Mt. Lebanon High School senior Caroline Bushman wasn’t home to answer U.S. Rep.Tim Murphy’s call congratulating her as the 2013 winner of his district’s Congressional Art Competition, but to make up for it, a representative from the congressman’s office surprised Bushman by calling her down to the high school guidance office to congratulate her.
Bushman, who lives on Academy Place, submitted two pieces to this year’s competition after receiving advice and encouragement from art teacher Mike Carlin. Her winning piece, chosen from 55 submissions, is a self-portrait made with acrylic paint. This painting, her first of a person, took two weeks to do, during study halls.
Though technically a self-portrait, Bushman says that the painting does not reflect her simple, cheerful attitude. When she looks at the piece, she sees a “typical teenager who wants it all” and is consumed by materialism. This darker interpretation inspired the piece’s title, “The Exuberance of Youth.”
Bushman’s painting, along with other artwork from each district across the country, is on display in the U.S. Capitol for one year. In June, Bushman took a complimentary trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a reception with the other winners and their representatives.
[1]Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services selected Foxland Drive resident Sally Taylor as its vice president of finance and administration. The Homestead-based organization is a nonprofit that provides services and programming for people who are blind, vision impaired or disabled.
Taylor has significant experience in finance, management and nonprofit work. She was the vice president and chief financial officer of Life’s Work of Western Pennsylvania and executive director of Washington County Habitat for Humanity in Marietta, Ohio.
[2]Andrew Sykes, Marlin Drive West, has been recognized as a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, the only organization approved by the American Bar Association to offer certification in elder law. His firm, Sykes Elder Law, operates from the Executive Building on Washington Road, Uptown. Sykes has practiced law in Allegheny County for 22 years. Information at www.elderlawofpgh.com [3] or 412-531-7123.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania appointed C. Robert Keenan, an attorney with Davies, McFarland and Carroll and former Mt. Lebanon School Board member, to the Board of Law Examiners. He is a resident of Woodhaven Drive. The group is responsible for regulating those who practice the law in Pennsylvania by constructing the bar examination, hearing appeals for bar admission and setting policy. Keenan’s term lasts for three years and is a pro bono court service.
Kenneth Argentieri, Longuevue Drive, is the new managing partner of the Pittsburgh office of Duane Morris, LLP. The firm’s Pittsburgh office serves domestic and international clients in construction, products liability, commercial and bankruptcy litigation, as well as a wide range of corporate legal matters. As a trial attorney for more than 25 years, he represented individual and corporate clients in complex litigation and has handled significant appeals in federal courts as well as in the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme courts.
A 1981 graduate of Harvard Law School, Argentieri earned his A.B., cum laude, from Harvard in 1977. He also is a past president of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, a private nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance to the disadvantaged in the Pittsburgh area, and served as co-chair of its Equal Justice Campaign from 2009 to 2012. He is also an active member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and the Product Liability Advisory Council.
[4]Patrick Gray is the new manager of Howard Hanna’s Mt. Lebanon office. Gray, a real estate professional with 22 years experience, comes to Mt. Lebanon from Sewickley, where he managed Hanna’s office since 1995. He replaces longtime Howard Hanna manager Ruth Foltz, who retired this year after 34 years with the company. Gray and Foltz recently spoke to the municipal staff about real estate trends.