Who We Are

Great schools, the beauty of nature, and a wonderful community spirit make Mountain Lakes one of the best places to live and to learn. The Mountain Lakes H&SA is an organization of parents, teachers, and community members who typify that community spirit through volunteerism and a dedication to service to our schools. We have more than 700 members and over 50 volunteers.

The Board

The H&SA Board of Directors, a group of sixteen volunteers, plans, organizes and coordinates all the activities of the H&SA. Committees, created by the Board, focus on specific projects or events. Click on the pictures to learn more about the responsibilities of each Board position. Use the arrows to scroll.

LaVonne Feigeles
President

Marla Leen-Ravin
Vice President of Programming

Lee Kirby
Vice President of Fundraising

Maura Gill
Secretary

Bernadette McKinney
Treasurer

Dawn Smith
Wildwood Chair

Allison Fenton
Wildwood Assistant Chair

Cathi Harris
Briarcliff Chair

Bev Bernstein
Briarcliff Assistant Chair

Robin Kiefer
High School Chair

Cheryl DiMarco
High School Assistant Chair

Colleen Gacawich
Membership Chair

Beth Grebe
Bulletin Chair

Margie Peacock
Parliamentarian

Fay Vujic
Historian

Mimi Kaplan
Scholarship Chair

President - LaVonne Feigeles

The President serves as the leader and spokesperson of the H&SA. In consultation with the Board, s/he sets the tone, role and agenda for the Home & School Association’s school year. In the leadership role, the president presides at all Board meetings and the Annual Meeting. The president fills vacancies on the Board, appoints standing committee and special committee chairs, is a member of the Budget and Scholarship Committees and an ex-officio member of all other committees, except Nominating. S/he coordinates and leads the Board and Committee members in fulfilling their respective jobs in order to meet the mission and goals of the H&SA. As spokesperson, s/he is the key contact person and representative for the H&SA to the community, the Board of Education and the schools. S/he attends and speaks, if needed or requested, at the four H&SA general program meetings held during the school year and the Back-to-School nights. S/he meets with school principals, the BOE Superitendent and community leaders to discuss issues of mutual concern.

Vice President of Programming - Marla Leen-Ravin

The H&SA sponsors, at a minimum, four general program meetings per school year. These meetings are informational, topical and geared to members of the community, generally to those with school-age children. It is the responsibility of the Vice President of Programming to select the topics for general meetings, arrange for speakers and/or panelists, and secure locales. The VP of Programming acts as president in the president’s absence. Association bylaws provide for the VP of Programming to supervise committees and positions as assigned by the Board.

Vice President of Fundraising - Lee Kirby

In order to subsidize the numerous activities and programs that the H&SA sponsors for the benefit of the Mountain Lakes school system and its students, the H&SA conducts various fundraising events during the course of the school year; at both the district-wide (e.g. Election Day Bake Sale) and individual-school (e.g. School Book Fairs) level. The Vice President of Fundraising has oversight of all of these efforts; either to give advice and direction to chairs, or, in many cases, to roll up her sleeves and take a more hands-on role. The Board relies upon its VP of Fundraising to suggest new and innovative fundraising ideas, as well as to keep it abreast of any legal requirements that may impact on fundraising events.

Secretary - Maura Gill

The Secretary takes minutes of the Board meetings and the Annual Meeting. Thereafter, the secretary is responsible for distributing the minutes to Board members. The secretary keeps the official copies of the minutes for the Association and is responsible for an up-to-date contact list for Board members.

Treasurer - Bernadette McKinney

The Treasurer supervises and manages the funds of the Association, as well as maintains the financial records. S/he deposits and records receipts, prepares and makes disbursements as authorized. A financial report is given at each Board meeting. The treasurer is responsible for the filing of all tax and legal forms and maintaining the originals of all financial records. S/he serves as chair of the Budget Committee and prepares the proposed budget for approval at the Annual Meeting. This is a two-year position.

Wildwood Chair - Dawn Smith

The Wildwood Chair, in partnership with an Assistant Chair, solicits, appoints, coordinates and oversees each of the special committees and volunteers appointed to conduct the H&SA volunteer activities run for the benefit of the students and facility of Wildwood School; activities such as Popcorn Fridays, Book Festivals, Field Day, Bingo Night, Teacher Appreciation Week. Many volunteers are needed to run the numerous and fun-filled events and activities throughout the year, so the Wildwood chairs are busy and active. For more information about volunteering at Wildwood, click here.

The Wildwood Chair also acts as a liaison between the H&SA and the administration at Wildwood School. The Chair may prepare and submit monthly articles for The Bulletin to keep parents and the community advised of the H&SA events and activities at Wildwood.

Wildwood Assistant Chair - Allison Fenton

The Wildwood Assistant Chair works with the Wildwood Chair to solicit, appoint, coordinate and oversee each of the special committees and volunteers who run the numerous H&SA activities and events for Wildwood students and facility. The Assistant Chair learns all about the position for this one-year term, as s/he will assume the role of Wildwood Chair the following year.

