2023 BOD Nominations

Board of Directors Nominations for 2023-2026:

In order to be  on the board, you must be a paid-in-full member of KLWA.  KLWA bylaws also require information from all nominees about their interest in the activities of KLWA, Kirk Lake and its Watershed, and any particular areas of expertise and personal/professional background. These brief bios of the nominees are published below.  

Alan Belsky  has lived on Kirk Lake since 1992.  I have always been a steward for our lake, trying to educate my neighbors on the issues that affect us.  Excessive runoff, sewage, fertilizer over use, weeds and sedimentation are all serious issues affecting our water quality.  I live on Tennis Court Road with my wife and two sons.  You can often see us enjoying the lake in our water ski boat or kayaks.  The lake represents not only beauty, but helps maintain our home values.  I hope to help grow our membership base and continue to keep the lake in the best shape possible. I have been president for the past 6 years, during this time we have managed through an incredible milfoil weed infestation (summer 2020) and now they been completely eliminated.  I take great pride in the work the KLWA board and its contributors have done.

Neil Benen is a fairly new resident of Kirk Lake. Shortly after moving here as a full time resident, he immediately fell in love with the lake and has since bought two properties on the lake.  He is a principled, fair minded man and a nature lover who truly believes the health and well being of Kirk Lake is of the utmost importance. Neil is a marine engineer and has been a business owner in the pump industry since 1981 dealing extensively with NYC DEP in the water and wastewater markets.

Eileen Grossman has served on the KLWA Board of Directors for the past three years.  My husband and I have lived on Lakeside Rd since 2013 and we love living here. I believe it’s important to do everything possible to protect our beautiful lake, whether it be cleaning the shoreline or educating our neighbors on ways to protect our environment. My employment background includes working for a large corporation for over thirty years where I acquired knowledge on operational excellence; I believe this, along with my science background, provides a unique perspective that has been valuable to KLWA. Since retiring in 2019, I have additional time to do what’s necessary to help KLWA meet our goals. I look forward to dedicating my energy to protecting our lake helping ensure that future generations can enjoy our private paradise. 

Abby Grow  is one of the founding members of the Kirk Lake Watershed Association.  She currently serves as a member of the board of directors of KLWA and the KLWA Lake Management Team.  Abby has received training on KLWA’s water testing program, helped create KLWA’s newsletter and assists in the updating of the KLWA website.  She has also been involved in the Kirk Lake clean-ups, assisted with finding contractors for the triploid sterile carp, and preparing information for the community for the annual meetings.   Abby remains a member of the KLWA Board of Directors to continue to improve the overall health of Kirk Lake. 

My name is Paul Hertz and my family purchased our home on Kirk Lake over 40 years ago. I have been fortunate enough to do significant traveling over my life but our Kirk Lake property remains my favorite place in the world. I am a practicing dentist, inventor/researcher and professional artist. I spend most of my available time at Kirk Lake, as have my family and children. These important ties, dating over 40 years, have motivated my interests and active advocacy in protecting the health of Kirk Lake. I have witnessed, over the decades, the effects of changing climate as well as activity on the lake. As current President of the Interlochen Park Association homeowners, I have had the opportunity to also hear opinions of my neighbors, and their concerns. These experiences lead me to seek your support to become a member of the board of KLWA. Please consider my history, my civic involvement on the preservation of the lake and its wildlife and a place of responsible enjoyment for generations. I love Kirk Lake and want it to be around for my children and children's children. 

Charles Mintz has been a homeowner on Kirk Lake since 1986.  Since then, he has been a member of the Lake Gardens Property Owners Association, and was an officer for many years, serving as President, Vice President, and Board Member.   He has strongly supported KLWA since its founding, and would like to serve the lake more formally as a member of the KLWA Board.  Professionally, he was the signature voice-of-the-brand in long running advertising campaigns for dozens of companies literally ranging from American Express to Xerox,  and also announced and narrated hundreds of individual commercials, corporate videos, and documentaries.  He has been heard in more than 10,000 commercials.  For six years, he created and taught college level courses in voice over at the New York Conservatory for Film & Television , and currently volunteers at the voice over laboratory at SAG-AFTRA (the actors union) in New York City. He had an earlier career as an advertising copywriter.

Minia Sas is a founder of Kirk Lake Watershed Association.  As the newly elected president of Lake Gardens Property Association in 2007, Minia initiated meetings of members of the West Lake Civic Association,  Interlochen  and Joe Montouri, the author of the Kirk Lake network blog, so that a community dialogue could arise among  all those concerned with the health and wellbeing of Kirk lake. The first Community Meeting at Mahopac Public Library in 2008, which founded KLWA, grew out of these initial meetings. Minia currently serves as KLWA Vice President. The Sas family has owned a home on Lillian Road since 1980 and Minia is a retired Nursery School teacher. 

Allison Winstanley  I have lived in Mahopac for 32 years, where I had the pleasure of raising my three children. I am recently retired from the NYS Court System where I worked in the technology department. I have been an active volunteer with many different community organizations while living in Mahopac, presently serving as a Board Member of the Putnam Northern Westchester Women’s Resource Center. I have always believed in keeping our community safe and environmentally sound, now and for the future. I have always enjoyed Kirk Lake and living here get to see more of that beauty every day. I have enjoyed being a part of the KLWA, learning how to test the water and take samples and being a member of the Board learning what it takes to keep our Lake healthy. I will continue to work hard and keep learning what needs to be done to help preserve this beautiful lake. I want to see Kirk Lake preserved for many years to come so future generations can also enjoy its’ beauty.

Ron Yehuda is a founder of Kirk Lake Watershed Association. As a board member of Lake Gardens Property Association since the early 1990’s, Ron took care of the research, lake survey, and especially the finance part of the previous effort to clean up Kirk Lake by obtaining sterile triploid carp. That application was approved, but didn’t come to fruition at that time because of problems with insurance liability. Ron donated much of the money used for KLWA’s startup costs, as well as monies used for the lake survey. Ron is committed to efforts to raise funds needed for the current carp project, once approved by the DEC and DEP, as well as any other projects to maintain the health and quality of Kirk Lake. The Yehuda family has owned a home on the lake, at Lillian Road, since the early nineties and  Ron is semi-retired from the diamond industry.