FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PCC Farmland Trust Board names executive directors
Two to share operational management of the land trust
Seattle, Wash. (August 28, 2006) — The PCC Farmland Trust Board of Trustees has announced the hiring of new Executive Directors. Kathryn A. Gardow and Alicia L. Guy will assume operational control of the seven year-old land trust, effective immediately, in an innovative job sharing arrangement.
Kathryn Gardow has been involved for many years in fundraising for local education, philanthropic and progressive political communities. Until recently her firm, Kathryn Gardow and Associates, has provided land use and project management consulting to local cities. Gardow serves on the Washington State Public Works Board, is a founding member of Korean Focus NW and is a former member of the PCC Natural Markets Board of Trustees. Gardow has an MBA from the University of Washington and bachelor's of science in civil engineering from Union College.
Alicia Guy has worked for PCC Natural Markets since 1997 and has been a vocal advocate for small-scale local agriculture. Guy brings to her new position extensive experience as an event and volunteer coordinator, food and agriculture writer, editor and photographer with an emphasis on farmers and farmland. Guy also designs and teaches cooking classes for children and parents that introduce healthful foods into family mealtimes, and is an annual fundraiser in the Nordstrom Beat the Bridge run.
Board President Randy Lee notes, "The Farmland Trust recently purchased the Ames Creek Farm in Carnation, and now we're preparing to launch a major fundraising campaign to help pay for it. We're also continuing to identify other possible farms for preservation while raising awareness about the need to save farmland. It's an exciting time for the trust and we're fortunate to have both of these talented women coming on board right now to lead the day-to-day operations at the trust. The combined skills, experience and passion they bring should serve the organization well."
Gardow and Guy identify their primary goal as "educating the public on the importance of supporting local agriculture and small-farm families to ensure that they are a regional resource well into the future." They look forward to "working together to further the mission of the PCC Farmland Trust - preserving Washington farmland and transitioning it into organic agricultural production."
About PCC Farmland Trust
PCC Farmland Trust is an independent community-supported 501(c)(3) land trust, donations to which are 100 percent tax deductible. Founded in 1999 by PCC Natural Markets, the trust is a separate, non-profit land trust, whose mission is to preserve threatened farmland in Washington State and move it into organic production.
It is believed to be the only land trust in the United States dedicated exclusively to preserving organic farmland. The PCC Farmland Trust buys local farmland, places an organic easement on the land, then leases or sells it to local community farmers at a reduced and more affordable rate. An organic easement is a legally binding obligation that the land will be farmed organically, in perpetuity.
Ames Creek Farm is the first in rural King County to be saved by the PCC Farmland Trust. The Trust currently owns two other farms in Washington: The Delta Farm in Sequim and The Bennington Place in the Walla Walla Valley.
About Ames Creek Farm
Nestled along a bend in the Snoqualmie River, the 178.5 acre Ames Creek Farm is being farmed by three separate farm families. Andrew Stout and Wendy Munroe — known widely in the Puget Sound for organic produce grown at their Full Circle Farm in Carnation — have purchased 127.2 acres of the Ames Creek Farm, and will continue growing a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables at this additional location.
Michaele Blakely, operating as Growing Things Farm, is leasing 31.3 acres of Ames Creek Farm; now her sole farm location. She grows varied fruits and vegetables and some small livestock for sale through her CSA and at local farmers markets.
The remaining 20 acres is leased to Fong Cha and Ma Thao, well-known members of the Hmong immigrant community who are known by their many customers for the beautiful flowers and produce they have grown on Shong Chaos, or Children's Garden Farm -- named for the education it provided their children.