Norman Rockwell Museum Announces New Associate Director

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. - Norman Rockwell Museum announced today the hiring of Charles Urquhart, an experienced fundraiser with strong family ties to the Berkshires, as Associate Director for Museum Advancement, the Museum's top development position. Urquhart began work at the Museum on September 9.

"I am delighted to welcome Charlie to our Museum leadership at this exciting time," says Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO of Norman Rockwell Museum. "We are heading into the fall of our 40th anniversary, following a successful and rewarding year of celebration and new initiatives."

Last February, Norman Rockwell Museum announced the launch of the public phase of its comprehensive campaign, "Sharing Rockwell's Legacy," with $18 million raised, including $10 million in gifts and pledges of artwork, toward a goal of $25 million. The campaign provides essential funding for cutting-edge programs, exhibitions, and special initiatives vital to the Museum's future, as well as endowment support and contributions to the Museum's Norman Rockwell holdings and growing collection of illustration art. Also in February, the Museum launched its Berkshire Campaign, chaired by Trustees Perri Petricca and Mark Selkowitz.

"Charlie brings to Norman Rockwell Museum an impressively broad range of development experience, especially in the areas of major gifts and capital campaigns," says Shirley Ferguson Jenks, an independent development professional currently serving as fundraising counsel to the Museum.


"His experience and talents are extremely well suited to our array of fundraising needs and opportunities," notes Norton Moffatt. "The Museum looks forward to Charlie's leadership and national perspectives." Urquhart has been in the development field for 12 years. He began his fundraising career in 1997 as a foundation grants officer with the Environmental Defense Fund, followed by work in foundations/grants with Human Rights Watch, the international advocacy and research organization. In 2001, Charles joined CCS Fund Raising, a leading fundraising and management consulting firm, where he served as resident counsel for organizations including the Archdiocese of New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Women in Need ($7 million campaign goal), and the United States Fund for UNICEF ($100 million campaign goal). While at CCS, he also wrote feasibility/planning studies for the United Nations Association-USA Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign, Global Reporting Initiative, and Trustees of Reservations, among others.

In 2005, Urquhart joined the staff of Women in Need, an organization dedicated to providing shelter and counseling for women and children, as Director of Individual and Planned Giving. In 2007, he affiliated with the Interim Solutions practice at Jeanne Sigler & Associates in New York, serving in a senior development capacity at two non-profit organizations in transition: Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the University's Miller Theatre.

Urquhart is the son of Sir Brian Urquhart of Tyringham, Mass., a writer and former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. A graduate of Hobart College, he holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He and his wife and son recently relocated to the Berkshires.
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Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said. 

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