Our Florence: PDLT

A community is a sum of its parts; and working for a local government, it's easy to see that our vibrant community has many parts like for-profit businesses, contracting and planning firms, residents, government entities, regulatory agencies, service industries just to name a few to scratch the surface. Oftentimes, though, non-government, non-profit groups are those significant organizations that fill a big need will little celebration or highlight. In an effort to show off our local non-profit organizations, the following update is presented from the Pee Dee Land Trust which has many reasons to celebrate. Find more information about them at their website. or by calling their Executive Director, Jennie Williamson at (843) 661-1135.


The Land Trust

December 2008 marks the close of the Land Trust's 10^th year, and that milestone will be celebrated in the months ahead. The Pee Dee Land Trust was founded in the winter of 1998-99 in Darlington County by the Pee Dee Resource and Conservation and Development Council.

Land Protection

The Land Trust exceeded a significant landmark by protecting more than 10,000 acres this year. Since our newsletter went out with that news in early December, the Land Trust has finalized and closed another conservation easement in Marlboro County, bringing our protected acreage to approximately 10,500 acres with projects in seven of our eight counties. Mr. Hubbard W. (Donnie) McDonald, Jr. protected his ancestors' farm in the Dunbar community, not far from the protected property known as Donoho Plantation which PDLT helped protect in 2007.

The Land Trust has worked on projects of more complexity than ever before - collaborative projects with other organizations, post-mortem easements, easements in areas with heavy development pressure, and all with tremendous conservation value on the properties. Increasingly the Land Trust's success has brought it to greater involvement at the state level.

Education

Education is an important prong of the Land Trust's work in that it highlights for people some of the wonderful natural and cultural resources in the Pee Dee. In addition to providing nuts and bolts types of information on how conservation easements work, the Pee Dee Land Trust works hard to provide opportunities for people to see and do more in the area. Events have included quail management seminars, kayaking and canoeing trips, lectures on historical places and people, walking tours of historic towns, and more.

Community Involvement and Support

The little Land Trust that held onto forty or so members for six years has leaped forward in evidence of public support for all that it does. Pee Dee Land Trust now boasts a membership roll of close to 500 households across twenty South Carolina counties and sixteen states. Attendance at events continues to reach record highs each season.

Who does all this work?

The Pee Dee Land Trust is a leanly-staffed organization with one full time executive director and two part time staffers. Jennie Williamson has been the director since Fall 2005, the organization's first paid staff. Jennifer King, from Florence, serves as Director of Outreach and Education, and Gretchen Huggins, a recent FMU graduate, is the production coordinator for a special project that PDLT is working on with SC Educational Television (SCETV). Their office is in Francis Marion's Nonprofit Consortium on the FMU campus. The organization is governed by a board of three representatives per county for each of the 8 counties in which the Land Trust works: Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Marion, Marlboro, and Williamsburg.

Change in leadership:

Change of officers from Ben Zeigler (Florence) as chair to Sumter Langston (Georgetown); Earl Dutton (Dillon) stepped down as vice chair and Eddie Drayton (Darlington) was elected for the position. Bob Pitts (Darlington), long serving board member finished 4 years as treasurer and was succeeded by Heath Ruffner (Chesterfield County)

Special Thanks to Two Board Members who have rotated off the board

Elisabeth McNiel served for Marlboro County, filling a seat that had been vacated. She came into that role at a time when the Land Trust was jumping from volunteer organization to major regional player in the Pee Dee and support for that growth.

Bob Pitts. Bob has been one of the Land Trust's stalwart supporters and dedicated board members for eight years, almost since the organization's first day. He represented Darlington County and has served on the nominating committee as well as the hiring committee, and was elected and served as treasurer for 4 years of constant change and growth.

The Board of Directors:

Chesterfield

Jim Crawford

Jimmy Lofton

Heath Ruffner

Darlington

Eddie Drayton

Gordon McBride

Dillon

Keith Allen

Earl Dutton

Kalli Norton

Georgetown

Wesley Bryant

Sumter Langston

Tony Shank

Florence

Austin Gilbert

Tres Hyman

Ben Zeigler

Marion

Charles Bethea

Susan Riales

Know of a non-profit organization you want to highlight? - let us know!