COOPERSTOWN

Martha Frey, who with Henry S.F. Cooper Jr. has been the most public face of Otsego 2000 for a decade, has announced her resignation, effective July 2. She and her husband, photographer Andy Baugnet, will continue to live outside of Middlefield Center.
In addition to intensive staff work on the Jordanville and East Hill wind projects, Frey has been at the forefront of creation of the Glimmerglass Historic District and the Route 20 Scenic Byway (she is president of the Route 20 Association of New York State), the annual Historic Preservation Awards, and the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market.
Cooper called her “a brilliant leader,” adding, “she has done as much as anyone in the community for the protection of our cultural landscape. She has been a defining presence. We will miss her.”
Frey, whose father passed away last year, said she will pursue family-business matters and do private consulting.
A native of Chittenango, Madison County, she received a master’s from Cornell’s Historic Preservation Planning Program and worked for the City of Minneapolis Planning Department and Woodward-Clyde Consultants, also of Minneapolis, before joining Otsego 2000 in 1998.
“It was a dream come true for me to return to New York State and work for an organization that was focused on preserving the region’s cultural landscapes and the rural character of Central New York,” Frey said.
Former Otsego 2000 board member Nicole Dillingham, a lawyer and resident of Springfield, will serve as an interim executive director while the organization conducts search. for Frey’s replacement.

Labels: Locals