Building Community in Independence
photos by Patrick Shunney
On a bright sunny Friday, the first full day of the Independence (Virginia) Farmers Market Community Building Workshop started with energy and enthusiasm. The eleven instructors and 65 volunteers, who came from near and far, were ready and anxious to get started. Workshop managers George Morrison and Patrick Shunney asked everyone to introduce themselves and where they were from. There were seasoned veterans and first-time attendees, hailing from Costa Rica, New York, the Yukon, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, and more.
After each morning’s exercise and yoga session, led by Sissily Harrell, everyone went to work. It was a treat to watch how quickly they all became a team. The site was right in the middle of town with lots of traffic and observers watching our progress. They were not disappointed. At the end of the week, there was an exquisite timber frame farmers market that will be a part of the Independence community for many years to come.
The instruction team did an amazing job. Thank you again to George and Patrick and also to Peter Bull, Joe Davino, Barbara Grise, Ethan Jones, Stephen Kuplack, Chris Newman, Kurt Rosenberger, Blaine Snipstal, and Bill Sturm.
Thank you to Gesche Morley and the local group of Farmers Feeding Framers volunteers who provided incredible, delicious home-cooked meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as refreshments and snacks during the day for the entire week.
And a special thank you to Eric Morley, who brought this amazing project to the Guild. It is truly an example of how a Guild Community Building Workshop can bring together communities in partnership to create a structure that will be of benefit for generations to come. Eric and Gesche and the crew from Carolina Timberworks helped make this event as good as it could possibly be.
I hope everyone gets a chance to go to Independence one day to see the results of this wonderful week. You will be impressed.
~Brenda Baker
Published on Oct 28, 2021
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