The Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC) honored landowners who preserved property over the previous year and welcomed three new members to its board of directors during its annual membership dinner on Thursday, March 8.

The organization honored four landowners who preserved Adams County farmland, woodland, open spaces, and freshwater streams in 2017: Ken and Connie Farabaugh, who preserved 60 acres in Liberty Township; Strayer and Nikki Yake, who preserved 28 acres in Oxford Township; the Civil War Trust, which preserved 23 acres in Cumberland Township; and the Sheppard family, who preserved 471 acres in Union and Conewago townships. LCAC also recognized Ed and Linda McDannell, who preserved 36 acres in early 2018. The organization has worked with local landowners to preserve 10,770 acres in the county since its founding in 1995.

Captain Conservation at the dinner

At the dinner, three people joined the LCAC Board of Directors: Cumberland Township resident Dave Salisbury, a 1985 Gettysburg College graduate who returned to Adams County in 2012 after 20 years working in the chemical industry in the Lehigh Valley; Denise Wood, a Gettysburg native recently retired from AIGA, the professional association for design in New York City; and Matt Sheads, another Gettysburg native, who has served 25 years at Hockley and O’Donnell insurance agency and is past chair of the Adams County Green Space Committee.

At the dinner, long-time LCAC board member Norma Calhoun stepped down from the board after serving with distinction the maximum-allowed two consecutive terms.

Before the banquet, dinner attendees participated in a silent auction that raised more than $4,000 in support of LCAC’s mission of preserving Adams County’s rural lands and character.

For the past several years, the Adams County commissioners have proclaimed the period between the LCAC’s membership dinner and its annual art auction as Land Conservancy Month.

Events marking Land Conservancy Month this year include an Art Auction Preview on First Friday, April 6, from 4-6 p.m. at The Parrot, 35 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg. The reception will showcase a wide variety of original art created by local and regional artists and donated to the Land Conservancy’s annual Art Auction, to be held at The Parrot from 12-4 p.m. on Sunday, April 22.