Bennett Park
Photo of Greek Theater by Tracy Rakin
Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc.
The Bennett Park project is being undertaken under the auspices of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc. (MCP), which is also overseeing the renovation of the old Thorne Memorial School into a cultural, educational and civic center on Franklin Avenue in the Village.
Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc., is a nonprofit entity which wholly owns two limited liability companies. One of these is Bennett Park, LLC which acquired 35 acres for a park from the Millbrook Tribute Garden and the Thorne Family. The other is Thorne Memorial Building, LLC which acquired title to the Thorne Building from the Village of Millbrook. Both these LLCs are nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status.
Funding, Management, Governance, Programming
Capital Campaign: The MCP has launched a $21m Campaign for Millbrook to fund Phase 1 of the Bennett Park project and the renovation of the Thorne Building. The campaign is currently in the quiet phase. A list of Bennett Park Naming Opportunities is available upon request.
Operating Expenses: The Millbrook Tribute Garden, which has funded most operating costs to date, has committed a significant portion of its endowment to fund operating expenses at MCP for 20 years. MCP will also rely on ticket sales, rental fees, event fees, memberships, and continued private and foundation gifts to fund operations.
Programming and Events: Programming for Bennett Park will be delivered at the Outdoor Greek Theater, the Great Lawn, and an outdoor bandshell/performance center through partnerships with third-party non-profit organizations and include drama, music, dance, fairs, markets, specialty shows, poetry readings, and more.
Millbrook Community Partnership Announces Appointment of Cora Cahan as Chief Executive Officer
The Millbrook Community Partnership (MCP) is excited to announce the appointment of its first Chief Executive Officer, Cora Cahan. Cahan will provide strategic leadership and direction for both the Thorne Center and Bennett Park projects.
Board of Directors
OAKLEIGH THORNE
President of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc.
I am the CEO of Thorndale Farm, Inc., the family office of the Thorne family. I grew up in Millbrook, and after graduating from Columbia Business School, worked in Chicago, where I ran a legal publishing company, and Denver, where I ran an online education company. I moved back to Millbrook in 2005, and ultimately moved our family office back here and into a new office building on Front Street. I am very proud to be the 10th generation of my family to be involved with our community, and hope that with the restoration and renovation of the Thorne Building Community Center and the transformation of the Bennett property into a beautiful park, we can create vibrant gathering places for the greater Millbrook area that will last for many generations to come.
GEORGE T. WHALEN III
Treasurer of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc.
I am President of the Bank of Millbrook and owner/broker of George T. Whalen Real Estate. I serve as a trustee of Millbrook Tribute Garden, and am a former trustee of Wethersfield Foundation and Millbrook School. I am also a director of James L. Taylor Manufacturing Inc. I received my BA from Siena College and my MBA from Syracuse University.
It is a great pleasure to work with my fellow Directors to provide two wonderful new spaces in Millbrook to enhance our cultural and educational activities. The Thorne Building Community Center and Bennett Park will provide attractive venues for all sorts of activities for young and old alike.
SUZIE KOVNER
Board Member of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc.
I have been in Millbrook for eighteen years and have been hoping that something useful and beautiful could be built in place of Bennett College and inside the Thorne Building. I am delighted to be working with the team of leaders on the MCP board who are committed to rejuvenating the area and providing state-of-the-art facilities open to the entire Millbrook community.
My background is in the arts — first with the National Theater in London, and later with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Success Academy Charter School in NYC. I am a firm believer that music, theater, and dance nurtures young minds and encourages creativity and entrepreneurship. I hope the Thorne Building Community Center will be a great cultural and educational resource for all who live in and love Millbrook.
DAVID R. STACK
Board Member of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc.
David R. Stack is Co-Chairman of the McLaughlin & Stern trusts and estates department, received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D from University of Virginia School of Law. He has been with Mclaughlin & Stern since 1994, and divides his time between the firm’s main office in New York City and the branch office in Millbrook, New York.
Mr. Stack focuses his practice in the area of wills, trusts, estates and charitable planning. He also advises an array of private foundations, public charities and other non-profit organizations on their structure, operations and planned giving programs. He serves or has served on the Boards of a variety of not-for-profit organizations, including private foundations, museums, churches, theatres, child protective agencies and land conservation organizations.
ANN GIFFORD
Secretary of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc.
I am of counsel to the law firm of Teahan & Constantino and have lived in Millbrook for more than 44 years. My husband John grew up in Millbrook and we have raised our three children here. As a longtime member of the Millbrook Arts Group, having the Thorne Building renovated and the auditorium available for concerts, plays and other artistic endeavors is extremely important to me. The development of a park where we can hold programs outdoors will be a great asset to the village. The Thorne Building Community Center and Bennett Park are exciting projects, and I am thrilled to be a member of the Board of the MCP.
CHARLES PIERCE
Board Member of the Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc. and Chairman of the Thorne Building Planning Committee
My wife Barbara and I have lived in the Millbrook area since 1970. We happily raised our two children here. I was a Professor of English literature at Vassar College, and in 1987, I was appointed Director of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. I retired in 2007, having successfully raised the profile of the Morgan as a public cultural institution. Upon retirement, Barbara and I returned to live in Millbrook.
I have long been interested in this handsome building and so I met with Oakleigh Thorne to discover that he and I both shared a desire to use the Thorne Building to enrich the cultural, educational, social, and economic life of Millbrook. We also shared a conviction that we should go to the Millbrook community itself and discover how they thought we might best use this building, which is what we did.
