The N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commissioners
Manly M. West
Commission Chairman
2658 Caratoke Hwy.
Moyock, NC 27958
(252) 232-2706 (home)
(252) 207-7711 (cell)
Wife: Ellen
Term Ends: 2011
Represents: Coastal Region
E-Mail: MMWest@mchsi.com
Mr. West is an elected soil and water supervisor for Currituck County, one of five counties that make up the Albemarle Soil & Water Conservation District, for which he has served as supervisor since 1987. A Currituck native, Mr. West is employed in information systems management for the federal government and also operates his own farm, which has been worked continuously by his family since the American Revolution. He has served in the U.S. Coast Guard, currently sits on the Currituck Co. Planning Board, and is active in his local church. Mr. West is married, with one son.
James Ferguson
11571 Betsy Gap road
Clyde, N.C. 28721
(828) 627-6458 – Home
(828) 627-6404 – Work
Term Ends: 2011
Represents: President of the Association
E-Mail: jamesmferg@yahoo.com
Mr. Ferguson is a lifetime farmer from the Fines Creek community in Haywood County. He is the owner/operator of several enterprises including Ferguson Farms, a commercial beef cattle operation also growing hay and timber, Ferguson Supply and Mini Storage, F & F Trucking and Ferguson’s Trout Pond. He attended N.C. State University and is a member of the Fines Creek Memorial Baptist Church. Mr. Ferguson has held several elected and appointed positions over the years including Soil & Water Conservation District Area 1 Association Chairman, Soil & Water Conservation District Association President and Officer, Chairman and member of the N.C. Soil & Water Conservation Commission and member of the NACD District Operation Committee to name just a few. Currently, he is the Haywood Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor and holds the position of Treasurer, and he is also the current Chairman of the Southwestern North Carolina Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D). Mr. Ferguson is a lifetime conservationist who is an active force in keeping the state’s conservation programs moving forward. In 1984, he was presented with the “Long Leaf Pine” award by Governor Hunt for dedicated leadership in Soil and Water Conservation, and in 1996, was awarded “Outstanding Layman” by the N.C. Chapter of Soil & Water Conservation Society.
Craig Frazier
2051 Lake Lucas Road
Sophia,NC 27530
(336) 625-8703 (home)
(336) 629-3512 (cell)
Represents: First Vice-President of the Association
E-Mail: jcparks@co.randolph.nc.us
Mr. Frazier has been a partner and operator of McCain Dairy since 1993, and in 1997, was voted Outstanding Young Farmer by the Asheboro Jaycees. He was elected to the Randolph County Soil & Water District Board in 1994 and has served as chairman since 1998. Commissioner Frazier has held several positions on various environmental committees and commissions in the past 15 years, such as the North Carolina Nutrient Management Task Force, Conservation Committee for the National Association of the Department of Agriculture, North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, the North Carolina State Soil & Water Conservation Commission and the resolutions committee for the Dairy Farmers of America. Mr. Frazier currently serves as First Vice-President of the N.C. Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts. Craig and his wife Kirsten were married in 1984 and are active members of the Charlotte United Methodist Church. They have three children.
William Pickett, Jr.
1522 Old Chinquapin Road
Beulaville, NC 28518
(910) 298-5278
Wife: Lana
Term Ends: 2010
Represents: Past President of the Association
E-Mail: litlbill@intrstar.net
William F. Pickett, Jr. (Bill) was elected to the Duplin Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors in December, 1971, and attended his first board meeting on January 3, 1972. He has been an active member having served as chairman and vice-chairman of Duplin District Area VI SWCDs, and of various committees of the NC Association of SWCDs and past president and charter member of the N.C. Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA). Mr. Pickett grew up on the family farm near Beulaville in Duplin County and is a 1961 graduate of Chinquapin High School. He is a self-employed poultry producer, and formerly owned and operated Pickett's Drain Tile Sales & Installation where, in the 1970's, they installed over one and a half million feet of underground drain tile. Mr. Pickett and his wife Lana have two children, Patty and Billie, and are active members of Lanier's Chapel Free Will Baptist Church near Chinquapin where Mr. Pickett serves as a trustee. His public service responsibilities have included the Board of Education prior to being elected to the SWCD Board, as well as serving a term on the Soil & Water Conservation Commission.
