IN THE SPOTLIGHT! by Matthew Evans, IFMA intern and student at Loyola University, Chicago
Dale Hazlewood (blue shirt in picture) joined the IFMA Board as a member in January 2015. He is a special events coordinator for the city of Aurora, Illinois and also serves as the Aurora’s Farmers Market Manager. In addition to these obligations, Dale works as a freelance Special Projects Coordinator for Chicago & Beyond Regional Tourism Development Office. He is proud to say that the 2015 Aurora’s Farmers Market will be hosting its 103rd season and is the oldest continuously running market in Illinois. The market was originally started in 1912 by city ordinance, to provide residents access to fresh, healthy, locally grown produce and farm products. According to Dale, “It is interesting to see that what was popular in 1912 still holds true today.”
Dale has worked for the City of Aurora since 2007 on a variety of events and festivals. He began working as Operations Manager with the Aurora’s Farmers Market in 2012 and last year became the markets manager. Before becoming employed as a Special Event Coordinator, Dale had already been organizing events from grade school through college and as a volunteer for local non-profits. Additionally he utilizes valuable experience from other fields of past employment, such as retail management, marketing, television production, design, construction, tourism, and theater.
Despite being somewhat new to managing a farmers market, Dale has been gardening, raising livestock and preserving food most of his life. By growing heirlooms varieties and raising heritage breeds he is helping to preserve some of our agricultural history. Unfortunately due to factory farming practices, many varieties of fruits, vegetables, and unique breeds of farm animals are becoming endangered, even extinct. Illinois Farmers Markets provide a great outlet for small scale farmers to continue raising some of these unique varieties and breeds.
Dale was asked what his hopes are for Farmers Markets by 2020 and did he consider himself an Ambassador, Advocate, or Asker? Dale said, “I would hope that the passion we all have for Farmers Markets becomes a national trend to a larger percentage of Americans. I have always been a multitasker, so I would say all three, ambassador, advocate and asker.”
Carson Poole (on far right in picture) is a new IFMA board member that we are very excited to have joining us. Carson is a graduate student at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is pursuing a degree in Urban Planning and Policy with a focus on Community Development. Carson is passionate about sustainable development and the preservation of public open spaces. Carson currently works at Openlands, Chicago’s oldest metropolitan conservation organization. Through Openlands, Carson is working with issues related to local Food System development through land preservation, planning and public policy work. Before joining the IFMA, Carson worked with fellow IFMA board member Laura Erickson at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest Youth Farm program, a youth development program that works with high school aged youth in sustainable urban farming.
Carson has been involved with agriculture and farming his whole life. He grew up on a farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York. “Local food is important because it is a key driver of public health and environmental sustainability. Increased access to local fruits and vegetables will make people healthier, and local farmers help to steward our land in a responsible and beneficial way”. Carson’s expectation for his involvement with the IFMA is to gain a better understanding of how the farmers market system operates on a statewide scale. He hopes to help the IFMA to grow as an organization through increasing its partnerships. We at the Illinois Farmers Market Association are excited and feel very lucky to have a new passionate board member in Carson.
Meet all the IFMA Board Members at the following link: https://ilfarmersmarkets.org/?p=496