People and Happenings
Bill Clendaniel to Retire from Mount Auburn
In letters sent in September to all Friends members and many professional colleagues , Bill Clendaniel and Board of Trustees Chair James M . Storey announced that Bill has chosen to take early retirement , effective July 1 , 2008 , after more than 20 years as the Cemetery ’ s President .
“ These years have flown by ,” Bill wrote .“ With the help of a superb staff and Board of Trustees , we have accomplished much together .” Jim wrote :“ Bill ’ s tenure at Mount Auburn has been a very successful one and we know it will be a great challenge to ‘ replace ’ him .”
New initiatives led by Bill during his tenure have included creation of an award-winning Master Plan ; significant landscape refurbishment projects , such as the new path and landscaping at Willow Pond and the creation of the Victorian-inspired garden at Bigelow Chapel Lawn ; implementation of a professionally staffed preservation program and the building of the Preservation Services Building ; the design and sale of a variety of innovative new interment spaces , including the Azalea walls and Aronia Garden , Spruce Knoll and Halcyon Garden ; and the development of a comprehensive fundraising program through the Friends of Mount Auburn , which was organized as a 501 ( c ) 3 charitable trust in 1990 . The Cemetery has received many awards during this time for its stewardship , including , most recently , the National Trust for Historic Reservation Trustee ’ s Emeritus Award ( see box on p 16 ). Bill himself received the Gold Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1997 for “ leadership in restoring and revitalizing one of the greatest historical landscapes in the United States .”
People and Happenings
Bill has fostered an increased commitment to education and public outreach through the lectures , walks , and tours sponsored by the Friends and the creation of the Visitors Center , which will be completed this fall . He also conceived of and presided over many of the events of the 175th Anniversary of the Cemetery that reached new and diverse audiences and resulted in unprecedented visibility for Mount Auburn as a cultural organization .
Bill has spent more than 30 years managing private , non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving the natural and cultural heritage of Massachusetts and making these resources accessible to the public . Prior to coming to Mount Auburn he served for ten years as Deputy Director of The Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts , the nation ’ s oldest land trust . Before that he was Legal Counsel at the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office . He is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law School and was a Rhodes Scholar at Merton College , Oxford . He is currently a member of the boards of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Friends of the Public Garden in Boston and a Corporate Trustee of The Trustees of Reservations . He is a former trustee of Historic New England , Preservation Massachusetts , the National Association for Olmsted Parks , and the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation . He founded the Historic Cemeteries Alliance .
There will be a good-bye reception for Bill at the Cemetery in June 2008 .
Sean McDonnell Joins Friends Trustees
Sean McDonnell believes that Mount Auburn Cemetery can offer the community something more than many historic environments , an “ intact ” landscape , looking , in some places as it did 150 years ago , almost frozen in time . And he should know . Sean is President of the Architectural Heritage Foundation ( AHF ), a not-for-profit historic preservation development firm instrumental in forging links between development and preservation interests for more than thirty years . He became a Friends Trustee because the role has deep meaning for him :“ I think the Cemetery is a unique and spectacular place , a terrific resource that I hope to be associated with my whole life . And I ’ d like to see this resource prosper .” He sees his work as a Trustee as complementing what he does in the business world .“ I am mostly associated with commercial projects — saving historic mills in Lawrence , MA , and managing Old City Hall ( on School Street , Boston ). So it ’ s nice to plug into the more ‘ spiritual ’ part of preservation .” Sean lives with his wife , Mariana Webb , and their three daughters in Cambridge , very near the Cemetery .
New Friends Trustee Sean McDonnell outside Old City Hall , Boston ; Photo by Jennifer Johnston
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