STAFF NEWS

MEET KATIE CHAMBERLAIN
OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF
NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION

We are pleased to announce that Katie Chamberlain has joined Upstate Forever as our new Director of Natural Resource Protection. Katie graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia with a degree in landscape architecture. At Georgia, she was a Presidential Scholar and received the American Society of Landscape Architecture Honors Award. During the summer of 1999, she worked on urban design projects for the City of Cortona, Italy. She was most recently employed as a Landscape Planner with Seamon, Whiteside & Associates, Inc. in Charleston.

A native of Greenville, Katie is passionately committed to our mission of promoting sensible growth and protecting special places in the Upstate. Katie will be, among other things, assisting us on our Land Trust program, compiling data and information about the region, and promoting green development principles.

MEET DANA LEAVITT
OUR NEW LAND TRUST COORDINATOR

We are delighted to announce that Dana Leavitt has joined Upstate Forever as our Land Trust Coordinator. Dana, a Greenville resident, will be working with us about 20 hours a week in promoting and expanding our Land Trust Program.

Dana practices what he preaches, having granted a conservation easement on his own land in Anderson County. He has been actively involved in conservation initiatives for over 25 years, having served as Chairman of the Greenville Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, a founding Board member of Friends of Reedy River, and co-founder of Water Watch. He currently serves as president of the Conestee Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the restoration of Lake Conestee.

WE WILL MISS YOU, JACQUELYN!

We are sad to report that Jacquelyn Fehler, our Administrative Assistant, will be leaving us. Her husband, Tim, a history professor at Furman, will be doing archival research in Germany, and Jacquelyn and their daughter, Mireille, will be joining him. But the good news is that they will be back in a year!

Jacquelyn has truly done it all for us - answering the phone, updating the web site, paying the bills, keeping the financial records, sending out the mailings, coordinating volunteers, and on and on. What started off as a part-time job quickly became full time plus! But Jacquelyn completed every task cheerfully and on time. We will miss her very much!

GOOD LUCK, TRICIA!

Katie succeeds Tricia King who has moved toVermont after her husband Todd received a "dream job" offer from a snowboarding company there. Tricia worked for Upstate Forever for only nine months, but her contributions to our organization will be long lasting. She spent many hours carefully compiling all sorts of data and information about the upstate region (forest cover, flood plains, wetlands, roads, sewer lines, property boundaries, etc.) Tricia leaves us with a database that is critically important to the work we do. Tricia and Todd were born and raised in North Carolina and plan to return to the South one day. We hope they come back soon!

CONGRATULATIONS, DIANE!

Please join us in congratulating Diane Eldridge on receiving her Master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Clemson! Somehow Diane was able to find the time to do an outstanding job for Upstate Forever as our full time Associate Director, while managing to complete the rigorous requirements for the degree, with a 4.0 GPA no less! Way to go, Diane-we are proud of you!

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

We couldn't do it without our volunteers! Here Ruth Botzis, Shirley Brown and Alice Cantey, (left to right) help us prepare our last newsletter for mailing.

UPSTATE FOREVER FIELD TRIPS

Peggy Park, Hunter Park and Candice Johnson (left to right) examine an item on our jocassee Gorges wildflower hike on April 7.

Architect David Wlaters explains a traditional neighborhood development duing our trip to the Charlotte area on February 24.

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