In honor of Mary Edwards’ many contributions to Granby and to the Granby Land Trust, the Land Trust Board established the Mary Edwards Friend of the Land Trust Award, which is given each year at our Annual Meeting. This award—the Land Trust’s highest honor—recognizes the individual or organization that has made a significant difference, through a single gift or contributions over many years, to promote the GLT’s mission of “preserving Granby’s natural heritage.”
The 2018 award winner, Rod Dimock, is a true Renaissance Man. Dimock served for three years as a U.S. Navy Officer during the Vietnam War, including two years at sea as Destroyer department head. He served as president of Aetna Realty Investors, Inc., one of the country’s largest real estate investment management advisors, and also served on Aetna’s asset allocation committee. He was the president, chief operating officer and director of Cornerstone Properties, a $4.8 billion Real Estate Investment Trust.
Currently, Dimock is the principal of Arrow Capital, LLC, offering private investing, property development and consulting services; he is an owner and the chairman of the management committee of the highly acclaimed Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, Mass.; and he serves on numerous other boards of directors and as a recruiter and fundraiser for his alma mater, Williams College.
Dimock is an incredibly dedicated GLT board member, serves as its current vice president and is multi-talented, to say the least. His leadership and decision-making skills serve the board well; as does his extensive investment expertise (he currently chairs the finance committee, heads up the GLT ‘logistics’ team, and is the co-chair of the property stewardship committee). He was a critical member of the team that first sought national accreditation for the Land Trust, providing big picture guidance and digging into the details. He has been a key part of the Land Acquisitions Team over the years. And he has remarkable handyman skills, which he employed to build-out our GLT office at Holcomb Farm, among many other GLT projects over the years.
The Land Trust Board and Granby have been very fortunate to have someone like Rod volunteering countless hours working on behalf of the GLT. He also is an incredibly good friend who does whatever it takes to provide help.