GOVERNOR SPITZER ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS TO HUDSON-FULTON-CHAMPLAIN QUADRICENTENNIAL COMMISSION

Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced three appointments to the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission. Joan K. Davidson was appointed Chair and Margaret Gibbs was appointed a member. Governor Spitzer also announced that Martin Ginsburg will be appointed as a member. The Commission was established to commemorate the upcoming 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's and Samuel de Champlain's voyages along the river and lake that bear their names. It is also focused on organizing a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Fulton's successful establishment of steam commerce on the Hudson River.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced three appointments to the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission. Joan K. Davidson was appointed Chair and Margaret Gibbs was appointed a member. Governor Spitzer also announced that Martin Ginsburg will be appointed as a member. The Commission was established to commemorate the upcoming 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s and Samuel de Champlain’s voyages along the river and lake that bear their names. It is also focused on organizing a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Fulton’s successful establishment of steam commerce on the Hudson River.

“Joan K. Davidson will be an extraordinary leader of this effort, bringing local governments, cultural institutions, historians, environmentalists, businesses and the public together in this exciting endeavor,” said Governor Spitzer. “We are grateful for her willingness to help shape this very exciting effort.”

Ms. Davidson has for decades been a leader in the civic affairs of New York City, New York State, and particularly in the Hudson Valley. She has served as Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and for 18 years as President of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. Ms. Davidson has been an active member of the boards of The Nature Conservancy, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Farmland Trust, NYS Preservation League, NRDC, The Municipal Art Society, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, Public Theater, South Street Seaport, Columbia County Historical Society, and Columbia Land Conservancy. She currently serves on the board of the Hudson River Foundation. Ms. Davidson attended Cornell University; she lives in Germantown, New York and New York City.

Ms. Gibbs is Director of the Essex County Historical Society in Elizabethtown, New York. In her seven years as Director, she has helped secure funding for several special projects that celebrate the people and places of the Adirondacks. Ms. Gibbs also serves as a member of the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial Committee, which is developing commemorative events for the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s arrival in 1609. Ms. Gibbs is also the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association. She has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit management and strong ties with the Adirondack community.

Mr. Ginsburg is the architect and principal of Ginsburg Development LLC, and has been in the development business for 45 years. He is a member of the National Association of Home Builders and the Urban Land Institute, and served as President of the Builders Institute of Westchester and Putnam Counties, Inc. Mr. Ginsburg organized the Historic River Towns of Westchester's Flower Village Program, and was instrumental in activating Westchester’s River Walk Initiative and the Village of Haverstraw Waterfront Sculpture Trail. He sits on the board of the Hudson River Museum and the Arts Alliance of Haverstraw. In 2003, he was inducted into the Westchester County Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame.

In 2002, the State Legislature adopted a law establishing the Commission to plan and develop the 400th anniversary celebrations of the voyages of discovery made by Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, as well as the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton's steamship voyage along the Hudson River. These voyages were some of the most significant events in European exploration, and initiated some of the earliest contacts between Native Americans and Europeans. These anniversaries will be observed in 2009.

The 2002 Act declares: "This celebration should be statewide, involving all the people of the state, as well as reaching well beyond the borders of the state through imaginative and innovative programs, events, exhibits and new and expanded facilities and marketing to engage the people of the nation and from all parts of the world.”

The Act also declares that the 400th anniversary and the years preceding it offer great opportunities to inspire and educate particularly the young people of the State, to increase recognition and appreciation of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain and the diverse communities that developed along the Hudson River and Lake Champlain over four centuries, and to develop a thriving natural and cultural tourism economy.

Tara Sullivan of Red Hook was recently named Executive Director and Robert Bullock of Saratoga was named Director.