By Valerie Gardner, posted on December 15, 2018, updated December 28, 2018
It is with sudden and stunning sorrow that we find ourselves entering the holiday season without our long-time friend and colleague, Kathy Hughes Anderson. Kathy has very ably and energetically served as our office manager since 2012, keeping our office humming, making it look beautiful, assisting our clients’ day-to-day needs and coordinating meetings and communication. The above photo is one of her always beautiful flower arrangements, which we have long featured in the entryway of our office, to be enjoyed by everyone who visits.
This year, in recognition of the major damage down by this year’s record-breaking forest fires, Kathy herself had proposed that the firm make a large donation towards the replanting of burned forests as an expression of appreciation for our clients. Accordingly, just prior to her passing, we had arranged to make such a donation as part of the National Forest Foundation‘s business partnership program. We are now pleased to report that we have funded the planting of 2,500 native trees on 10 acres of burnt national forest in honor and appreciation of our clients.
To honor Kathy’s memory and her love of trees, however, we have established the “Kathy Hughes Anderson Memorial Tree Fund” to make our contribution in her name. This fund is designed to support the NFF’s overall organizational goal of planting 50,000,000 trees. We established this memorial fund so that others can join us in supporting the NFF’s planting of trees in her memory. Kathy devoted the majority of her working years caring for trees, protecting trees from disease and damage, and educating residents about the enduring importance of trees for the community. Many of Kathy’s friends and admirers, including us, met her while she served as the Atherton Town Arborist, a position she held for more than 22 years. As Town Arborist, Kathy advised and guided many residents on ways to provide better care of their trees and avoid doing things in their landscaping that would cause damage to their heritage trees. Atherton cherishes and protects its trees like no other town, which is a large part of what makes Atherton distinctive. Kathy embodied and communicated these principles so lovingly that residents truly understood their role and responsibility as being caretakers of the town’s most ancient denizens, the trees which were there long before we were and which, if we do our job right, will be there long after we are gone. [The Town of Atherton has planned a memorial for Kathy. If you would like to receive information about this service, please click here.]
The National Forest Foundation was chartered by Congress with a simple mission: bring people together to restore and enhance the 193-million-acre National Forest System. They are a registered and respected 501(c)3 non-profit which serves as a primary partner of the U.S. Forest Service to replant trees in areas of the national forest which have been burned by forest fires. We recognize that many people, aside from ourselves, would like to express their sadness at Kathy’s passing by honoring her love of trees. Those who do, may now contribute to the rebirth of burned national forests in her honor by using this link to the Kathy Hughes Anderson Memorial Tree Fund. For every dollar contributed here, the NFF arranges for the planting of one tree in the spring of 2019 and you will receive an acknowledgement directly from the NFF for your fully tax-deductible gift.
Click here to download the NFF’s 2018 NFF Tree Planting Impact Report or here to learn more about the 50 Million Trees campaign. The NFF has met all 20 Better Business Bureau (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance Standards for Charity Accountability and received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and earned GuideStar’s Gold participation level. Click here to find the NFF’s five most recent Annual Reports.
