The Harvest Foundation added three new members to its Board of Directors: Paul Huckfeldt, Paulina Vazquez, and Katie Ryan Snyder.
“We are thrilled to welcome Katie, Paul, and Paulina to The Harvest Foundation family,” said Kate Keller, president of The Harvest Foundation. “Each of them brings a valuable perspective, from legal expertise, to corporate finance and small business leadership, to deep community roots. Their leadership and expertise will strengthen and grow Harvest’s long-term work serving Martinsville-Henry County.”
Snyder is a native of Martinsville-Henry County, moving to pursue higher education after graduating from Carlisle School. She said after being away for seven years, she could not wait to return home when offered an opportunity for work.
“There is something special about MHC that you cannot find anywhere else,” Snyder said. “Being a director at Harvest provides me the opportunity to serve a community that has shaped who I am today. I am proud to be from MHC, and I want others to be, too!”
Snyder is an attorney/partner at Young, Haskins, Mann, Gregory, Wall & Snyder. She said she hopes to strengthen the community as a whole with lasting, meaningful impact during her time at Harvest.
“Being native to this community and as a young professional who chose to come back, I have a deep understanding of MHC’s strengths and needs,” she said. “My hope is that I may be able to use both my professional experience and personal perspective to support Harvest in achieving its mission and creating lasting impact.”
Vazquez graduated from Martinsville High School and was a founding member of the Harvest Youth Board, serving as the group’s first chairperson. She said being raised in MHC and choosing to move back home after college made accepting the nomination to the board a humbling and exciting experience.
“I bring a perspective shaped by being raised in an immigrant family who intentionally chose Martinsville-Henry County as home,” Vazquez said. “Watching my parents build successful small businesses here established my perspective of being grounded in the importance of opportunity at the community level.”
Vazquez said she’s seen firsthand the impact of Harvest’s work on the community, and she’s “excited to offer a young perspective and lived experience to contribute to the continued success of investing in our community.”
Huckfeldt recently retired as the chief financial officer for Hooker Furnishings Corporation. He said he feels that his business experience prepares him well for serving on the board.
“My family has been in Martinsville since 1997, so it is and will continue to be home,” Huckfeldt said. “If I can participate in the ongoing revitalization of our community, I’m very happy to help. I feel like it is my responsibility to give back, using the skills and experience I’ve gained over the years.”
He said his goal as a board member is “to be able to look back and see that Harvest has continued to make our home a better place and to believe that I was able to help achieve that goal, as part of a much larger team.”
Huckfeldt has a love for community service that he’s passed down to his children, who graduated from Martinsville High School and returned to the area as young adults after attending college. He’s an alumnus of the University of Georgia and currently serves on the boards of the Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge and ARTS at the Rives Theater/Rooster Walk.
Snyder received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and her law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. She resides locally with her fiancé, Charlie, their two dogs, Russell and Bruce, and enjoys cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs (Go Dawgs!).
Vazquez received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. She’s the owner and operator of Oh, Sugar, a popular full-service restaurant in Eden, NC. She’s natively fluent in Spanish and previously worked in healthcare in the dental industry.
The Harvest Foundation Board of Directors is a 14-member group that provides strategic oversight and stewardship of the foundation’s resources, ensuring the foundation’s work stays rooted in community needs and focused on building a Martinsville-Henry County where all can thrive.
