High Hopes announces new chair, board members

OLD LYME » High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Inc., recently announced that John Catlett has been appointed chairman of the Board of Trustees. Catlett takes over from Barbara Earle Ballard who has retired after over 20 years serving the whole High Hopes community, according to a press release.

Catlett will lead an experienced team of Trustees and Officers including vice chairs Seymour Smith of Essex, Scott Douglas of Lyme, and Jeff Ridgway of Chester. Jackie Kangley (Secretary) and Deborah Welles (Treasurer) also take up officer positions. John spent more than 26 years with the consulting firm Accenture before retiring as a senior partner and lives in Lyme with his wife, Athana, and three daughters, Sarah, Sabrina and Anna.

“It has been an honor to serve alongside Barbara. As chair and as co-chair of the Strategic Planning Force,” said Catlett. “Barbara has not been afraid to ask the hard questions that have helped us create a strong vision which will take High Hopes into its next 50 years. Her invaluable leadership and support truly exemplify the spirit of High Hopes.”

It was that “commitment, dedication and compassion” which led to Ballard being selected by her peers and High Hopes staff, for the 2014 Sally Aubrey Award. She will continue to support High Hopes in a voluntary capacity, while also continuing her position as president of Odyssey Enterprises Inc. a multi-media company she runs with her husband Dr. Robert Ballard.

“Barbara has served High Hopes in so many different capacities from co-chairing the annual major fundraising event, to her two full terms on the Board,” said Kitty Stalsburg, Executive Director. “In her capacity as Chair she has been instrumental in helping High Hopes build a reputation for fiscal responsibility, strong corporate governance, visionary thinking and professional inclusiveness.”

Also retiring from the Board are Jeb Embree and Cheryl Heffernan, both of Lyme. Jeb and his wife Dianne have been involved with, and staunch supporters of High Hopes, since it’s earliest days. Most recently he has served on the Finance and Human Resource Advisory Committees, where his experience with a number of leading NYC financial firms has provided a unique resource for the Board.

Cheryl Kelly Heffernan is a Chair Emeriti, a past Volunteer of the Year and also a recipient of the Sally Aubrey Award in 2007. Heffernan was described in 2013 as “the embodiment of a Working Trustee … who puts her words in to action, and whose actions have helped transform High Hopes into a strongly supported, international leader in the therapeutic riding world.”

“Cheryl is always the first to step forward with a leadership gift, and then encourages others to join in her support,” remarked Stalsburg. “She leads, she gives and best of all, she does!

Joining the Board’s class of 2020 are returning Trustee Sarah Hill Canning of Stonington, and new Trustees Hannah Metcalf Childs of Old Lyme, Vicki Newton of East Haddam, Robin Schonberger of Old Lyme, and Peter Watt of Lyme CT and NYC.

‘Gatekeeper’ program to hold enrollment event

MIDDLETOWN » Gatekeeper, a program of St. Luke’s Community Services since 2010, in partnership with Connecticut’s Department on Aging (SDA), Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Social Services (DSS), through funding support from the National Council on Aging (NCOA), launches the nation’s first pilot Benefits Enrollment Center (BEC) for the purpose of exploring, identifying and addressing service systems challenges that incarcerated older and disabled adults experience as they transition back to the community, according to a press release.

The Gatekeeper BEC has re-opened its website for referrals www.gatekeeperct.net and will offer a series of educational events for all professionals working with this unique population on topics relevant to the experiences of incarcerated older and disabled adults as they transition back to their communities.

The first event is the 2017 Gatekeeper Northeast Regional Conference, “A Bridge to a Second Chance: Benefit Enrollment Centers for Incarcerated Older & Disabled Adults,” on Sept. 27, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Middletown Elks Lodge, 44 Maynard St., Middletown.

The Gatekeeper BEC is a person-centered and community-based concept that is designed to provide services to older and disabled individuals in prison and as they are discharged to the community.