Briarcliff Chair - Cathi Harris

The Briarcliff Chair, along with an Assistant Chair, solicits, appoints, coordinates and oversees each of the special committees and volunteers appointed to conduct the H&SA volunteer activities and events run for the benefit of the students of Briarcliff School; activities such as school dances, teacher appreciation luncheons, Book Festival, and Field Day. For more information about volunteering at Briarcliff, click here. In addition to coordinating the efforts of a large group of volunteers, s/he acts as a liaison between the H&SA and the administration at Briarcliff School. The Chair may prepares and submit monthly articles for The Bulletin to keep parents and the community apprised of the activities and upcoming H&SA events at Briarcliff.

Briarcliff Assistant Chair - Bev Bernstein

The Briarcliff Assistant Chair works with the Briarcliff Chair to solicit, appoint, coordinate and oversee each of the special committees and volunteers who run the numerous H&SA activities and events for Briarcliff students and facility. The Assistant Chair learns all about the position for this one-year term, as s/he will assume the role of Briarcliff Chair the following year.

fHigh School Chair - Robin Kiefer

The High School Chair, aided by an Assistant Chair, helps recruit and thereafter oversees a large group of parent volunteers, from Class Parents and Room Parents, to servers and cooks at the Pasta Dinner. Assisting with Back-to-School night, hosting an annual Guidance Dinner, providing refreshments for events throughout the year and coordinating efforts for Teacher Appreciation Week all fall under the purview of the high school chairs. For more information about High School Volunteering, click here. In addition to coordinating the efforts of a large group of vounteers, the High School Chair acts as a liaison between the H&SA and the high school administration. As needed, s/he sends in notices to The Bulletin for upcoming events.

High School Assistant Chair - Cheryl DiMarco

The High School Assistant Chair works with the Chair to coordinate and organize the many volunteers at the high school level. S/he assists with many of the hands-on activities during the school year. In this one year position as Assistant Chair, s/he learns all about the chair role, and takes the Chair position the following year.

Membership Chair - Colleen Gecawich

An active and large membership is the foundation of the H&SA. All of our programs, grants and publications are made possible by a combination of your membership dues and your generous contributions during our fundraisers. The Membership Chair organizes the annual H&SA membership drive and maintains an on-going effort to encourage new memberships throughout the year. This Chair also maintains the membership records.

Bulletin Chair - Beth Grebe

With the aid of a committee, the Bulletin Chair sorts, acknowledges, proofs and corrects submissions to the H&SA monthly publication, The Bulletin. Articles and ads are submitted from the schools, the Board of Education, various H&SA committees and chairs, Borough departments and agencies, and community organizations. A professional publisher is used for layout and printing. Editing, proofing, invoicing, keeping statistics and mailings are all responsibilities of The Bulletin committee. These jobs may be broken down among various members of the committee. If you like publishing, writing, or simply love The Bulletin, you can volunteer to help.

At the beginning of the school year, a Mountain Lakes Public Schools Handbook is published and distributed to parents of students in the Mountain Lakes schools. Over the summer, the Bulletin Chair compiles the information to be included in this publication.

Parliamentarian - Margie Peacock

The Parliamentarian acts as a consultant to assure that meetings are conducted in accordance with the bylaws and advises on parliamentary procedures using Robert’s Rules of Order. On a yearly basis, the Parliamentarian reviews the bylaws to be sure they are accurate and current.

Historian - Fay Vujic

The Historian is charged with gathering and maintaining copies of all H&SA records and/or documents generated during the year; e.g. minutes, list of Board members, budget, and copies of our monthly publication, The Bulletin. (The Treasurer keeps the originals of financial documents.) These documents are filed with folders from previous years which are held by the historian during his/her tenure in office. The Historian is asked to be familiar with past activities of the H&SA in order to educate the Board if the need arises. At the end of the school year, the Historian facilitates the transfer of job descriptions and files between outgoing and incoming Board members.

Scholarship Chair - Mimi Kaplan

One of the original purposes of the H&SA was the awarding of scholarships. That proud tradition continues today with the H&SA Scholarship Program, run by the Scholarship Chair. The Scholarship Chair spearheads a fundraising drive to supplement the Scholarship Fund and publicizes the availability of scholarships to MLHS seniors. In conjunction with the MLHS Guidance Department, the Scholarship Chair and his/her committee identify and award scholarships to deserving college-bound students.

Joining the Board

Board positions are filled each year with new and returning members. Most positions are one-year terms, and require varying degrees of time commitment depending on the position. If you are interested in serving on the H&SA Board, please read the descriptions here and contact us to learn more about our nominations process. Serving on the board has been a very rewarding experience for all of our past board members. It's a great way to get involved and to give something back to our terrific schools.

How the H&SA Began

The H&SA was established by Mountain Lakes parents over fifty years ago to serve as a liaison group and a communications vehicle between the homes and the schools, as well as to provide service to the schools. The group’s original focus of granting scholarships to Mountain Lakes’ students expanded over the decades to include in-school programs, program meetings of interest to the general public, annual events, and creation of several publications.