Bobby N. Stanley
10571 Clarendon-Chadbourne Road
Clarendon, NC 28432
(910) 653-2925 (home)
(910) 640-7256 (cell)
Wife: Pat
Term Ends: 2010
Represents: Piedmont Region
E-mail: bstanley9@nc.rr.com
Mr. Stanley is a retired farmer who has held leadership positions that include serving as the current secretary-treasurer for the Columbus SWCD and as chairman of that district in years past. He worked diligently in conjunction with the Lumber River Council of Governments to establish the Coalition of the Soil & Water Districts in the Lumber River Basin. This helped to initiate a study of the Lumber River for consideration in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Mr. Stanley has also served with the Columbus Extension Service and as chairman of the deacons for Clarendon Baptist Church. He was a member of the Roseland Fire Department for more than 20 years and enjoys doing volunteer work for the community. He and his wife, Pat, have one son and two daughters.
Richard Smith
Commission Vice-Chairman
P O Box 61
Columbus, NC 28722
(828) 859-6705 (home)
(828) 817-1980 (cell)
Wife: Robin
Term Ends: 2010
Represents: Mountain Region
E-Mail: sandra.reid@nc.nacdnet.net
Mr. Smith has served as an elected supervisor with Polk Soil & Water Conservation District since 1989. A retired agriculture teacher, he holds a bachelor's degree from N.C. State University and a master's in agriculture education from N.C. A&T State University. Mr. Smith is married, with two children and two grandchildren, and is a deacon at his local church.
Vicky Porter
4455 Mount Pleasant Road S.
Concord, NC 28025
(704) 786-9551 (home)
(704) 796-5792 (cell)
Represents: At-large Member
E-Mail: VLP5579@aol.com
Vicky and her husband Tommy Porter operate a 900 acre farm outside Mt. Pleasant, N.C. where they raise brood cattle, hogs and chickens. The Porters have won several environmental awards over the years to include the National Environmental Stewardship Award for Poultry presented by Tyson Foods in 1999, and again in 2004. They were voted Conservation Farm Family of the year in 1999 by the N.C. Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, named Sunbelt Farmer of the Year for North Carolina in 2006 by Swisher Sweets, and recognized by the N.C. Pork Council in 2009 as the N.C. Outstanding Pork Producer. Ms. Porter holds an Associate’s Degree in Applied Sciences and worked as a licensed dental hygienist for a number of years before leaving that profession to raise a family and assist her husband with the farming operation. They have two grown sons, and a daughter attending college.
Resource Advisors
Jennie Wilhelm Hauser, Attorney
NCDOJ
P.O. Box 629
Raleigh, NC 27602-0629
919-716-6944 (Work)
jhauser@ncdoj.gov
Jennie is a Special Deputy Attorney General with the Environmental Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice. She serves as the chief of the Administrative section, which provides legal support to all DENR commissions, its collections program and personnel. After obtaining her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jennie worked at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission enforcing civil penalties and conducting rulemaking. In her 15 years at the Attorney General’s Office she has worked with a variety of DENR programs providing legal representation in both State and federal courts. She has also advised a number of commissions and occupational licensing boards and currently represents the Coastal Resources Commission and the North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists.
Patricia K. Harris, Director
Division of Soil and Water
1614 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1614
(919) 715-6097 (Work)
(919) 830-2696 (Cell)
Pat.harris@ncdenr.gov
Pat Harris, a veteran environmental engineer, is the Division of Soil and Water Conservation's first female director. Pat began work with the division in 1987 and has served in many capacities including providing technical assistance in the implementation of certified animal waste management plans. Before joining the division, Pat was an extension agent in Pamlico County and animal science instructor at Beaufort Community College. She has earned several accolades, including the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation Director’s Award of Achievement and the Hugh Hammond Bennett Soil and Water Conservation Society’s Professional Achievement Award in Soil Conservation. Pat earned bachelor’s degrees in biological and agricultural engineering and animal science technology from N.C. State University in 1981. She is a native of Washington, N.C. and now lives in Williamston with her husband, Jeff.