MT. VERNON – Over the past 7 years, three members of the Neighbors Driving Neighbors Board of Directors have led the way: Dan Onion, Sandy Wright and Shelly Fitzgerald. All three helped launch Neighbors Driving Neighbors in 2015 and have been active leaders on the board ever since.
All three, while staying on the board, are stepping down as officers to make way for new leadership. In the words of NDN’s founding President Dan Onion: “After 7 years of starting up, we senior board members are ourselves aging in place, and as much as we’d like to live forever and lead NDN, we must gradually turn the leadership over to a new generation.”
That new generation of officers includes Harald Bredesen of Mt. Vernon as President, Peter Roderick of Rome as Vice President, and Kelli Burnham of Fayette as Secretary. Bill Rosenberg of Mt. Vernon will continue as the Treasurer. Ken Elliot of Mt. Vernon was voted in as a new board member at the NDN Annual Meeting in January. The new officers express their great appreciation to the founding leadership for growing NDN into a valued, volunteer-driven community organization – even maintaining services through the pandemic. As new NDN President Harald Bredesen, said: “We are glad Dan, Shelly, and Sandy will continue as members of the Board for now to advise the new leadership and staff as we continue to navigate a Covid environment while providing a safe and often critical service.”
An additional change at NDN is welcoming Co-Executive Directors, Misty Beck of Fayette and Joe Austin of Farmington. Misty has been NDN’s Ride Coordinator since January 2021 and is excited to move into a new, collaborative leadership position.
Joe Austin is a native of Franklin County and spent the bulk of his career working in Student Affairs at USM and most recently at University of Maine at Farmington. Joe remains active in the career development field and is currently serving as President of the Maine Career Development Association. He holds a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Maine.
Misty earned her PhD in English from Washington University in St. Louis in 2001, before moving to Maine in 2006. She currently teaches courses in writing and environmental humanities at the University of Maine at Farmington. As a resident of Fayette, she has served as President of the Basin-David-Tilton Ponds Association and Vice President of the Friends of Starling Hall, and she is currently a volunteer member of the Vienna Union Hall Association.
Neighbors Driving Neighbors provides free rides to those in need of transportation in the towns of Belgrade, Fayette, Mount Vernon, Rome and Vienna. During the high incidence of Covid, rides are currently provided to medical appointments only. Pre-paid grocery and pharmacy orders can be picked up and delivered as well. Contact NDN to sign up for assistance. 207-860-0677 or neighborsdrivingneighbors@gmail.com
