WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. From Rick Ammirato, The Mayor's Office. August 6, 2003: Mayor Joseph Delfino today announced the appointment of the White Plains Performing Arts Center's (WPPAC) Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is charged with getting the organization and operation of the Center up and running, and will be expanded to include more members in the future. The Mayor will also be appointing a Citizens Advisory Committee for the Center later this year.

Mayor Delfino, shown at a Common Council Meeting last spring, said,  "The formation of this highly distinguished board is the true beginning of the City's quest to make the WPPAC the pre-eminent cultural institution in the County," Mayor Delfino said. "Each of our board members is extremely successful professionally and is very active in the community. They bring a wealth of skills and experiences to the Center." File Photo by WPCNR News

 The appointees are:

·        Louis R. Cappelli, founder of Cappelli Enterprises and Summit Aviation, Chairman and CEO of George A. Fuller Construction Company. Mr. Cappelli is also a founding member of the Westchester Partnership for Economic Development, a past trustee of the Browning School, a Founding Director of the March of Dimes Real Estate Breakfast, and a sponsor of the Westchester County New York Philharmonic Concert. He also established the Louis R. Cappelli Foundation in 2000, which funds grants to organizations devoted to at risk children.
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  Louis Fortunoff, Executive Vice President of Fortunoff Fine Jewelry and a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Fortunoff serves on the Executive Committee of the National Retail Federations' Board of Directors. He also serves as a board member of the Fifth Avenue Association and the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District, the NYC Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Association for a Better Long Island, and the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association.
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Peter Gisondi, Sr., founder of Peter Gisondi & Co., Inc. Mr. Gisondi is past President of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of Westchester County, past President of the Dry Wall, Painting and Taping Employers Association of Suburban New York. He is presently a member of the White Plains Chamber of Commerce, the Building Trade Employers Association of Westchester and Putnam Counties, the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America, and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Fairfield County, Inc.
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Thomas Hales, Chairman, President and CEO of Union State Bank. Mr. Hales is also a board member of the New York State Banking Board, the Independent Community Bankers Association and past President of the Independent Community Bankers Association of New York State. Mr. Hales has been a major force in establishing the Children's Hospital and Trauma Center, at Westchester Medical Center.

·        Patricia Keegan, District Director for Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey. Ms. Keegan is a former Adjunct Professor of Journalism at Iona College and Pace University. Ms. Keegan was also the Director of Communications for the New York State Education Department.
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Jeffrey Rosenstock, Executive Director of the WPPAC. Mr. Rosenstock is also the Executive Director of Queens Theatre in the Park, former Producing Director of Theatre by the Sea in Portsmouth, NH, former General Manager of Theatre By the Sea (summer stock theatre) in Matunuck, RI, partnered in the theatre management firm ITC and the former Director of the Charles Ives Center. Mr. Rosenstock currently serves as a panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts, a panelist for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and is a guest lecturer at NYU and Brooklyn College.
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Eli Schonberger, former Vice President at PACE advertising. Mr. Schonberger is an extremely active member of the White Plains community. He has chaired various committees and is currently a member of the White Plains Recreation Advisory Committee.
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Tony Stimac, Executive Producer of the WPPAC. Mr. Stimac is the founder, Executive Producer and Artistic Director of the Helen Hayes Theatre Company, founder and former Executive Director of Musical Theatre Works, and Managing Director of the John Drew Theatre East Hampton. Mr. Stimac is also a founding board member of the National Alliance for Musical Theater and served in the Challenge Panel for the Opera/Musical Theater Program at the National Endowment for the Arts.
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 Chauncey L. Walker, head of the Transactional Department at Cuddy, Feder & Worby LLP. Mr. Walker is also President of the White Plains Rotary, Vice President of the American Lung Associations of New York State and of the Hudson Valley, and serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of White Plains. Mr. Walker is an Adjunct Professor at Pace Law School.
MAYOR APPOINTS WHITE PLAINS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDING BOARD OF TRUSTEES