Thailand RPCV Edward S. Clement Jr., will serve as interim executive director of the Aquidneck Land Trust



Thailand RPCV Edward S. Clement Jr., will serve as interim executive director of the Aquidneck Land Trust

Garnett steps down as head of Aquidneck Land Trust

AQUIDNECK ISLAND — Anne Garnett of Jamestown has announced that she is stepping down as executive director of the Aquidneck Land Trust (ALT), a post she has held since 2000. She has agreed to serve as a consultant to the Land Trust for six months and has been elected to serve on the Trust's Board of Advisors.

Edward S. Clement Jr., the Trust's land protection director, will serve as interim executive director while a search is conducted for a new executive director. A resident of Portsmouth, Mr. Clement has overseen ALT's land acquisition and stewardship programs since August 2000. While at Vermont Law School, he worked in the Vermont Land Trust's stewardship and legal departments. He has worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand and as an environmental educator for the Outward Bound School.

While at the helm of the land trust, Ms. Garnett helped bring in record amounts of acreage and funding to further the non-profit's mission.

In a statement released Friday, Trust officials said that during her five-year tenure, the organization:

* nearly tripled its conserved acres

* doubled its general operating reserves

* established three endowment funds

* enhanced community awareness of land conservation

* produced a comprehensive five-year strategic plan

* developed a strong regional reputation for conservation leadership.

During that time, ALT conserved well-known and much-loved iconic parcels on the Island, including Nunes Farm on Wyatt Road and Kempenaar Valley in Middletown, Town Pond in Portsmouth, and Miantonomi Park in Newport. She has also focused on Escobar farm in Portsmouth, which is slated to be preserved in September.

"The board of trustees, staff and membership of the Aquidneck Land Trust owe Anne a debt of gratitude for leading the Land Trust through a period of extraordinary growth and change," said ALT Board Chairman Alison Vareika.

"I will always be devoted to the mission, staff and leadership of the Land Trust," Garnett said. "I'm very proud of what we achieved at the Land Trust and have been honored to serve as its executive director. The legacy of more than 1,200 conserved acres is a lasting tribute to all who love Aquidneck Island."

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory.

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February 26, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Folk-Singer Steve Schuch releases "Trees of Life" 26 Feb Christopher Bartlett maintains Marine Protected Area 25 Feb Joseph Frey uses amputation experience to help others 25 Feb James McCann concerned by maize in Ethiopia 25 Feb Sen. Obama says PC can help improve diplomacy 24 Feb PCVs help remove batteries in Belize 24 Feb Jimmy Carter praises mother's PC service 24 Feb Craig D. Wandke's lunar passion began in Honduras 23 Feb Char Andrews discusses her experience with cancer 23 Feb Beverly Seckinger tells stories through film 23 Feb J. Tyler Dickovick: As Togo goes, so may go Africa 23 Feb Andres Hernandez searches for PCV for 40 years 23 Feb Bulgaria is now like second home to Aaron Wills 22 Feb Bernadette Roberts to serve as diplomat in Albania 22 Feb USA Freedom Corps downgraded at White House 22 Feb Tom Skeldon seeks to control pit bull trade 21 Feb Gabriela Lena Frank writes music on Dad's PCV service 21 Feb

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Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.

Read the stories and leave your comments.