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Kendra Gilliland is from Blountsville, AL. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in elementary/early childhood education in 1996, and went on to get a master’s degree in education in 2002. After college, Kendra came back to Blount County and taught 3rd grade at Hayden Elementary for several years. Then, after 11 years of mainly staying home, Kendra went back to teaching at Mt. Pleasant Christian School. She taught there for 4 years before beginning to work full time for Spring Valley Beach, her husband, Travis’s family-owned business. Previously, Kendra had worked at Spring Valley Beach during the summers. She took over the bookkeeping for the park after her mother-in-law retired in 2017. Now Kendra is the office manager as well as the bookkeeper and payroll clerk for the water park. Kendra and her husband have a son, Trace, who was born in 2003, and a daughter, Lilli, who was born in 2007. In her spare time, Kendra likes to exercise outside, read, and research.
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Kala Bhattar has been a volunteer for the Friends of the Locust Fork River since October 2021. She is an undergraduate double-major student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in political science and international studies with a minor in human rights. She is a full-time student and also an intern at the Institute for Human Rights at UAB as one of their blog writers. Her goals as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader for the Friends of the Locust Fork River (FLFR) are to encourage a diverse community, not only in its representation, but also in its equal access to opportunities. As part of her academic journey, Kala has been especially focused on environmental issues, both climate change and environmental racism. This focus gives her a unique perspective to advise the FLFR board on matters of equity, inclusiveness, and unity, through an environmental justice approach.
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Jeff Cowden is from Pinson, AL. With a strong passion for tree care, Jeff will be helping the FLFR with tree management advice. He holds a BS in Forestry from Mississippi State University and is a Registered Consulting Arborist (RCA) with The American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA), a Board-Certified Master Arborist (BCMA) with The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), and a Licensed Arborist with The State of Connecticut.
He has over 30 years work experience in the field of Arboriculture/Urban Forestry. He began his arboriculture career in Chicago, IL with the company, The Care of Trees, where he started as a tree climber, and later became a sales arborist. He has worked as a Utility Forester in Nashville, TN, Indianapolis, IN, and Southbury, CT. He worked with the Newtown, CT Forest Association to develop a management program for one of their forests. Jeff is a member of Toastmasters International, and enjoys giving presentations on proper tree care, and the benefits of trees. Jeff is the only Forester in Alabama that holds the certification of RCA and BCMA. He operates Brushy Mountain Consulting Arborist – Urban Forestry and can be reached at [email protected] |
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Sharon Cook - Moving to Blount County from Birmingham has been softer on my eyes. I’d rather look at cows and goats than lots of stores with stuff to buy. I love being near a river. The Blackburn branch of the Locust Fork River runs behind our home. It brings herons, kingfishers and Louisiana waterthrush, my favorite because of their beautiful song. I was a clinical psychologist and occupational therapist in my professional life and that was very rewarding. But then coming up here I needed to do something different, something more, something for the environment. I joined FLFR over 20 years ago. This has expanded my skills, interests and, of course, I’ve made dear friends. Over the years I’ve been on the board, headed up Kids’ Day on the River for over 10 years, started the Art & Photo Contest and more. It’s enriched my life in so many ways. Now at this stage, being on the Advisory Board, it’s giving me the opportunity to stay engaged with things I care about, people I care about, the river I care about.
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