school superintendents that sports can resume as early as Monday. “Effective Feb. 1, participants in higher-risk sports may participate in individual or distanced group training and organized no/low-contact group training,” Bond wrote, “…including competitions and tournaments, if permitted by local health authorities.”…

Putting the Community Back Into the Newspaper

Now through March 30, new annual subscribers to “The Freeman’s Journal” and AllOtsego.com (or subscribers who have lapsed for two or more years) have an opportunity to help their choice of one of four Otsego County charitable organizations.

$5.00 of your subscription will be donated to the nonprofit of your choice:

Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, Cooperstown Food Pantry, Greater Oneonta Historical Society or Super Heroes Humane Society.