Tecumseh Land Trust Board and Staff
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Pictured (from left to right): George Bieri,
Jim Campbell, Jim Timmons, Branson Pyles, Rosalie Beers,
David Neuhardt, Tom Ruetenik, Krista Magaw, Bob Huston, Charlie Swaney, Bob
Barcus, Anne Randolph, Richard Zopf
Officers
Jim Campbell, president
Jim Timmons, vice-president
David Neuhardt, secretary
Tom Ruetenik, TreasurerTrustees
Bob Barcus
Eugene Barnett
Rosalie Beers
Gordon Cowperthwaite
Dave Baird
Jennifer Harbage
Bob Huston
Evelyn LaMers
Ron Lewis
Branson Pyles
Anne Randolph
Barb Rion
Charles Swaney
Ilse Tebbetts
Richard Zopf
Advisors Bud Marsh, Investments
Richard Zopf, Treasurer
Staff
Krista Magaw, Executive Director
Kate Bush, Associate Director
Cathy Holcomb, Administrative Assistant
George Bieri, Easement Monitor
Doug Bailey, Documentation Specialist
Julia Cady, Land Preservation
Advisor
President Jim Campbell

Jim Campbell, president
of the TLT board, is a man who
is finally making a living at what
he loves to do. He is director of
open space of the National Trail
Parks and Recreation District in Clark County.
Campbell's real passion is
history and historic preservation. It is what drew him to
George Rogers Clark Historical Park
to begin with as a member of the George Roger Clark Heritage Association. The
Davidson Interpretive Center is dedicated to introducing people to early pioneer
and native American life before the mid-1800s.
Campbell is a member of the Early Breeds Group, which works
assiduously at back-breeding farm animals to resemble their forbearers a
century or more ago. Campbell's specialty is pigs.
He also raises Scottish
Highland Cattle, an 800 year old breed. A long-time member of the Clark County Historical
Society, Campbell was also a
founding member of the Clark
County Chapter of the Tecumseh Land Trust in 1998.
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Vice-President Jim Timmons
Jim Timmons knows first-hand about urban sprawl and disappearing farmland. On
April 1, he and his wife moved out of the house they had lived in for almost 30 years. On April 2, a bulldozer knocked
it down to make room for a road.
Once the view from the windows of his house at the Masonic
Home in Springfield, included hundreds of acres of farmland. Just before he
moved, the views included acres of condos and apartments developed by the Home,
as well as the continuing sprawl near Springfield.
His close-up views of how development on and near the Masonic Home erodes the quality of life persuaded
Timmons that he could be useful on the Tecumseh Land Trust Board. Timmons strongly believes
in the mission of the land trust, but understands, more than most, the practical problems facing farmers
today. He speaks with a voice that’s always welcome on the board.
Jim is a full-time farmer and is active on the Clark County
Farmland Preservation Workgroup and the Clark County Fair Board.
Secretary David Neuhardt

Dave Neuhardt is a corporate attorney. He and his wife
Sharen own 600 acres of farmland in Miami Township, much
of which is protected under conservation easement. Dave grew up at the Ohio Agricultural Research & Development
in Wooster where his father managed the dairy farm. Dave is a history buff and is active with the Yellow Springs
Historical Society.
Treasurer Tom Ruetenik

Tom was raised on a dairy farm
in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 1969
with a B.S. in agriculture, which led him to work at Farm Credit Services for 27
years, and more recently at Security National Bank. He is also active in the
Springfield Church of
Christ and the Springfield Kiwanis. He, and his wife, Kathy, have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.
Trustee Bob Barcus

Bob is a clinical psychologist, avid organic gardener and dedicated
bicyclist. He has worked on organic farms
and has been active in land preservation for over 30 years. He is a member of many national and local conservation groups.
Trustee Gene Barnett
Gene works at the Wright Patterson AFB as a graphics
illustrator. He serves on Leadership Clark County, Habitat for Humanity, and the
Central "CEDA" Regional Planning Commission Boards. He also volunteers for
Springfield City Schools, Center City Design Committee, and serves as a docent
for the Frank Lloyd Wright Westcott House. Gene co-manages the Springfield
Farmers' Market , and is Co-Chair of the TLT Education Committee.
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Trustee Gordon Cowperthwaite
Gordon is a retired professor of management from Sinclair Community
College. An accomplished musician, Gordon played drums for seventeen years with
the popular local band, The Rambler Classics. He also serves on the board of
Yellow Springs Home Inc. Now
serving his second term, on the TLT board Gordon is active on the education committee, and finds
time to donate several hours a week to volunteering in the office.
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Trustee Jennifer Harbage
Jennifer and husband Brian, 2004 Ohio Farm Bureau Young
Farmers of the Year, recently preserved their Clark County farm. Jennifer farms
and owns her own business, and she and her husband are raising two children.
Jennifer brings an understanding
of the challenges facing young farmers, and a deep history with Clark County
landowners to the board.
Trustee Bob Huston

