Meet The Board Candidates
MICHELE STOVEKEN
SUE SHAPIRO
With her diverse background and keen community awareness, Michele is aptly suited for a position on the library board. For over four decades, since 1983, she has been part of the Minisink community. In that time, she has met and worked with many, many neighbors, local business members, and countless others whom are interested in the welfare of our town and surrounding area.
Michele earned a Bachelor of Science from SUNY New Paltz and a Masters in Education from Mount St. Mary College. She attended French Dressmaking School in Manhattan. After finishing her education, Michele began working for the accounting firm Steinhauer and Glickman on in Manhattan, and afterward served as a realtor in Orange County, NY and Sussex County, NJ with a local office in Westtown, NY.
Additionally, she has played an active role on the Unionville Community Center committee by organizing the annual Artisan Craft sales, while also creating and leading the first Unionville Knitting Group. As a member of the Greenville Resource Center, Michele organized and taught knitting classes for 4H and local Girl Scouts.
For the last 25 years she has been, and is presently, a MVSD K-12 tutor with a Mathematics and Science concentration. She has dedicated much time and energy to educating our local students and helping them achieve success
Sue has lived in Orange County for over 40 years and built a home in the Town of Greenville in 1989. She worked as a milk tester, started, and operated a dog grooming business for twenty years, and in 2012 became a nurse.
The past 8 years, she has been involved with Hospice, and became a certified end of life Doula. Back 2001, her frustration started with our lack of library services. Out of that frustration, she became part of a group that formed The Greenville Resource Center in 2004 and remained on the Board. She also served on the Greenville Parkland Committee, and helped the park grow with a playground, ball fields, and trails.
She helped establish the nonprofit, Friends of the Minisink Valley Public Initiative, and would be honored to be on the Board of Trustees for the new Minisink Valley Public Library.
SUZANNE JONES
Suzanne Jones, her husband Steve, and their five children have resided in the Minisink Valley since August 2017. A native of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Suzanne received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with concentrations in both writing and literature, from Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA. Following an externship in the public relations department of a rehabilitation medicine facility, Suzanne honed her writing, editing, and graphic design skills in the home office of a major Northeastern PA insurance company while attending graduate school at the University of Scranton. She relocated to the Philadelphia, PA, area a few years later where she worked for a medical communications company as a medical writer and medical editor.
While raising her children in Saranac Lake, NY, Byram Township, NJ, and currently in the Minisink area, Suzanne has done extensive freelance work over the years, providing editorial expertise for works published by both individuals and corporate clients. She is a member of Holy Cross Church and is a third-grade catechist. Suzanne credits the Saranac Lake Free Library and the E. Louise Childs Memorial Branch Library in Sussex County, NJ, for instilling an early love of reading in her children and providing them with opportunities to forge new friendships and participate in a variety of educational activities. She is excited for the possibility of a library opening in the Minisink area so that families can have similar opportunities in our community.
ANNE FRIEDLE
Anne has lived in the Minisink area for the past 23 years and currently works for the Minisink Valley School District. She has owns a home in the town of Mt. Hope along with her husband and youngest daugther.
Over the past 23 years she has been involved in many community organizations including PTO member, reglious teacher, girl scout leader, and volunteer at the Greenville Rescource Center. She believes library in Minisink would have a positive impact on the local community
KAREN KUPERUS
Karen grew up in Northern New Jersey and has lived in Orange Co for over 40 years. She moved to Westtown, NY, in 2000 with her husband and four daughters. She worked in the Medical Field as an X-ray technician for 18 years and is currently the manager and bookkeeper for two of her family’s businesses.
Upon moving to the Minisink Valley district, she was immediately disappointed at the lack of library services. A library had been instrumental in her children's lives growing up and was also necessary for providing the materials needed to further their education. She also believes that a library is beneficial to all community members, as it offers many services and programs that are currently unavailable in a rural community.
She has been a volunteer at the GRC since 2015 and invests most of her free time in her church, local community, and family. She especially loves encouraging her eight grandchildren in their love of reading.
PAUL RICKARD
Paul Rickard, his wife, and two children have resided in the Minisink Valley School District for 19 years. A native of Otisville, Paul holds a Master of Public Administration from the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In addition, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University and an Associate of Arts degree from Orange County Community College. Paul is a graduate of the 221st Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
For the past 34 years, he has been a Police Officer. Currently, he is the Chief of Police for the Town of Mount Hope. He is a lifelong learner and avid reader. He currently enjoys the library services of the RCLS via the Port Jervis Library which is currently supplied through the Town of Mount Hope for a very minimal cost.
SCARLET YACENKO-DEVENS
Scarlet Yacenko-Devens has been a Minisink resident for 12 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and enjoys her work as a Christian school administrator and writing teacher. She loves spending her free time with family and friends exploring the local area looking for great coffee shops and trivia nights. She also spends as much time as possible travelling, reading, and playing board games.
Scarlet is eager to become more involved in the local community and represent the fiscally conservative views and traditional family values of the Minisink residents.
KATHY HOSKINS
Hello, my name is Kathleen Hosking. I was born in Albany NY. I graduated from Marylrose Academy in Albany, and I graduated from SUNY Cobleskill. I am married to Michael Hosking for a little over 51 years I am retired from Orange Regional Center after 27years of service. We have 3 daughters, Wendy, Leanne, and Kristen. We have 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. All three of my daughters graduated from Minisink Valley School.
I was very active through the years with Girl Scouts and whatever my girls were involved in while in school. I was an election inspector for over 30 years with the Orange County Board of Elections. I was active in politics in Mt.Hope and volunteered my time with different organizations. I taught religion at Holy Names Church in Otisville and was President of the Parish Council. I have been an active member of Minisink Valley Rotary for 14 years and am currently President. I am Vice President of the Mt. Hope Seniors Group