Last month, with three full-time vacancies and room for two alternates on the Finance Committee, Town Moderator Bob Eubank presented a group of aspiring members to the Board of Selectmen. The Selectmen carefully reviewed the applicants’ resumes and qualifications before approving these new members of the Finance Committee: Bob Thurston, Marie Fagan, Lori Granville, Paul von Loesecke, and Collyn Bradley.
Bob Thurston is a returning Finance Committee member, having served from 2007 to 2008. In a letter of intent to Eubank expressing interest in serving again, Thurston said he hopes to build upon his first year of service and to create stronger working ties with other town boards. Thurston is director of computer operations for Fidelity Investments and is a near-lifetime resident of Harvard. In the past he has served the community in many capacities. In addition to the Finance Committee he was a member of the Bromfield High School Council, an assistant scoutmaster with the Harvard Boy Scouts, a board member of the Harvard Athletic Association, and a member of the board of directors of the Harvard Schools Trust.
New member Marie Fagan is an energy economist with Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Earlier in her career she worked for the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington D.C. She has been a resident of Harvard since 1997, when she bought a house here with her husband. Her child is in her last of 12 years of in the Harvard public schools. In her letter of intent to Eubank, Fagan said she and her family love the rural setting of Harvard and the diverse recreational opportunities it offers.
New member Lori Granville told Eubank she looks forward to bringing her business experience and perspective to the committee and to learning more about how the budget process is managed in Harvard. Granville is vice president of marketing operations at Oracle, a Fortune 500 software company. In the past she worked as director of Americas field marketing operations and as vice president of marketing and operations for Telecom Ireland. She moved to Harvard two years ago, coaches soccer and baseball, and has three children in the harvard public schools.
New associate member Paul von Loesecke told Eubank he hopes to apply his skills of good judgment and common sense to the Finance Committee. A World War II veteran, von Loesecke was also a longtime employee of industrial controls manufacturer The Foxboro Company. He and several colleagues performed work that was instrumental in helping Foxboro seal its position in the field of digital process control. Von Loesecke moved to family-owned land in Harvard in 1981, in preparation for his retirement. An active community organizer, he helped to form the Bare Hill Pond Committee, chaired the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee, and was appointed vice chairman of the Devens Enterprise Commission, a position he holds to this day.
New associate member Collyn Bradley said in her letter of intent that she has a strong desire to give back to the town she grew up in. A certified high school teacher, she chose instead to work in the private sector. She currently works in the capital and real estate department at Covidien, a life sciences company in Mansfield. A longtime member of the Harvard Congregational Church, she is also well-known as a volunteer at various local fundraisers and activities.
These new members join Chairman George McKenna and current members Steve Colwell, Terry Mead, and Marie Crowley Sobalvarro on the committee, bringing it to its full complement of seven full members and three associates.
Members of Harvard’s Finance Committee are appointed by the town moderator to staggered three-year terms, and cannot be an elected or appointed town officer or any town employee receiving a salary.
