Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
DON KENDALL ’66 Kendall’s business Mack Molding of Arlington, Vt., reengineered hundreds of snorkeling masks to function as respirators for Southwestern Vermont Health Care staff members during the early days of the pandemic.
ROBIN MCGRAW ’70
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McGraw, deputy sheriff and president of Berkshire Education and Correction Services, has helped distribute over 16,000 heads of lettuce to local food pantries and charities. The lettuce was grown in a newly-built aquaponics greenhouse facility in Pittsfield, Mass.
Alumni display heroic efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic
GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT By Kevin Soja
As the COVID-19 pandemic presents great challenges and uncertainty, we can also find optimism and strength in the heartwarming stories of people making a difference in this world. These stories encompass alumni, parents, and students gathering and sending masks and medical supplies to the School for distribution in the local community; alumni working to provide food and essential services; and countless other acts of kindness that have unintentionally gone unrecognized. While this generosity of spirit is not a surprise, it is certainly affirming. Here we salute our alumni and thank those on the front lines, providing vital care, supplies, or even simple goodwill to people in need. Their compassion, unwavering commitment to service, and determination to make a difference for the greater good are extraordinarily inspiring.
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Berkshire Bulletin
ALEX BRUNEL ’72
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“As of May 5, 129 of my frontline colleagues at the Cambridge Health Alliance (in Cambridge, Mass.) have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s up from 115 the previous week. We’re not out of the woods yet, folks. Stay safe. We are running a wide range of mindfulness stress-reduction support sessions for staff and the public. You can take a break yourself at www.chacmc.org.”
DAVID PAINE ’75 Paine helped an organization launch one of the nation’s first high-speed 45-minute tests to identify COVID-19 in patients. “I developed my sense of community at Berkshire, and attribute it to changing the direction of my life.”
K.C. FUCHS ’80 Fuchs serves as the COO of the Silver Shield Foundation, which helps offset the cost of education for the children of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. “I have been dedicated to working to support our uniformed first responders who lose their lives in the fight against COVID-19.”
MICHELLE DERR ’82
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Many families are struggling to maintain a healthy food supply during this difficult time. Derr is the director of South Berkshire Family Services and WIC at Community Health Programs, where she has kept busy supporting the increased need for services, especially at their food pantry.
STEVE KACZMEREK ‘85 Kaczmerek’s company, Borealis Fat Bikes, purchased 3,200 N95 masks, which were distributed to employees, friends, family, and medical clinics in Colorado Springs, Col. through the end of May, when suppliers could catch up with the demand in the area.
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ELVIA GIGNOUX ’87
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When she heard there was a shortage of PPE at her local hospital in Sharon, Conn., Gignoux went on a mission to supply masks. She and a friend provided nearly 500 hand-sewn masks to nurses, EMTs, and the local food pantry. “There are so many people who can use a helping hand these days. See what you can do in your community!”
YVETTE BOOYSE GORDON ’87
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“I am an OB/GYN in the Houston area. I work at a federally qualified health center where we are screening for COVID-19. Our positive patients have included pregnant women. Everyone stay safe!”
Summer 2020
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