Born and raised in Granby, Rocky Piccirillo has had a lifelong connection to Holcomb Farm. Hiking with family up to the ridge and attending nature programs in the education center when he was a young lad instilled an affection for the place that remains to this day. He moved away for college, but chose to return to the area when he was ready to settle down. Piccirillo now lives in Simsbury with his wife Katie and their rambunctious dog, Zoey. They have been CSA members for the past seven years. He notes, “going to the Farm, picking fresh produce, seeing the butterflies waft around the flower fields in the warm sun” is one of the highlights of his week.
Remembering how much the Farm meant to him when he was younger, he decided to become a Friend of the Farm to give back to the place that had given him so much pleasure. Piccirillo really enjoys working with his fellow board members, whom he calls intelligent, resourceful and kind. “I am constantly humbled by their dedication to the organization,” he remarks.
Having obtained his MBA from the University of North Carolina, it seemed natural for him to slide over into the treasurer position when Jenny Emery became the executive director. His responsibility in this role is mainly focusing on balance sheet oversight—“A fancy way of saying that I keep an eye on ensuring we maintain sufficient funds to cover our obligations.” He notes that his personal goal is to be able to contribute to the long-term viability of the Farm.
It would be accurate to say that his connection with the Farm is one of the things that keeps Piccirillo grounded in the area, for in both his job and personal life, he does a lot of traveling. After studying business administration and economics at Emmanuel College in Boston (including a lot of extracurricular activity at Fenway Park), he was hired at what was then Alstom, now General Electric, in Windsor. His job as logistics project manager in the gas power division means he is in charge of delivering the equipment required to construct natural gas-fired power plants around the world, which involves chartering ships and working with railroads and trucking companies. His current project load takes him to locations such as Louisiana and Bahrain. Working with an internationally diverse group of people is one of his favorite aspects of the job. As for personal travel, he and Katie have gone to China, Dubai, Colombia and much of Europe. They also try to fit in at least one hiking/back-packing trip each year to places such as Teton National Park and Acadia.
When not out on the road, Piccirillo likes to bike, golf, ski and exercise in his garage gym and also at an official exercise facility. Due to the pandemic, the latter was not possible, so the Piccirillos spent a lot of time tinkering around the house they purchased last summer and tending their own small garden. The Friends board is lucky to have this extremely busy and energetic person dedicated to the success of the Farm.