Museum PR Announcements News and Information

Michener Art Museum Announces New Board Appointments

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The James A. Michener Art Museum announces new appointments to its Board of Trustees.

As of January 1, 2013, Trustees Bill Aichele, Beth Beans Gilbert, Bill Mandel, Al Pritchard and Bob Welch will return to the board after having taken a mandatory one-year leave.


Michener Art Museum Director & CEO Lisa Tremper Hanover and Board President Lou Della Penna welcome new board members and look forward to building on the past year’s success in 2013.

“We are welcoming back to the board several individuals who are invested in the museum’s exhibitions, collections, and programs and believe that the institution is critical to the quality of life in this community,” says Michener Director & CEO Lisa Tremper Hanover. “As I begin my tenure here, I am grateful to have the guidance of seasoned and enthusiastic individuals in support of our future.”

The museum’s 21-member Board of Trustees is comprised of community leaders, museum volunteers and longstanding members recognized for their commitment to serving the arts and culture of Bucks County.

Kevin Putman will continue to serve as Chairman, Lou Della Penna will continue as President, and Bonnie O’Boyle will continue as Vice President. Virginia Sigety will continue as Secretary and Fred Schea as Treasurer.

“With Lisa Tremper Hanover at the helm, we’re excited about the future,” says Della Penna. “We had a remarkably successful 2012, with Painterly Voice and Offering of the Angels. We’re going to build on that in 2013 as we continue to grow our education program for children, offer exciting programs and events in our attractive new event space and build our collection.”

Returning Trustee Bob Welch, President of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, is the owner of Central Bucks Properties LP, Buckingham Properties LP, R.W. Group Inc. and Academy Wealth Advisers. He also serves on the Bucks Beautiful Board of Directors and Maureen M. Welch Scholarship Endowment Chair at East Stroudsburg University.

“Arts and cultural programs are so important for business, and why people settle in Central Bucks,” says Welch. “At the Chamber we do a lot of work promoting these assets, among which the Michener Art Museum is a jewel. It’s a museum that’s really going places and has opened so many peoples’ eyes to the artistic history of the region, telling the stories of world-renowned woodworkers George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell, as well as artists working today.”

William S. Aichele is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Chairman of Univest National Bank and Trust Co., Univest Investments, Inc., and Univest Insurance, Inc. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Grand View Hospital and is on the Board of Directors for the Grand View Health Foundation, the North Penn United Way and the Foundation for the North Penn United Way. He also shares his expertise as a member of the Peter Becker Community Development Committee.

Beth Beans Gilbert is vice president of the Fred Beans Family of Dealerships, where she oversees the management company and is responsible for the Fred Beans Charitable Fund. Past president of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, where she continues to serve as board member, she has helped plan Doylestown’s First Night as well as the Doylestown Centennial event. A certified Steven Covey 7 Habits facilitator who also completed a 10-day Outward Bound survival course, Gilbert joined the Michener board in 1993.

Bill Mandel served as art director and head designer for CBS and Channel 13 Educational TV in New York. An avid opera fan, he began visiting Bucks County in the 1950s and lives on a farm in Buckingham where he tends his many acres.

Certified Public Accountant Al Pritchard’s areas of expertise include forensic accounting/fraud investigation; marital asset investigation and valuation—divorce matters; business valuations; dissenting shareholder actions; and loss/damage analysis. He has testified as an expert witness in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Florida, and federal courts in matters of divorce, and has served as mediator in shareholder disputes in Eastern Pennsylvania.

In addition, Barbara Rabson will serve as volunteer representative Trustee. A former educator at the Guggenheim Museum, Arcadia University, University of Pennsylvania, and coordinator of the Children’s Film Festival at the Carnegie Institute, Rabson has been a docent at the Michener since 2003.
Dana Applestein, Bill Brenner and Tom Scannapieco have completed their second terms and are stepping off the board for their mandatory leave year.

The James A. Michener Art Museum is located at 138 South Pine St., Doylestown, Pa. Museum hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4:30 pm;
Saturday 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday noon to 5 pm. Admission: Members and children under 6, free; adults $15; seniors $13; college student with valid ID $11; ages 6-18 $7.50; under 6 free.

For more information, visit www.michenerartmuseum.org or call 215-340-9800.