Cary board taps 2
By BRETT ROWLAND - browland@nwherald.com
CARY – Two new trustees were appointed to the Cary board Tuesday night.
Village President Tom Kierna picked Al Pilli and Mark Kownick to fill the empty seats on the board. The board unanimously confirmed his appointments Tuesday, and both men were sworn in.
Pilli will take over Kierna’s former seat, and Kownick will fill the vacancy left by former trustee Steve Adams. Adams died shortly after being re-elected in April.
Seventeen candidates submitted applications to be considered for the spots. Kierna interviewed eight of those before picking Pilli and Kownick.
“I have great confidence in the abilities of Mark Kownick and Al Pilli, and I believe they will be outstanding village trustees,” he said. “Both Mark and Al have been active in the Cary area for years and are recognized as dedicated volunteers and good community citizens.”
Kownick, president of Action Building Maintenance Corporation in Cary, said he planned to focus on opportunities for economic development in the village.
A village resident for 17 years, Kownick has served on the executive board of Cary Soccer Association, been a Cary Youth Basketball Coach, and a Cary-Grove Chamber of Commerce representative. He also is the ministry chairman at Saints Peter and Paul Church.
“I look forward to being a positive asset to the community and working with the board,” he said.
Pilli, president of Bohler-Uddeholm Services, LLC and chief financial officer of Bohler-Udderholm North America, has lived in Cary for 18 years. Bohler-Uddeholm provides accounting, finance, treasury, risk management, information technology and human resources services to six companies in the United States and Canada.
Pilli said he sought a seat on the board as a way to give back the community.
“I want to make sure we maintain the quality of life in Cary and create opportunities for new families to move here,” he said.
Pilla has volunteered with the Cary Soccer Association and Cary Youth Baseball. He is the treasurer of Holy Cross Lutheran Church and a member of the Cary-Grove High School booster association.
Both men were appointed to two-year terms that will end in 2011.
Trustee Debra McNamee lauded them as “great choices.”
