Steve Silverberg – Lewisberg, WV.
President
Term ending December 2022
After retiring from a career as a Firefighter in San Diego, CA and Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Steve Silverberg has been the owner of Lost World Caverns, in Lewisburg, West Virginia, for the past 21 years. Along with the one of the most beautiful caverns in the eastern U.S., the operation boasts the largest Rock, Fossil, and Gift Shop in that part of the country. The 15 acre property is surrounded by several thousand acres of beautiful pasture land. Our Llamas, horses, goats, and dogs are all here to greet the 30,000+ guests that visit each year.
Over the years, I have been active on many not for profit boards, including the Vice President of the Pennsylvania Llama & Alpaca Assn. (PLAA), for the past 4 years. I have a clear understanding of how non-profit boards should operate and the legal obligations that apply.
I have been a participant and volunteer with GALA every year since 2013, which was the year I got my first llamas. I believe that GALA has become the premier camelid organization in the industry. With an emphasis on educating llama owners, GALA gives us an opportunity to network with other owners, trainers, veterinarians, fiber experts and amazing vendors. I am honored and excited to be considered for a position on the GALA board. I believe that a strong board is made up of individuals with varied strengths, backgrounds and talents, who together, work to benefit the overall organization. Working with this board is an opportunity to give back the community that has always been there for me!
Steve can be reached at: okeechobee_steve@hotmail.com
Term Ending December 2021
Andrea Parent-Tibbetts acquired her first two llamas in 2008 through a local rescue organization, Northeast Llama Rescue (NELR) Middleburgh, NY to guard their families 4H Dairy Goats. A few years later, she rescued three alpacas and two more llamas and started a 4H Youth Development Camelid club in Dutchess County, New York. After retiring as a school administrator with a background in Finance and Operations, she and her husband purchased a 25 acre 1850 farm in 2016 to expand on their agricultural dreams and build a business around Agritourism, with her family at Clover Brooke Farm. Being an active and engaged community member in many different areas, Andrea’s focus continues with youth in agriculture, showing camelids, public relations events and community service. As an educator and 4H leader (The Spitters Club), it is important to Andrea that youth always have access to agriculture to learn and sculpt their personal interests.
Having camelids in her life for over 10 yrs, has allowed her to network with individuals and organizations throughout the Tri-state area, around something very interesting too many. She is fortunate to live just 1 1⁄2 hours north of New York City allowing her access to a broad audience of interests associated with agriculture through animal therapy, agricultural education in the classroom and public relations media spotlights. These values have led her to practice leadership, open-mindedness and positivity within all of her efforts, mainly concentrated in Youth Development and Agricultural Preservation.
You can learn more about Clover Brooke Farm at https://www.cloverbrookefarm.com and she can be reached at cloverbrookefarm@gmail.com You can also find Clover Brooke Farm on Facebook and follow them on Instagram.
We established Dakota Ridge Farm in 1990 when we obtained our first llama and farm namesake, Dakota, as a wedding gift from Gary to Katrina. Since then, many more of these regal, magical and mystical creatures have arrived. From our herd of over 30 llamas and having up to as many as 30 boarders at one time, it has been a wonderful number of years with llamas! We also rescue and re-home llamas when needed. Our farm offers Pet Therapy to folks with special needs, Farm Tours, Llama Treks, and Educational Visits to folks traveling as far away as China, Japan, Australia, and all parts of the U.S. In 2012, Katrina was the proud recipient of the Linda Pierce Memorial Award. (The award is given to an ALSA member in good standing as well as being a volunteer and/or sponsor for local and national ALSA events. Additionally, the person must exemplify Linda’s exceptional attributes as a llama lover and show person with respect to dedication, perseverance, integrity, being a good role model, and striving to do their personal best while creating a positive experience for others in both their lives and in the show ring.) Dakota Ridge Farm was featured in the NY Times and on Good Morning America! Katrina is a former GALA Board member and worked for an accounting firm for 16 years. She’s now working on the farm full time.
Katrina can be reached at: llamawhisp@aol.com
Visit her website at: https://dakotaridgefarm.com/
Audrey Lee – Keswick, VA
Director
Term ending December 2021
My husband , Ed, and I were introduced to llamas in 1993 and began our adventure with these remarkable animals with the purchase of 4 later that year. Over the next few years, through additional purchases and our own breeding program, our herd rapidly grew to nearly 50. My husband, a now retired physician, studied their veterinarian needs by attending numerous programs on health care and typical medical conditions which can plague llamas while I took responsibility for their day to day needs. We began showing our llamas in 1993 and have enjoyed not only the show circuit but also the wonderful people we met along the way. Though we limited our show experience to competing in halter classes, our granddaughter, who shares our affection for these animals, has begun training and showing the llamas in performances classes.
Our breeding program over the last 20 years had focused on:
1) preserving/improving sound conformation;
2) improving the quality of fiber;
3) maintaining the sweet disposition of our animals as above all else, llamas, for us, are companion animals.
Now that we are retired and have moved the herd to Charlottesville Virginia, our numbers have dwindled, down to 19. While our show days are over, Ed continues watching over the health needs of our geriatric herd and I am discovering the
rewards of learning about fiber arts. With more time to observe herd behavior, I find the sociology of the herd to be fascinating and with time to observe and study their social interactions, I am anticipating writing a children’s book “Llessons Llearned from Llamas”.
When I was approached about jointing GALA’s BOD, I was honored and thrilled at the opportunity to share what I have learned over the years and to give to others as many generously shared their knowledge with us.
Audrey can be reached at: bohnengela@aol.com
