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For Land TrustsFor Land Trusts

Follow the Leader

Author: 
Jennifer Anderson
Source: 
2008 Annual Report

Legacy Land Conservancy needed a bold, visionary leader to take them to the next level. They found him in Guy Williams.

Guy joined the land trust in 2005, and became president just a year later.

With Guy at the helm, the group created a new strategic plan with a goal to conserve 25,000 acres in the next 20 years.

Next they explored taking a new name that would better reflect their growing geographic range and mission.

And when the staff suggested pursuing accreditation, Guy became a champion of the idea. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, had just been formed and it was asking groups to be part of the pilot program.

“We knew that if we were going to get people to take us seriously, we would have to upgrade our policies and practices and measure our performance against the best in the industry,” Guy says.

After discussing whether their small land trust had the resources to devote to a demanding accreditation process, they plunged in.

The work was challenging, yet in the end, no one felt the accreditation process interfered with saving land, says Executive Director Susan Lackey.

In fact, they protected a record-breaking 1,000 acres during the same year!

In summer 2008, the land trust got the word: They became one of just three in Michigan to earn accreditation.

“Going through the accreditation process had unanticipated benefits. We were forced to really focus on everything that we do, and why. As a result, we ended the process with greater cohesion, confidence and a renewed sense of spirit,” says Guy.

Financial support has remained strong as well, even as the economy has been shaken.

“We’re exuding energy and a positive vibe that translates to our members and donors,” Guy says. At their event this spring to unveil their new name, there was a standing-room-only crowd.

Guy is scheduled to step down from Legacy’s board this summer, and he will pursue another big vision: inspiring new communities of people to get involved in this work. As a community development consultant, Guy works extensively in the Detroit area, where brownfields and vacant lots number in the tens of thousands.

“This could either be a tremendously huge problem or a great asset if you figure all this land could be put to good use,” he says; good uses like making green places and creating a new model of urban farms.

“This way we can create a link between the people of the city neighborhoods and the work of land trusts.” As America continues to urbanize, this critical link will ensure that land trusts will endure.

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