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In her last two
years of high school, Brenda supplemented her business courses by
volunteering as an aide in the main office for then principal, Dr.
John E. Fitzgerald. She enjoyed her work, but never imagined that,
years later, she would return to the GCS and expand her secretarial
role to that of a Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA) leader
and mobilizer of student volunteerism in the school and community.
After high school,
Brenda attended Adirondack Community College and then spent the next
five years working as a secretary at Universal Convection Group, an
engineering firm specializing in industrial
heat exchangers. When the company president, Jack Baker, retired
and closed the business, Brenda took the Civil Service test for
Washington County, earned a very high score and waited for a job
opportunity to surface. Her first phone call was from GCS. “I still
remember that phone call,” Brenda recalls, “I was called in to
interview with Jim Briglin (school superintendent) and Dr.
Fitzgerald. I was pretty nervous and was amazed that I could have
been called to anywhere in the County, yet was invited back to the
same office where I had been an aide years before.” It was the fall
of 1986 and Brenda was hired as the high school principal’s
secretary, in the main office. She has worked in the high school
ever since.
 From
the start, Brenda wanted to do more than just her contracted job.
She teamed with former social studies teacher John Morabito, as
co-advisor of the Student Council (SC). This was a platform from
which Brenda could motivate and organize students to volunteer.
After five years, she became the sole advisor for the next twelve.
Former English teacher and National Honor Society advisor Marie
Buckley had created “Operation Rudolph,” using donations and fund
raising to provide Christmas presents to needy Greenwich children
and families.
Brenda
(center right) at the Polar Plunge for tor Special Olympics
Brenda began to work with
Marie and the SC later came to sponsor this event. This year,
Operation Rudolph is distributing presents and meals to forty-one
students from twenty-six families. For the last three years, library
aide Tanya Grimes has worked with Brenda as co-advisor. To expand
volunteerism opportunities for GCS students and provide more benefit
to others, Brenda sought and received permission to expand SC
membership beyond just the four elected members per grade to include
general members. “This has been a great change because with more
kids, we can do more and some of the joining members have been our
biggest contributors.” Among the programs adopted during her twenty
years with the SC are highway cleanups, the Senior Citizens Prom,
assistance with the VFW Community Thanksgiving Dinner, food drives
for the Greenwich Food Pantry and fund-raisers for cystic fibrosis.
Today, the SC is also in charge of organizing Homecoming.
 Six
years ago, Brenda moved from the Main Office to the Counseling
Office. In addition to overseeing appointments, interim reports,
report cards, transcripts, mailings and many other responsibilities,
she warehouses and distributes school supplies donated from local
churches and a County organization to students in need.
Another advisorship
that Brenda has taken on is that of Yearbook co-advisor, with
librarian Nicole Carner. This is another instance in which student
volunteers are organized to create something very special for
others. Brenda credits other support staffers for contributing in
similar ways and helping to elevate school and community cultures.
“Amy McPhail (main office secretary) runs ‘Random Acts of Kindness,’
a program that collects clothes and donations for the needy and
hosts a community
Thanksgiving dinner.
Brenda In the high school parking lot 1978
Tanya Grimes works side by side with me in all of
the SC projects.”
Brenda’s organizing
for good causes does not end at work. She is a Washington County
Community Workshop respite provider for a disabled adult. Brenda
also organizes a Polar Plunge, in Lake George to raise money for the
Special Olympics. Brenda notes that “The Special Olympics is
especially near and dear to me, because my brother, Peter, is
disabled.”
 In
addition to secretarial responsibilities and advisorships, Brenda is
active in the CSEA at the State, Regional, and local levels. She
represents Washington County on the statewide CSEA Board of
Directors, is the Education Committee chairperson for the Region,
President of the Washington County Local (includes 4 schools and 3
municipalities), past Unit President for 15 years at Greenwich and
current Vice President.
Brenda has fond
memories of her GCS days. She was a member of the Photography Club,
Future Business Leaders of America and the Home Economics Club. “Mr.
Kuba and Ms. Maloney were my mentors. They were both great to me and
I could always talk with them about anything.” In those days, Brenda
had a part-time job in a Photomat kiosk in the “Big N” (now K-Mart)
Plaza parking lot and rode a Honda Supersport 400 Four motorcycle.
In the spring of 2008
Dino and Brenda cheer for
the Patriots Brenda’s son,
Gabe (GCS ‘08), bought her a vintage Supersport
motorcycle, like the one she rode in the 1970s and her husband, Dino
(GCS ’79) restored it to gleaming, working condition.
The fall of 2009
was a special time for Brenda and Dino. They renewed their wedding
vows twenty-five years after their marriage. Brenda and Dino shared
the day with a celebration including friends, daughter Kresney (GCS
’04), Gabe and his partner, Chelsi McKernon (GCS ’08), and their son
Wyatt.
Brenda is the daughter of the late Glen and Lois Townsend of
Greenwich and she has six siblings, including Marilyn (Townsend)
Rogers (’62), of Easton; Susan (Townsend) Douglas (’64), of Malta;
the late Betty Townsend (’66); Glen Townsend (’69), of Argyle;
Eileen (Townsend) Kath (’73), of Greenwich; and Peter Townsend, of
Glens Falls.
Brenda celebrates the renewing
of her vows with co-workers Rich Zwirn, Pat Morris
and former GCS high school principal John "Doc" Fitzgerald.
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