Tilton Historical Society Board Meeting
January 22, 2026

The following members were present;  Chair John Ciriello,  Vice Chair Kathy Yeo, Secretary Janice Leighton- Boudreau, Treasurer Patty Amora Pender, Board of Directors John Basiliere,  Sharon Bullerwell, Rob Clogston, Roy Cilley, Alan Lockwood, Daniel Jordan, Todd Piper.  Also present was William Hockensmith and Kimberly Cote, Associate Members.  

The meeting was via Zoom.

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The Board Meeting was opened at 6:00 pm by John Ciriello.  The purpose of the meeting was to review the bylaws for clarification on the procedure of elections in April.  Specifically, the part outlined in Article 5 of the Bylaws below; 

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“Article V: Government
The Tilton Historical Society is governed by a Board of Directors and elected Officers who are charged with upholding the Mission of the Tilton Historical Society. There are nine Board of Directors and four Officers: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Directors are elected for staggered three years terms; Officers are elected for two-year terms. Elections are held in April with a 30-day notice to the membership.
For governing elections, a quorum must be present. A quorum shall be considered attained if seven members of the board and or officers are in attendance.  If a Board member or Officer is unable to complete their term, the Board will appoint a successor to serve out the remainder of the term.”

The second purpose of the first part of the meeting was to follow up with discussion on the request by Todd Piper to add “with the exception of anybody with a physical disability or away due to being in the military to be able to vote absentee (ballot)”

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Discussion;
Last year’s election included voting via email.  The process was discussed and it was determined to be confusing to the membership and difficult to carry out. The response from emailed votes was very low.  Our bylaws clearly state that a quorum must be present and is interpreted that it’s intent is that elections are to be “in person”.  Nowhere in the bylaws, does it say that elections should be carried out in any other manner.

There was also a discussion around the request by Todd Piper.  The consensus of the Board was that it would be difficult to verify if an unknown individual was physically disabled or in the military if they refuse to provide proof.  This option is also not in our bylaws. Not being able to authenticate an individual, could produce fraudulent intention.

After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Al Lockwood to keep the voting “in person” and not to include absentee ballots.  It was seconded by Dan Jordan, and was passed by unanimous vote by the Board.

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The second part of the Board Meeting was the announcement by the Chair, that two gargoyles that were once mounted on the lampposts around the Tilton Memorial Arch, were recovered due to an anonymous donor.

 
A group of young teens decided that they must act fast in order to save the last two remaining gargoyles, since the other 14 had been previously vandalized and stolen.  This occurred in the early 1970’s and the intention by the young group was to “save” them and to return them one day when they thought they would be safe.  The anonymous donor contacted John with the intention of donating them to the Tilton Historical Society, but John realized that it was a complicated donation since they were taken without authority and were in Northfield.

John contacted Scott Hilliard, who was the past Northfield Police Chief and Sheriff, and Scott assisted in contacting Northfield to facilitate the situation.

Northfield’s selectmen and police dept determined that there would be no charges filed against the person returning them (statute of limitations is only 7 years according to Scott).  The donor and John brought them to Stephanie Giavonucci (Town Admin) at Northfield Town Hall, who said they would be handed over to Cindy Caveney of the Northfield Historical Society.  John requested that one of the gargoyles be given to the Tilton Historical Society as a gesture of good faith, since they were paid for and originally owned by the Charles Elliott Tilton family.  Stephanie was sympathetic but explained that the final decision would come from Cindy Caveney on whether one would be gifted to us.

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Janice Leighton- Boudreau made a motion to adjourn it was seconded and passed by unanimous vote.  The meeting ended at 6:26

These minutes are subject to the review  and approval of the Tilton Historical Society.
Janice Leighton Boudreau

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Tilton Historical Society Monthly Meeting January 14, 2026, at the Tilton Mansion

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Attendees: John Ciriello, Jennifer Loutrell, Madison Loutrell, John Bassiliere, Dan Jordan, Chuck Hussman, Vicki Hussman, Kathy Yeo, Kimberly Cilley, Ken Lowrey. Via Zoom – Al Lockwood and Todd Piper.

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The meeting began at 6PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said by all.

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Approve minutes of past meetings (May, June, July, August and November).   

There was no meeting held in September – informal Tour meeting, October – H & H Tour, December – Pot Luck. Approval of the minutes for past meeting was overlooked for the months listed above. All members were emailed copies of all the minutes when written. There was no discussion. All the minutes were approved as originally submitted.

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Elections in April

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Annual elections will be held in April with the following positions up for reelection: Chairman (John)– 2 year term, Treasurer (Patty) – 2 year term, and 3 Board Members(Roy, Chuck, and Dan) with 3 year terms each.

          Previously all paid members that wished to vote did so in person. Last year the procedure changed because of so many paid members living out of town/state. Emails were sent to all members that have provided an email , notice was given via our web page as well as Face Book. Instructions for how to vote, when ballots had to be returned and who was running were given. There was some confusion about the process. Kim suggested keeping it simple with in person voting only and that sentiment was echoed by Vicki. John explained how he managed the process but said he should not do it this year as he is up for reelection. John said Janice has volunteered to help with the electronic process, Jennifer volunteered to create the ballot and handle the process and, Kathy volunteered to help Jennifer with the list of paid members/voters. All paid members for 2026 have the right to vote and need to be notified. Vicki asked if we could just notify all members that voting had to take place in person. John explained it would require a change in our bylaws. It was left that we would discuss further at our February meeting. All present position holders due for reelection have until 2 weeks before the elections to make their intentions known.

