Dear Piedmont Community,

We celebrated several important successes in our first year and are sincerely grateful for our generous supporters who enabled us to hit the ground running after our launch last summer. The Board’s first action was to hire Katy Carter as our Program Coordinator to assist with bringing our vision to life and she has proven an invaluable resource. A venerable member of the Piedmont Community, Katy’s tremendous talent and enthusiasm helped us build a new website, establish a social media presence, organize several events, and improve our overall efficiency. She has embraced every facet of our mission and we look forward to continuing our work together as we expand our impact in the Piedmont.

We strengthened our partnership with the Piedmont Fox Hounds, sending our first Andrew Looney Passion and Dreams Scholar to work at their kennels and purchasing a new bushhog to assist with maintaining our shared trail network. On August 19, we hosted a jump clinic with Juliet Graham at Gum Tree Farm. Her emphasis on safely navigating the many facets of riding in the field and expertise in teaching techniques to improve each rider and horse was evident throughout the day; horses and riders were able to add new tools to their kit for the upcoming season!

In October, we are partnering with Oak Spring Garden Foundation on a walking tour of Rokeby and Oakley, and with the Land Trust of Virginia on a conservation easement seminar at the National Sporting Library & Museum. We are also in the final stages of writing a “Rural Landowner Manual” with our partner organizations which we believe will be a proactive tool to bring new and existing landowners together to participate in our country traditions.

I hope you want to learn more about our endeavors and other projects as we have had a very busy first year! And none of these triumphs would have been possible without your generous donations and encouragement. You have allowed us to make an immediate impact with our mission, and with your continued support we will deliver more results in our second year. We are also especially grateful to the landowners who have graciously opened their property for our programs, allowing us to bring the public to our private protected open spaces. These opportunities are at the very heart of our mission, and we have been inspired by the enthusiastic support of our community. Thank you all for establishing our organization on strong footing and we appreciate your continued consideration as we work to keep our momentum going to protect our landscape and way of life for future generations.

With appreciation and vigor,

C. Dulany Morison
Chairman, PFHCF