Vaiani takes helm at GHF

GALVESTON — Cheryl Vaiani became president and Joe Wilhelm vice president of the Galveston Historical Foundation for 2010-11 on Friday.

Vaiani has chaired the foundation’s Galveston County Historical Museum and Heritage Properties and Bishop’s Palace committees.

She is an assistant professor in the Institute for Medical Humanities and a clinical ethicist in the Institutional Ethics Service at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

She is a member of the Galveston County Historical Commission and the city’s ethics committee.

Retired U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Wilhelm, a foundation board member, is a longtime volunteer for the tall ship Elissa and the Texas Seaport Museum, having joined the Elissa crew in 1998 and served as head of seamanship training, head of the engineering committee and mast captain. He works as a project manager for GHG Corp. in Clear Lake.

Vaiani and Wilhelm took their offices during the foundation’s annual meeting at Ashton Villa after outgoing board President David Bowers gave a farewell speech outlining a year in which he said the foundation had rebounded from the challenging legacy of Hurricane Ike.

The foundation’s other officers for the year are Dwayne Jones, secretary, and John White, treasurer.

The other members elected to the board are Sam Collins, Debbie Morris, Angie Brown, Cheryl Henry, Kelley Sullivan, James Grady, Gail Frasier, Claire Johnson, Larry Wygant, Margaret Doran, Bets Anderson, Kevin Scott, Alan Kamen, Mardi Mitchell, Ellen Whaley, Ed Green, Mary Smelker, John Smith, Clyde Wood, Kay Sandor and Stan Delahousaye. Members elected to the 2010-11 advisory board are Albert Shannon, Jeff Kaler, Weez Doherty, Carolyn Clybyrn, Cheryl Henry and Jerry Finger.

During the meeting, the Spirit of GHF Award, one of the foundation’s highest honors, was given to Maggie and Ennis Williams.

For more than 10 years, the couple has served in a wide array of volunteer capacities, taking seats on the board and steering committee, working as Dickens and Historic homes tour volunteers and serving in leadership roles on the Underground Railroad, African-American Heritage, Education and Rosewood Cemetery committees.

Larry Wygant, Paul Mendoza, Chula Ross Sanchez, Thomas Sanders, Samuel Collins and Eugene Aubry received President’s Awards for Distinguished Volunteer Service.

Fred Schlemmer received the foundation’s Outstanding Historic Homes Tour Volunteer award, and Lamar Clark received its Outstanding Dickens on The Strand Volunteer Award.

A new award, the President’s Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service at Bishop’s Palace, was given to Joanne Dann, Zaz Mijares, Janet Morris, Steve Austin, Jan Kittler and Tom Green for volunteering in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike to serve as volunteer docents at Bishop’s Palace.