September 14, 2009 – The Land Trust of Danbury has announced the appointment of Amber Edwards to the position of Volunteer Coordinator. In this new position, Amber will develop a formal volunteer coordination program for The Land Trust. Development of the program will entail establishing policies and procedures, outreach and recruiting initiatives and volunteer recognition programs. She will also play an active role in launching The Land Trust’s gala fund-raiser, “Into the Woods”, taking place October 23rd at Anthony’s Lake House restaurant in Danbury.

“Amber is a passionate, enthusiastic volunteer with an impressive background. We’re very fortunate to have her join our team”, said Bill Montgomery, president. “The energy and fervor of our many volunteers will be well channeled under Amber’s leadership”, he continued.

“I admire what The Land Trust is trying to do and I’m so pleased to be able to volunteer my services to help to further the mission. I’ve wanted to be a part of this organization for some time”, Amber said.

Amber resides in New Fairfield and is an avid hiker. With a background in recruiting, she earned her B.S. in Economics, concentrating in Management, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

June 2, 2009 – Recently, The Land Trust of Danbury was presented with an award in the category of “Exemplary Fundraising or Outreach Project” by the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) at their annual conference.  The award recognizes successful fundraising or outreach efforts that employ creative or unique approaches to new or expanded audiences and was one of only four awards presented to conservationists operating throughout the entire state of Connecticut.

The CLCC’s award noted that during the middle of 2008, The Land Trust of Danbury received grants from The Women’s Club of Danbury/New Fairfield, the Pepsi Bottling Group and the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation that dramatically transformed the momentum of the organization.  The largest grant, $21,000 from the PCLB Foundation, was awarded to help grow and strengthen the organization.  In accordance, the Board of Directors established key objectives for the grant and hired a part-time Executive Director to help ensure they will be met.  The new Director, Sharon Danosky, then led a Board retreat that charted the future direction of the Trust producing a Five Year Strategic Plan.  The Plan reorganizes the Trust’s committee structure and establishes work plans for each of its five committees.  In presenting the award, the CLCC noted that the process of establishing the Strategic Plan required exceptional effort and initiative on the part of The Land Trust.  As a result, the organization has made substantial progress toward building capacity while moving overall governance and operational performance to much higher levels.

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The project for which the grant was requested is to develop an inventory process of existing land trust properties by creating a natural resource database and linking it to a geographic information system.

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The grant will help the Land Trust to prepare and document policies and procedures to guide and govern TLTOD in accordance with The Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices in preparation for accreditation.  It will also allow us to prepare a board Manual, develop a board orientation and training program, and establish and document record-keeping procedural practices.

July 27, 2009 – Grant Winthrop, partner at Milbank Winthrop & Co., has been elected to the board of directors of The Land Trust of Danbury.  Milbank Winthrop & Co. is a privately-owned New York-based investment management firm.

“We are very pleased to have Grant join our board of directors”, said Bill Montgomery, president.  “Grant’s financial acumen and commitment to land conservation will be a great benefit to both our board and our mission.”

The election of Grant Winthrop to The Land Trust of Danbury’s board of directors increases the number of directors on the board to nine.

Winthrop, 60, joined Milbank Winthrop & Co. in 1981.  Prior to that he was a journalist in Marin County, Calif., and then for Fortune Magazine in New York City.  He was educated at Harvard College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 and Stanford University where he earned a Master of Arts degree in 1975.  He and his wife, Hope Brock Winthrop, have three grown daughters and have owned a second home in Danbury since 1984.      Grant was a member of the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters from 2004 to 2007 and his family has been active in land conservation for many years.  They placed conservation easements on the family farm in Massachusetts and on family property in South Carolina.  The conservation easement in South Carolina was an 8,000 acre gift of Savannah River Swampland and is the largest conservation easement ever granted to the South Carolina Nature Conservancy.