Berkshire Taconic Elects Hudson's Carmi Rapport as Board Chair
August 22, 2007
Great Barrington, MA — GREAT BARRINGTON, MA – Attorney Carmi Rapport of Hudson, NY, is the new chair of the board of directors of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Currently marking its 20th anniversary, Berkshire Taconic is the community foundation for Columbia, Berkshire, northeast Dutchess and northwest Litchfield counties. Another Columbia County resident, Ed Hoe of Spencertown, recently joined the Berkshire Taconic board.
Rapport has been a board member of the foundation for 5 years and serves on the advisory board of the Fund for Columbia County, one of Berkshire Taconic’s major initiatives to increase charitable resources in the area.
“I’m excited by the opportunities and challenges facing the entire Berkshire Taconic region,” Rapport said. “We anticipate addressing emerging issues, such as the changing demographics in the area, and the need to view the entire Berkshire Taconic catchment area with region-wide issues.”
Jennifer Dowley, president of Berkshire Taconic, praised Rapport’s commitment to the foundation and his long-term involvement in civic activities. “Carmi is a superb big picture thinker,” she said. “His many years working and living in this region gives him a true perspective on our changing communities and a deep understanding of change for the better can happen.”
Rapport is a founding partner of the Hudson law office of Rapport, Meyers, Whitbeck, Shaw & Rodenhausen. He has been an active member of the Hudson community for over 40 years, serving as chair of the board of trustees of the Columbia Memorial Hospital and a board member of Columbia-Greene Community College. Rapport was general counsel to the Hudson School District for over 20 years, the Hudson Housing Authority and the Town of Greenport. He is also past president of the Columbia County Bar Association. He received his B.A. from Yale University and his law degree from Columbia University Law School. Rapport lives in Claverack with his wife Marylyn.
Dowley also announced the appointment of Ed Hoe of Spencertown to the Berkshire Taconic’s board. Hoe is president of Hoe Associates, a real estate investment and property management firm based in Chatham, NY. He was a founding board member and later president of the St. Regis Foundation in Paul Smiths, New York, and a member of the advisory board to the Aquatic Watershed Institute at Paul Smiths College where he co-founded the watershed stewardship program.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that cultivates philanthropy in ways that have a direct positive impact on the cities and towns of Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; Berkshire County, MA; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. It believes that effective charitable giving can result in positive change and a better quality of life for all residents. Berkshire Taconic distributes more than $7 million annually, helping hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work and thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals.
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