Connie Parker

The Board of Directors for the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees has appointed new members and officers, according to a news release. The nonprofit organization’s founder Connie Parker was also recently celebrated at a national gathering for the Arbor Day Foundation.  

Parker is also the organization’s immediate past president.

"Parker founded the ACFT in 2015 to augment the Wilmington Tree Commission and address emerging and urgent needs related to urban forestry and canopy restoration in the Greater Wilmington and lower Cape Fear region," according to the release. "Since its founding, ACFT has planted more than 3,000 trees and given away more than 14,000 trees to residents throughout the greater Wilmington area."

The release stated that funds for many of the organization’s tree plantings and giveaways are granted from the Arbor Day Foundation, which acknowledged the impact of Parker and the ACFT at its annual Member Summit in June in Nebraska City, Nebraska. According to the release, Parker was on a select panel to represent Arbor Day Foundation’s impact on disaster recovery across the United States. 

Joining the ACFT board are: 

• Camilla Herlevich, a retired attorney and founding executive director of North Carolina Coastal Land Trust;
• Bob Elkins, a retired residential builder, former construction manager for the FBI and longtime volunteer for the National Park Service;
• and Craig Ten Brink, natural resource manager for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, overseeing forestry, threatened and endangered species, hunting and fishing programs and conservation law enforcement.

The three new board members join existing members John Anagnost, Mary Bradley, Henry Campbell, Gareth Evans, Sonja Green, Everett Jones, Ann Marquino and Dan Schmidt.

The board also appointed new executive officers, the release stated. They are President Margee Herring, Vice President Laura McCabe, Treasurer Michael Murchison and Secretary Donna Hurdle, according to the release.