Meet the Board of Directors:
PAM RIEKE
PRESIDENT
Although I live on the west side of Cincinnati, my family owns property in Sunman, Indiana. My goal is to move to Indiana in the near future. I discovered the Food and Growers Association at the Batesville Farmers Market and have been an active member, and now president, for several years. I have a passion for local healthy food access for everyone and began volunteer work at Our Harvest Cooperative. I am also a member of the board of Family Promise NKY and the Christian educator at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Thomas, KY.
KRIS REYNOLDS
VICE PRESIDENT
I am a resident of the Batesville area and grew up on a small farm in Batesville and enjoy gardening. I work for Batesville Casket as a Product Manager.
OLIVIA FLEDDERMAN
SECRETARY
I am graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a major in dietetics and will soon be starting a new position with Margaret Mary Health. I also am a contributing writer for Whitewater Publications. For four years I worked at the Sisters of St. Francis at Michaela Farm in Oldenburg as a seasonal gardener, chicken caretaker and later, lead gardener. I recognize the impact that the foods we consume have on our overall health and well being. Therefore, I dedicate a lot of my time to providing and promoting local foods.
DEANNA HOOKWAY
TREASURER
I am a computer analyst and production support manager at my client, Global Atlantic Financial, but one of my hobbies is inside gardening with houseplants and outside with ornamentals and vegetables. My extended family's background is in commodity farming, having farmed the same property for over 100 years, but my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents always put out huge gardens every year, and canned and froze and butchered. It was how we lived. I am always excited to discuss local food and how we can raise up our local farmers to produce more food and create a good economy for them.
MELISSA
WATKINS
Board Member/Past President
In my professional life, I work in procurement for Indirect Sourcing at Hill-Rom. My true passion is gardening, seed saving, and all things canning and food preserving. Each year my family and I try to learn new things and add experiences that provide healthy options for us, support our local farmers, and help the environment. A couple of years ago we ventured into beekeeping which has been an awesome experience. I’ve been a board member since 2015. I invite you to join the FGA and help us support our farmers and grow our local economy.
Tracy Jaeger
BOARD MEMBER
Kenny and I reside in Union County. We have 4 grown children and 7 grandchildren. I work for the USDA/Farm Service Agency in Franklin County. I was introduced to FGA by Ted Cooley when he was in my office and mentioned a program to educate farmers about growing produce and marketing locally. His wife Kathy told me about the scholarship for the program and I found myself in the SIFTI program. What a great opportunity it was. I have utilized most all I learned through the program while starting our road side stand. I now find myself on the board and believe in the mission of this group.
Cindy Weisenbach
BOARD MEMBER
I am currently a third-grade teacher at Batesville Intermediate School, and have been teaching for 27 years. I would love to say that gardening has been a passion all my life, but when I decided to start a school garden with my students around 7 years ago, I had no understanding or knowledge of what to even plant, when and how. I just knew that a school garden was a valuable teaching tool connecting students with their natural world and the true source of their food. I am proud to say that our garden is growing bigger and stronger every eyar, as is my knowledge! I am excited to work with my fellow FGA board members to make a difference in our community.
Brad Silber
BOARD MEMBER
I live on the west side of Cincinnati but my family owns property between Sunman and Batesville. I discovered the FGA at the Batesville Farmers Market and have attended the potlucks for several years. I also volunteer at FGA events such as the winter Conference and Salsa competition. I see the value in local healthy food access and began volunteering with Our Harvest Cooperative and O2 Urban Farms.