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Member Spotlight - December 2006
George McRae and Laura YoungLongtime TLC members George McRae and Laura Young live on a small farm (Dew Dance Farm) in Sanford with daughter Maggie and son Sy, and their many animals: cats, dogs, horses, llamas, angora goats and angora rabbits, rare-breed sheep, pilgrim geese, and lots of rare-breed chickens! George has lived in Lee County most of his life. He spent a lot of his time outdoors as a boy, especially as a Boy Scout. He received a zoology degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, then spent 27 years at the Moen Inc. plant in Sanford where he was Director of Environmental Affairs. George is now starting a new company called Process Innovations, which will involve waste reductions, environmental strategic planning, and water use/water treatment. Laura grew up in Arizona, where she also spent a lot of time outdoors growing up and took a keen interest in the natural world. After earning her undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona, she went to the University of Illinois for a Masters of Recreation and Leisure Studies. She moved to North Carolina in 1980 to work at Dorothea Dix Hospital. Laura is now teaching a fiber arts course at the Waldorf School. Which brings us back to Dew Dance Farm. Laura uses fibers from many of the plants and animals on the farm for her textile art. She uses wool from the “fiber animals” (the llamas, sheep and angora goats and rabbits) to spin thread and yarn, which she weaves into blankets, pillows, comforters and clothing. This is part of what Laura describes as “running the farm in a way that keeps our footprint small.” Another part of that small footprint is in their outbuildings, which were all constructed out of lumber milled on-site from trees felled by Hurricane Fran. They also grow much of their own food—vegetables and berries—in an organic garden, and they have a forest management plan that ensures the sustainable use of the farm’s woodlands. Their membership in TLC is just another part of their environmental ethic. George & Laura have been active TLC members since 1985, when they learned about the organization’s work to conserve the White Pines Preserve. George served on the TLC Board in the late 1990s, including a term as board president, and has served on several TLC committees. Laura chaired TLC’s Lee County Natural Heritage inventory committee. The couple’s commitment to conservation extends beyond their farm and TLC. George has served on the board of the Environmental Education Fund, where he was the founder and primary fundraiser for “It’s Our Water,” a North Carolina-specific water quality curriculum for high school students. He is now working on a new curriculum, “It’s Our Air.” George and Laura are members of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), and Dew Dance Farm is featured on CFSA’s annual Piedmont Farm Tour.
Member Spotlight Archives February 2008 - Pearson Stewart December 2007 - Amy Mackintosh & Tom Kagan November 2007 - Lao Rubert & Steve Schewel October 2007 - Andrea Reusing & Mac McCaughan September 2007 - Gail and Tommy Bridges August 2007 - Sarah & Chris Capel July 2007 - Karen & Ben Barker December 2006 - George McRae and Laura Young November 2006 - Danny and Caroline Kadis October 2006 - Stella Boswell and Craig Heinly September 2006 - Robert & Pearl Seymour
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