Niagara County Community College President James Klyczek presented Chancellor’s Awards to Kathleen C. Gerbasi and Julie Woodworth last month during the annual college recognition dinner.

Gerbasi, an associate professor of psychology, received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Woodworth, an associate professor of nursing, received the award for Excellence in Training.

Gerbasi began her full-time teaching career at NCCC in fall 2000 after teaching as an adjunct for three semesters. She was promoted to associate professor in the fall of 2008. She has conducted numerous studies, co-authored and authored many publications, and made numerous presentations in the field of anthrozoology.

Her extensive and unique research led her to create a new course at the college, Psychology of Human-Animal Relations, which she teaches once a year.

Woodworth attained Certified Nurse Educator in 2008. She earned her master’s in nursing in 1999 and her bachelor’s in nursing in 1993, and began teaching at NCCC in 2002, bringing to the classroom an effective mix of solid academic credentials and 13 years of professional nursing experience. She continues to work on a relief basis in the intensive care units and emergency rooms of local hospitals.

The Lewiston Council on the Arts recently announced its newly elected board of directors for 2010. Each will serve yearlong terms.

Board officers are president, Liza Williams, office manager of Industrial Power&Lighting Corp. of Buffalo; vice president, Claudia Marasco, educator and self-employed entrepreneur; secretary, Jacquie Lodico, retired executive director of the Niagara Council of the Arts; and treasurer, Elizabeth Davis, director of sales for the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp.

Other board members are Bob Averill, a marine artist; Lisa Black, vice president of operations and manager of accounting at First Niagara Bank; Sue Campbell, editor of the Niagara Wheatfield Tribune; Barbara Cich, secretary to the Town of Lewiston supervisor; Bonnie Clark, a retired educator and Niagara University writing tutor; Bob Gianetti, poet and antiquarian book seller, and owner of Bob’s Olde Books; Jeff Jordan, of MRM Planner; Gene Kulbago, retired English teacher; Carrie Veltri, director of development, University at Buffalo College of Arts&Sciences; and Marija Vukcevich, freelance columnist.

The advisory board includes Alphonso M.Bax, Angela Berti, Karl Frankovitch, Maureen Kellick, Ann Kennedy, Jerry Mosey, Fay Northrop and Jerry Wolfgang.

“The new board is a wonderful mix of talent and experience,” said Mosey, the departing board president. “I strongly believe that this board will prove to be an invaluable team —one that will effectively incorporate the mission of the council: ‘To promote the humanities and the visual and performing arts . . . in the greater Lewiston area for the enjoyment, enrichment and education of the general public.’ ”

The board of trustees of the North Tonawanda History Museum earlier this month installed the following officers for next year:

Carl Tamburlin, president; Walter Yaro, vice president; Barbara Wickman, treasurer; Donna Zellner Neal, secretary.

Neal and Yaro were re-elected to three-year terms.

Randall Warblow, Edward Wokersien and Carl Onofrio also continue as trustees.

A board retreat will be held Jan. 16 at the History Museum, led by Cindy A. Eller, vice president for development of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and executive director of the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation.

The Wilson High School Student Council recently made a large donation of nonperishable food items to the Country Roads and Caring Neighbors Food Pantry in Wilson. Volunteers in the effort included Ad-am Jones, Joe Schrader, Sam Buckner, Rebecca Gertz, Katrina Dunlap, Brooke Baker, Josh Ross, Shannon Gifford, Chris Sidote, James Farmer, Tom Berg, R. J. Seager and Advisor Garrett Stack.

Leadership Niagara Board Chairwoman Christine S. O’- Hara received a special citation from the Niagara County Legislature in recognition of her leadership. The citation was presented on the 19th floor of the newly-renovated Giacomo Hotel by Legislature Majority Leader Richard E. Updegrove at Leadership Niagara’s December board meeting.

O’Hara serves as director of annual giving at Niagara University, and is a 1992 Leadership Niagara graduate.

The citation formally recognized O’Hara’s commitment to Leadership Niagara as chairwoman since 2008. During her tenure, the organization pur-sued a new mission to advance the 25-year-old community leadership program. She guided the group toward new strategy, objectives, core values, re-branding, as well as led the search for the organization’s new executive director, Molly

A. Fitzpatrick. “Christine elevated our view

of leadership and our community,” stated Dan Conley, incoming board chairman and vice-president of Risk Management at First Niagara.