William Danchuk and William Mihalco have been appointed to the board of directors of the Westmoreland Land Trust and Kodie Rearick has joined the land-conservation organization as an AmeriCorps Service Member.

Danchuk, an attorney who lives in New Florence, has had a varied career that included working directly for corporations including USX as well as founding his own companies related to safety, health, and the environment. 

He is a woodworker who makes cherry and walnut classical furniture and a volunteer board member of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association.

Mihalco of Harrison City is an environmental engineer who spent most of his career with Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory.  His volunteer involvement includes service as an associate director of the Westmoreland Conservation District, a board member and secretary of the Turtle Creek Watershed Association, and vice chairman of the Penn Township Zoning Hearing Board.

Because of the nature of the land trust board’s staggered terms, Danchuk and Mihalco will begin their service with an initial abbreviated term that concludes on December 31, 2018.  They will then be eligible to be reappointed for a full, three-year term beginning in January 2019.

Rearick graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor of science in wildlife and fisheries science.  She joins the Westmoreland Land Trust with experience as a team leader/biological technician for Sanders Environmental Inc., a hunting control manager at a refuge in Maryland, and as a field data collection technician with Crawford Consulting Services in Pittsburgh.

AmeriCorps is a federal program in which members spend up to a year volunteering with a nonprofit, school, or community organization.  They can receive a student loan deferment, limited health benefits, and a monetary award for education in addition to receiving on-the-job training in their field of interest.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Westmoreland Land Trust website.

NewsClips:

The Vowed To Save The Valley In Delaware County, And They Did

Laurel: State, County Farmland Preservation Boards

Editorial: Keeping The Wild Spaces

Sisk: Federal Land & Water Conservation Fund Helped Pay For A Park Near You, Now In Limbo

PEC: Bill In Congress To Reauthorize Land & Water Conservation Fund Has Bipartisan Support

[Posted: Oct. 16, 2018]

10/22/2018