• A Letter from Our Board President
  
• New Board Member Joel D. Ember
  
• New Board Member Denise Ziegler
  
• Safety First (Beauty A Close Second)
  
• Gone Fishin’
  
• Twisting and shouting
  
• United, this way
  
• Pot Luck Shindig
  
• A Letter from Peter Emerson, Farm Manager
  
• Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP
  

Christian R. Herr, Jr., our dedicated past Treasurer and current Vice President, will be taking the President’s gavel in January. I will chair the development committee, which promises to be both challenging and great fun. I’m excited most about assisting Dennis Dougherty in his effort to expand the residential side of Homefields. Returning to the primary reason that we joined together in the first place, to find a home for a loved one, is energizing.

I’m proud of what our little band has accomplished in a decade. The energy of those associated with Homefields; directors, shareholders, and volunteers alike, continually amazes me. The staff of both the residential and vocational sides has impressed us all with their selflessness. The community we serve has responded to our requests time after time without hesitation.

Each of the original six residents of Homefields has achieved a new level of independence as the empathy and concern that each demonstrates for the other has grown. It has been a privilege to watch them interact. All in all, the first ten years have been a good start. Stay tuned. It’s just a feeling, but I think we have only scratched the surface.

Joel serves on the Board of Directors of the Demuth Museum and Foundation, and last year chaired their 20th Annual Demuth Garden Tour. In his spare time, he volunteers at Homefields, TRACK (a Teen advocacy group in Ephrata), Habitat for Humanity and the United Way.

Joel has run a small gallery, painted murals in Florida, managed a custom frame shop, ran a retail greenhouse/ flower shop, and currently is working for Ephrata National Bank in Lititz. His interests are traveling, photography, painting, gardening and hiking.

Denise owns her own business - Denise Ziegler, Decorating Service. She is a professional Interior Design Consultant, serving as Interior Designer/Project Coordinator for new home construction, renovations and hospitality projects.

A volunteer for Homefields and with Domestic Violence Services, Denise previously was a Big Sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, Facilitator with Junior Achievement and Reading Mentor with Lancaster City Schools.

Denise has been a buyer for Boscov’s, proprietor of At Your Service (a catering business), and vice president of sales and merchandising for Interiors 2000.

Her objective is to use her design talent, business experience, leadership and interpersonal skills for the benefit of individuals and corporations.

Metal doors are usually built into rigid walls; installing such a door into a barn structure is a difficult task. We were also required to place the new exit in the front side of the barn next to the original barn doors. Our sweet barn was going metallic.

We called upon Paul Risk Associates, Inc., Rich Shoemaker (a partner in the firm), and Bryan Weiss (a PRA employee and craftsman), to fashion a solution acceptable to all parties.

After installing the door, Bryan reattached the barn boards, making the emergency door invisible from the outside and retaining the look of our old barn. Rich coordinated the job with Inspector J. Criss, Hammel Associates Architects, Homefields, and PRA, Inc.

Denise Ziegler led the bingo games and prize table, Susan Dougherty made sure the food was ready to eat and enjoy, and Dennis Dougherty put worms on hooks and pointed to where the fish were biting. Not everyone could face those wiggly worms but brave hearts Susan Sahd, Victor Lyet, and experienced fisherman Shawn Dougherty caught enough for our dinner had they not thrown the fish back in. Mary Beth Determan was so happy she did a little fish dance and shouted, “hallelujah”! No one fell into the pond; it was a good day.

The Dougherty, Pontz, Sahd and Ziegler families created these warm memories and helped Homefields fulfill one facet of our residential mission statement...“and fun and creativity are revered as basic human needs”.

Sponsoring the dance was The Lancaster Mediation Center, a nonprofit community organization that provides mediation services as a way to facilitate people in resolving their own problems.

Needless to say, this is the culmination of years of planning, investing, and hard work. The greatest part though: this isn’t the peak of our plans, we’re still investing new goals and ideas, and we are definitely not close to finishing the hard work. This means that thirty program participants may soon be fifty and eight acres of farming may soon be fifteen. This year, we successfully expanded onto two additional acres, drastically increased our field production, and obviously, helped many more individuals be a productive and appreciated part of the community. Growing is the core of this endeavor and that’s what we’re doing on many levels.

To provide all of these opportunities for growth and reward, it’s absolutely necessary to provide real and valued work. It’s one thing to nurture a shrub because it’s a shrub, but it’s another to nurture a shrub because it produces something of value like blueberries. By offering this valued product that you have grown to local residents and businesses, the work becomes rewarding. That is the basis for everything that we do on this farm, which makes our connection to local families, individuals, and businesses so crucial. We are thankful for all of the support that our farm customers have shown throughout this bountiful year and we look forward to providing for the community in 2004.

In 1992, sandwiched between October (when the name Homefields was selected as our corporate identity) and December (when the first Board of Directors was chosen), a brainstorming meeting was called. The mission before us was to devise a creative way for families to finance the purchase of a farm property without burdening the families, fund staff for 6 people, and develop a vocational horticultural program. Joining the group to listen to the founders’ dream of what the future could hold and to hammer out a policy for financial success was K. Leon Brubaker, CPA, CVA, Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP.

In 1993, Leon, who is indubitably ensconced in the for-profit sector, went through the wall of fire with Homefields as we applied for and were approved for a tax-exempt status. He then introduced Homefields to a CPA with the firm who had years of experience working with nonprofits-Brian Wassell.

Brian joined Homefields as a volunteer Director in 1996. He retained a seat with Homefields’ Board for five years as we developed budgets, launched a vocational program, and started one of our major fundraisers, a golf tournament. Brian Wassell is now Partner with Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP.

Today, three gentlemen with Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP provide nonprofit accounting and tax services to Homefields, Inc.: Brian Wassell, CPA, Partner; Don M. Mowery, CPA; and Eric Bender, CPA. Don sits on our golf tournament committee, willingly showing up for meetings at 7:00 in the morning as he gives numerical order to the tournament chaos. Eric works hand-in-hand with Dennis Dougherty, Homefields’ Treasurer, and pulls monthly financial statements together for the Board of Directors. Brian watches over us all and Leon’s door is still open.

Walking the additional mile, the firm of Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP is a founding corporate sponsor of Homefields’ 7 years of golf tournaments. Please learn more about Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP and other sponsors of Homefields’ tournaments by visiting: www.homefields.org.