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Bank (Camden/Franklin Savings)

          Our current bank  – TD Bank – customer service has deteriorated and banking policies have changed making it more difficult to do minor transactions.

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John contacted Camden National Bank and Franklin Savings Bank to see about switching. Camden has too many monthly fees for basic needs, such as online banking. while Franklin Savings has all of the features we need and no fees and with local branches in Franklin and at exit 20, Tilton. Vicki made a motion to switch to FSB 2nd by Kathy. All in favor of moving our checking account to FSB. John stated it would take “awhile” for him to have the time to make the switch but it would be done so we will stay with TD Bank for awhile longer. 

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Next discussion was moving 5K from our checking account to our Fidelity Account. 

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We currently have $17,161 in our Fidelity Corporate Acct earning interest and we currently have $7,186.57 in TD Bank checking and about $700 in undeposited membership checks so far this month. By moving $5000 into the Fidelity account we would earn interest and still have enough in the checking account to cover operating costs. Chuck made a motion to move $5000 seconded by Dan. All in favor,

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-IRS 990N and SOS Annual Report filing for 2025

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 John has filed the IRS 990N form. Kathy has been working on the SOS Annual Report and has been having difficulty with it. She has given it back to John for his help with completing it. Since John, Kathy and Patty are all signers on the accounts It will be a good idea to have everyone  knowledgeable in how it should be completed. Training will be held after the report is completed.

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Janice's project for 1875 Inn's guest rooms

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          Janice was unable to attend tonight’s meeting and John gave a brief description of Janice’s project. She has been in touch with the owners of the inn and has permission to research the people that the guest rooms are named after and put a plaque in the room so visitors will know why and who the room is named for.

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Future Scholarships

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          A possible use for some of the Society’s investment money was starting a scholarship. Kathy contacted Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation for information about how to set up a scholarship. It is an easy process and LRSF is set up to handle the start-up, manage the money and choose the recipient. All fairly painless. Kim said the American Legion set up 3 separate scholarship and not one child applied! Vicki said the Eastern Star had the same results with a scholarship they set up. Further discussion was to possibly set up an internship to NH Preservation Alliance or perhaps set money aside to save/restore Bert Southwick’s egg delivery wagon. Excellent suggestions and ones that will be revisited when we have more money in our account. 

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Mary Baker Eddy pics

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MBE Library reached out and offered us pictures of Mary’s family (Bakers) and wanted $25 for postage, but John got them to waive the fee. John signed a contract with the MBE Library stating we are free to use the photos but must credit the MBE Library every time we do so. John asked if they want to participate in the 2026 H&H Tour, featuring the Baker memorials. They will discuss the offer at their next meeting and get back to us.

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Governing Member Bios

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John presented the idea of featuring a different Board member with a bio highlighting their interest in history, why they joined the Society and preserving the history of Tilton, etc… and maybe including “Then and Now” pictures of themselves. The thought behind the bios was to let the general public know who we are and why we do what we do. It was discussed that it would be up to each individual person to do a bio based on their level of comfort with how much and what information was shared.

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New Business (Kathy)

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1. Just wanted to remind everyone that we are always looking for volunteers/help in the office and at events

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2. The Idea book – A binder was started with suggestions for fundraising and  presentation. A couple of examples that Kathy brought were taken from other Societies for the basic idea and adaptation for our use. One idea was from the Laconia Historical Society – a free to the public family time with children drawing a mural of how they see Laconia. In Gilmanton at a presentation that Kathy attended they handed out a list of possible programs/presentations that the audience might be interested in. Their list was adapted for us and posted on Face Book. The results are attached and the biggest interest was in the architecture of Tilton. John suggested a walking tour of downtown. Vicki suggested pewter ornaments similar to ones that were done 20 years ago with The Main Street Organization. Vicki supplied a brochure from the manufacturer along with a contact name. Vicki also suggested that there be a second interview with Betty Schofield. Al said he would be glad to do another one.

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New Business (John)

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John spoke with Katherine Dawson about featuring Jim Dodge on Memory Lane for the 2026 H & H Tour. She has many photos and items that belonged to him. She will discuss it with her family and meet with me.

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John has spoken with Cindy Caveney about the startup pf the Northfield Historical Society. Cindy hopes to be able to attend our next monthly meeting and talk about their progress. It was agreed by all that we should support them  as the two towns are unique and separate but yet tied together.

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Donations

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          Larry Prentice generously donated a 1929 $5.00 bill stamped from Citizen’s Bank in Tilton, NH. Recently,  Mr Preston also donated a $1.00 bill with Tilton’s zip code in the serial number!

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Treasurer’s Report

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          Patty was unable to attend the meeting but John had printed copies of her reports for anyone interested.

Meeting adjourned at 7:10PM as motioned by Vicki and 2nd by Chuck

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