In the fall of 2006, Donna Snyder arrived in Granby with her young family, returning to the New England area where she had been born and raised. The next spring, she discovered Holcomb Farm when she was looking for a place to purchase pick-your-own vegetables. She became enamored of the quality and variety of the Farm’s produce, and the friendliness and knowledge of the staff and other folks she met while at the facility.
Her family’s enjoyment of the CSA bounty led her to take an active role at the Farm in 2007 and she has held a work/share position since 2008. For nine of those years, she spent her days seeding in the greenhouses, although she pitches in wherever she is needed. This season, she will be interacting with the public in the farm store.
Snyder’s professional life included engineering, management and supply chain positions at nuclear, aerospace and building materials companies, but since 2008, she has focused on raising her family and giving back to her community through volunteering in various Granby and Simsbury organizations, including the Granby Youth Services advisory board, the Cider Mill Heights Homeowners Association, and currently, Granby’s Commission on Aging, where she is the chairman. She also volunteers at the Granby Senior Center, helping out with the Durable Medical Equipment Closet, special events, and the Fresh Access produce distribution.
Joe O’Grady suggested that Snyder join the Friends of Holcomb Farm board in 2018. She is an excellent grant writer for the board, assisting with the applications and final reports, and she has generated a very helpful database to that end. She helps with the fund-raising annual Harvest Dinner and silent auction. Her most significant recent project was leading the formation of the Holcomb Farm five-year Business Plan, which reviewed the Farm’s operations, including consumers, competitors, current and projected financials and a master plan of capital and infrastructure concerns. She notes that, “This document can be used to help ensure the continued financial viability of Holcomb Farm.”
She also notes that she enjoys learning about the many facets of the Farm and contributes where she can—so her role on the board has evolved into a more widespread nature. That being said, however, her goal for the year ahead is to help secure capital and infrastructure funding.
In her down time, Snyder likes to stay active with her friends and family and especially appreciates the beautiful place we call home here in Granby. She enjoys many outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, snowshoeing, kayaking and swimming. She also likes to cook, knit and read. Although she would like to have an extensive garden, the abundance of hungry wildlife and the rocky soil have contributed to limiting her gardening activities to those at the Farm.
Snyder’s home life includes husband Jim, twin daughters Georgia and Bridget (both 2020 graduates of Boston College and busy working), and pet rabbits Kate and Pippa. Now we wonder who they are named after…