Alan Fossi

Alan Fossi was recently appointed to the board of the Westmoreland Land Trust.  His three-year term runs through the end of 2014.

Mr. Fossi has been a resident of Sewickley Township since 1976, and was recently elected as a supervisor in that community, beginning a six-year term in 2012.

An active volunteer in his community for decades, Mr. Fossi serves as a member of the Crabapple Lake Community Park Trust, a fundraiser for the Sewickley Township Library, and a member of the Sewickley Township Grant Committee.  He also served as president of the Crabapple Park and Pool board for 10 years, and as a member of the Sewickley Township Sewage Board, first as chairman (1997) and then vice chairman (1998-2007).

A commercial insurance producer with Rupp & Fiore Insurance Management, Mr. Fossi also has been a leader in a variety of professional organizations, including the Pittsburgh Petroleum Association.

He has two grown children, Emily and Aaron.

The Westmoreland Land Trust is an independent, nonprofit, all-volunteer organization formed in late 2007 in response to area citizens’ desire to retain the rural character of our region.

The Westmoreland Land Trust accomplishes this by preserving land of special value to our community, including land that has scenic, recreational, historical, ecological, or cultural value.

In the four years since its founding, the Westmoreland Land Trust has preserved some 115 in four distinct Westmoreland County communities:

• the 59-acre Otto and Magdalene Ackermann Nature Preserve in Ardara, North Huntingdon Township,
• 22 acres in Murrysville adjacent to the Lillian Kellman Nature Reserve,
• 21 acres in Rostraver Township along the Youghiogheny River,
• 3.5 acres in the City of Greensburg near Cabin Hill Drive, and
• 9 acres in Murrysville adjacent to Duff Park.

More information about the land trust is available at the organization’s website, http://westmoreland-landtrust.org.

From Press Release Dated December 9, 2011

Mark Bowers, Charles Duritsa, State Representative R. Ted Harhai, John Pallone, Malcolm Sias, Virginia Stump, and John Ward were reelected to the board of Westmoreland Land Trust at the organization’s most recent meeting in October.

Each will serve a three-year term, beginning in January 2012 through December 2014.

The Westmoreland Land Trust’s all-volunteer board is made up of local citizens, representing a variety of Westmoreland County communities and areas of expertise related to land use.

• Mark Bowers of Rostraver Township is a botanist and a geologist with Garvin Boward Beitko Engineering, Inc.
• Charles Duritsa of Jeannette is the chairman of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission and served as the director of the Southwestern Regional Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection until his retirement in 2004.
• R. Ted Harhai of Monessen is a representative in the Pennsylvania legislature.
• John Pallone of New Kensington is an attorney in private practice.
• Malcolm Sias of Unity Township is the planning coordinator of the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation.
• Virginia Stump of Westmoreland City is a self-employed appraiser, real estate agent, and environmental consultant.
• John Ward of Unity Township is an attorney at law with Ward & Christner, P.C.

The four-year-old nonprofit Westmoreland Land Trust was formed to conserve land of special value to Westmoreland County, such as land that contributes to the region’s quality of life because of its scenic, recreational, environmental, historical, or cultural attributes.

To date the organization has preserved more than 105 acres in four Westmoreland County communities: North Huntingdon Township, Murrysville, Rostraver Township, and the City of Greensburg.

Meetings of the Westmoreland Land Trust are held at the Westmoreland Conservation District office, Donohoe Center, 218 Donohoe Road, and the public is welcome to attend.