MARTIN HOUSE RESTORATION CORPORATION ANNOUNCES JOHN N. WALSH, III, AS PRESIDENT (1/07) BUFFALO, NEW YORK – The Martin House Restoration Corporation announced today that John N. Walsh, III has been appointed president of the organization. Mr. Walsh joined the MHRC board of directors in February, 1999 and has served as an officer of the board since 2001. He succeeds Robert D. Gioia, who became president in 2006, and is now executive director of the John R. Oishei Foundation. Mr. Walsh is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Walsh Duffield Companies, Inc. of Buffalo, one of the largest insurance firms in New York State. Established in 1860, the Walsh Insurance Group has been family owned and managed by four generations of the Walsh family. A native Buffalonian, Mr. Walsh is a graduate of Nichols School (1963.) He received a bachelors degree from Yale University (1967) and graduated from Harvard Law School (1971). In 2006, the University at Buffalo School of Management awarded Mr. Walsh their Executive of the Year Award, with these remarks, “Highly respected and honored as a chair of innumerable school, hospital, social service and cultural boards, Jack has enriched our non-profit community, led countless campaigns and planning initiatives and given valuable counsel to bank and corporate boards as well.” "On behalf of the Martin House Board of Directors, I am pleased and excited that Jack has accepted this role," said past MHRC president, Robert D. Gioia. "Jack is the perfect choice to lead this organization as we press on with full restoration of the Martin House Complex.” The Martin House Restoration Corporation is a New York not-for-profit corporation founded in 1992. It has a 33-member board of directors and more than 350 active volunteers. The MHRC is restoring Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin complex to its condition as of 1907. The historic Martin House site is open for tours on a year-round basis.