2023 Everson Annual Picnic

2023 Everson Annual Picnic Thursday, June 15, 2023 5:30 – 9:00pm

Festivities include a cocktail reception, gallery viewing, dinner, and entertainment. Funds raised by the event support the continued growth and accessibility of the Museum’s learning and engagement, outreach, and membership programs.

2023 Everson Annual Picnic Honorees The Everson Annual Picnic celebrates the Everson’s accomplishments and those who make them possible. This year we honor Meg O’Connell of the Allyn Family Foundation and Florence Saleh of the Everson Museum Docent Association.

About Meg O’Connell

Margaret M. O’Connell is executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation, a private family foundation striving for a vibrant, equitable and prosperous community in Central New York. Through the creation of an operational foundation in 2017, Meg led the creation of a 78,000 sq. ft. building in downtown Syracuse that became the Salt City Market.

In her 25 years of philanthropic and educational leadership roles, Meg has served as chair of the Early Childhood Alliance, Work Train, ABC Cayuga Play Space, Syracuse Urban Partnership, and as treasurer of Blueprint 15. She serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of CenterState CEO and is a member of the Mayor’s SURGE Executive Committee and the JPMorgan Advancing Cities Partner Council. Meg is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

About Florence Saleh

Florence Saleh grew up in Niagara Falls, NY. She and husband of 50 years, Don, have two children, Paul and Erica, and five grandchildren. Florence graduated from Kent State University, in Ohio, and stayed local for seven years, working in a school with severely disabled kids as speech-language pathologist. Don took a job at Cornell University, and the family moved to Ithaca. Florence worked in the Dryden School System as a Speech-Language Pathologist from 1985-2002.

Florence came to Syracuse in 2002 and got right to work in Syracuse City Schools at Lincoln Middle. She retired in 2007, then taught a speech pathology course at Syracuse University, then served as a 1:1 for a child with autism for a year, and worked at Jamesville-DeWitt High School part-time as a speech-language pathologist. Florence has volunteered on the Contact Community Services Crisis Line for five years. She and Don are very active in Democratic communities, having served as committee members. Florence serves as Secretary of the Syracuse Garden Club.

“I am an enthusiastic participant and cheerleader for what I believe in. Like my fellow docents, I really need and enjoy lifelong learning — this is what makes being a docent a perfect fit,” Florence says.