The Bedford Citizen Marks its Fifth Anniversary; Elects Teri Morrow President

By Ginni Spencer

The Bedford Citizen Board of Directors held its fifth Annual Meeting on June 7 and elected Teri Morrow its new President and Mitch Evans its Clerk.  Jerry Wolf will continue to serve as Treasurer.

Morrow has served on the Board since 2015.  She was previously elected Clerk, and is a member of the Fundraising Committee.  Active in Bedford local government for many years, she has been a member and Chair of the Capital Expenditures Committee, and a member and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee.  In a recently-published profile Morrow said, “Bedford is fortunate to have a strong local government led by citizens who care about not only about themselves but about their neighbors, too.  It is important that Bedford residents are aware of the issues the town faces and how the community responds.  This makes The Citizen the “go to” source for news, information, and current events.”

Mitch Evans, also a current Board member and regular reporter covering the School Committee, was elected Clerk.  She is also a member of the Fundraising Committee and has been active in other aspects of Bedford life as a Girl Scout leader and member of the Religious Education Committee at her church.  Echoing Morrow’s comments, Evans was recently noted: “I am a firm believer in the importance of The Bedford Citizen’s role in informing and supporting the local community….the role of The Citizen as an unbiased and controlled source of accurate information is…vital.”

Two new board members were elected at the meeting as well: Sarita Pillai and Gene Kalb.  Pillai is already working with the committee to bring “MARCH – One Book One Bedford”to residents in the fall.  Kalb has also been quick to get involved, joining the Fundraising Committee and writing a new series for The Citizen titled “Bedford Explained”.  Both will serve three-year terms.

Outgoing President Ginni Spencer in her end-of-year report observed that The Citizen has made great progress as a result of the hard work and writing skills of its many contributing writers and photographers.  Their talents, when combined with a committed and active Board and an outstanding Managing Editor, Julie Turner, have made The Citizen a valued resource for Bedford.  Spencer also outlined challenges ahead: achieving long-term financial sustainability, diversifying Board membership to better reflect Bedford’s demographics, the never-ending search for good writers and reporters, and the need to stay focused on The Citizen’s core mission of accurately and objectively informing residents to foster citizen participation in community life.

Dorothy Bergin, outgoing Board member, was unanimously elected Director Emerita for her diligent and outstanding work as a Board member and contributor to The Citizen.  Bergin, along with Ruth Greenberg, authored The Bedford Citizen Style Guide and has written and edited numerous articles.  She served as a member of the Executive Committee, responsible for daily operations, for three years.  Spencer observed in nominating Bergin, “She is the person who does what she says she will and does it on time.  Her comments when a given issue is under discussion can be counted on to reflect both sensitivity and practicality.”  Bergin will continue to write and edit for The Citizen.

As the meeting closed, Board members celebrated with a cake marking the fifth anniversary of the start of The Bedford Citizen. 

If you are interested in exploring serving on the Board of Directors, please contact Ginni Spencer or Bob Dorer of the Nominating Committee by emailing The Bedford Citizen.