Spenard Farmer's Market: Meet the Volunteers

The Spenard Farmers Market is an all volunteer organization. It is through the efforts and special talents of these core volunteers that make our Market great! *Indicates a Spenard Farmers Market Board Member

Mark Butler* is co-founder of the market. He is the 2011 market chair. He is a community organizer who is active in the North Star neighborhood where he lives and the Spenard neighborhood where he works, shops and eats.

Rene Haag* is the local Spenard business owner of Blaine’s Art Supply. She is one of the founding members of the Spenard Farmers Market. She enjoys art, managing her popular and expanded business and supporting Spenard through volunteerism and community development.

Marilyn Leland* is originally from Michigan. She moved to Cordova nearly 30 years ago where she ran the commercial fishing organization during the time of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. She is the Executive Director of the Alaska Power Association, the statewide trade association for electric utilities. She enjoys traveling and socializing with her friends.

Kate Powers* was lucky to be born and raised in Alaska. She loves testing out delicious recipes with the produce she buys at the Spenard Farmers Market. Kate works at Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center; she serves on the board of the Alaska Women’s Environmental Network and teaches adult ESL at the Alaska Literacy Program. She is excited to work to encourage local foods access and Alaskan agriculture.

Kim Wetzel volunteering at the Market Information Booth

Kim Wetzel* grew up in Anchorage and after college(s) and several adventures, returned to her hometown to make it a cooler place to live. She lives in North Star with fiancée Andy and dog Casio. Kim sold "Kimbucha" at the first Spenard Farmers Market and may try selling backyard chicken eggs this year in addition to managing the Food Assistance Committee. Kim is very proud to announce that Spenard Farmers Market is one of two pilot markets to accept the Quest card (food stamps) this year!

Jae Shin and "Star" the Great Dane...as a "little" puppy.

Jae Shin is a lifelong Spenardian. He is passionate about community activities that create a sense of place. He is especially fond of anything that further improves Spenard’s social status. He is an avid bicyclist and local business owner. He directs all aspects of Market operations and frequently brings his adorable children and our market mascot, Star, the puppy.

Cindy Shake with her Giant Schnauzer.

Cindy Shake is a life-long Alaska resident and local artist currently working in metal sculpture & fiber arts living and working in Spenard's North Star district. Shake’s work is featured in private collections across the United States and Europe and included in the national publications of The Artful Home. Most recently Cindy was selected to create an outdoor public sculpture in Mountain View titled “Bicycle Bloom” at the corner of Mt. View and Bragaw. Her volunteer time is devoted to The Alaska Botanical Garden, the Spenard Farmer’s Market and to being an Arts and Literacy Advocate. Along with her family, she is a returning core vendor and serves as the Vendor Chairperson.

Susan Miller is a Spenard backyard gardener; She had a micro booth (card table) at last year’s Spenard Farmers Market - selling raspberry plants, strawberry plants, and the berries; she volunteers at Loussac Library, Alaska Botanical Garden and C Street Community Garden Improvement Project. Susan works for the Alaska Court System.

Shannon Kuhn saving onion seeds.

Shannon Kuhn is a Spenard Farmer's Market volunteer and founder of the Anchorage Food Mosiac project. The Anchorage Food Mosaic’s mission is to build community through our cultural foods, one bite at a time. In agriculture, a monoculture replaces lots of genetically diverse plants with one uniform crop, which is highly susceptible to disease and failure. In the same way that monocropping is dangerous to the future of a crop; we must encourage diversity within our community to prevent disease. In order for our community to thrive we need to embrace and nurture the “mosaic” of people in this city. Now more than ever we need to come together and celebrate the incredible diversity in our community. And what better way to do that than FOOD and the Spenard Farmers Market?

The Anchorage Food Mosaic is proud to partner with the Spenard Farmers Market to build community and celebrate food! My goal is to increase citizen participation in the market, and to help SFM grown to be known a place where conversations are had, smiles are shared, and fresh local food is exchanged.

Laura Minski joined the Spenard Farmers Market team last spring as a volunteer project with the Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program. She is a proud resident of Spenard who is really excited about our neighborhood’s future and shares this by volunteering for the market, both at the market and during off season. When she isn’t at the market during the summer, she’s likely to be found doing landscape architecty type work, biking her dogs up and down Spenard Road, or enjoying time on her deck and taking in all of the colorful sights and sounds of the neighborhood.