Bob Huston was among the original supporters of the group that became the Tecumseh Land Trust.
He is a lifelong resident of Miami Township and is interested in maintaining farmland and the farming
community as an economic engine.
He owns and operates his family's foundry business in
Xenia.
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Trustee Evelyn LaMers
Evelyn is in her second term as a TLT board member,
having served all but 1 year since 1990. For five years she was the board representative
to the Yellow Springs Village Council. During that time she was involved in joint projects with
the Village -- the Morris Bean,Welch, and Sutton farms. At various times,
Evelyn has been treasurer,
vice president and a member of the executive committee. She co-chaired TLT's first capital
campaign that yielded $30,000. Evelyn is a clay artist by trade and is the co-owner of
Yellow Springs Pottery that has operated in Yellow Springs for 34 years. Evelyn
maintains the scrapbook for the Board and serves as membership chair. She is
also on the development committee and is
TLT's newsletter editor.
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Trustee Ron Lewis
Ron is a member of the education committee. He has
recently preserved his own farm through the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund. Ron,
a Greene county native, and he owns and operates an excavation business.
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Trustee Branson Pyles

Branson lives and works on his family's farm, which has
been preserved with an easement through the Tecumseh Land Trust. He is active on
the land preservation committee and serves as an easement monitor.
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Trustee Anne Randolph
Anne Randolph recalls spending virtually her entire childhood outdoors. "I was outside every minute
till it got dark... and then stayed out some more," she recalls.
Randolph, co-chair of the development committe, is that rare gift to a nonprofit board - a member who enjoys raising money. "I love
fund-raising," she says. "I like setting goals and working to meet them. And I have no problem
asking people to help support causes I really believe in."
The Tecumseh Land Trust is one of those causes. She believes firmly that open spaces are important
to people's well-being. "Connections with nature are restorative and make people civilized,"
she maintains.
She is co-chair of the Development Committee and is an Auction co-chair as well. back to top
Trustee Charles Swaney
Charlie is the co-chair of the land preservation
committee, and recently donated an easement on his own farm. He
is a practicing attorney in Springfield, where he specializes in estate planning
and real estate law.
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Trustee Richard Zopf
Richard Zopf, former owner of land with a conservation
easement, spends about half his time outdoors, often involved with construction
or just soaking up the joys of the Ohio landscape, demonstrated by the many
years he was a leader in the expedition and documentation of the world's largest
cave. Richard, who is a property manager and zoning inspector, serves on the
finance and land preservation committees.
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Trustee Dave Baird
Dave Baird is a farmer and accountant in Mad River
Township. He is Chair of the Finance Committee.
Trustee Rosalie Beers
Rosalie
is retired from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and lives on her family farm
in Spring Valley Township. She is Co-Chair of the Education Committee.
Trustee Barbara Rion
Barb
Rion is a co-owner of a 165 acre property in Mad River Township. She is Co-Chair
of the Development Committee.
Trustee Ilse Tebbetts
Ilse
is a professional editor and long time resident of Greene County. She has been a
trustee for many years, has edited the newsletter, and is on the Easement
Sub-Committee, which formulates our easement language, and is also serving on
the Development Committee.
Executive Director Krista Magaw
Krista Magaw, an experienced administrator of nonprofit
organizations, became TLT's first
executive director in October 2001.
In addition to carrying out day-to-day administrative
tasks, Magaw brings her
extensive professional experience in program development,
planning, and fund-raising to
bear on TLT's increasingly
crowded agenda.
Krista earned an undergraduate degree in psychology at the
University of Cincinnati and a graduate degree in public policy from Duke
University.
Email Krista!
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Associate Director Kate Bush
Kate joined the TLT staff in 2004. She manages special
fundraising events, educational outreach, the AEPP application process, and
general land preservation in her capacity as associate director.
Kate graduated from Denison University with a degree in
environmental studies, and political science.
Email Kate!
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Easement Monitor George Bieri
George grew up in Yellow Springs. During the 30 years that his father taught biology at Antioch,
George traveled extensively with him to visit native environments. For eleven months during
his college years, George traveled to Mexico, Central America and the Amazon.
After returning from Arizona, George enrolled in the Dayton Area in the intensive study
of woodworking and cabinetmaking in the school of hard knocks. George and his wife
Abby Cobb have five children (ages 10 to 27).
Documentation Specialist Doug Bailey
Doug
photographs, researches and drafts the baseline documentation for each of our
easements.
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Administrative Assistant Cathy Holcomb
Cathy is the newest addition to TLT's staff.
As our Administrative Assistant. She manages a wide variety of our day-to-day
tasks, including bookkeeping, database management, and general office support.
She is a lifelong resident of the Miami Valley. Cathy currently lives in
Springfield, with her husband Jim, their three children, and their various 4-H
livestock.
Land Preservation Advisor Julia Cady
Julia Cady is the immediate past-President of the
Tecumseh Land Trust. She donated an easement on her family's farm in Clark
County, and continues her outstanding educational work on behalf of the land
trust with local governments and interested landowners as a volunteer. She also
managed the Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program application process.
She is also a master weaver, and spends her spare time rehabbing old homes to
their former glory.
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