Brad and Meredith Townsend are new hosts at the Mayflower this year during the second half of the season. They have been coming to Chautauqua for about a dozen years. At first they came at the urging of friends and then, like many of us, they were hooked! Meredith has recently served on the Chautauqua UCC Society Board. They have both participated in work weekends and Brad built the snazzy modem hiding box in the kitchen. Brad is into photography, travel, fine woodworking and bad golf.Meredith is into reading, gardening.......and more bad golf! They really enjoy the time they spend at the Chautauqua UCC, getting to know so many who have become good friends. They very much look forward to making new friends and hosting at the Mayflower for the second half of the season.
John Botti and Sheila Gossett are new hosts at the RCH (Reformed Church House) during the first half of the season. They have been to Chautauqua for at least a week or two almost every year since 1989. They discovered Chautauqua on their way home from Niagara Falls and got a walking pass. They fell in love with the place immediately.
John was a board member for six years, including three as president of our Chautauqua UCC Society. Both Sheila and John have participated in work weekends, in which we learned that Sheila is not only an expert in cleaning the kitchen, but is also especially good at organizing our potlucks. Sheila enjoys art, gardening and reading, especially books on spirituality. She also walks most days for exercise. John enjoys cycling 4 or 5 times a week and typically puts about 3000 miles a year on his bike. This is only possible because they spend winters in Florida. John also enjoys reading, especially presidential biographies. John and Sheila have two grown sons, the eldest of whom will be joining them this season at Chautauqua during week. 3.