January 2020 brought 6 new board members to The Stone Trust, bringing the board to a nearly full complement–12 out of 13 allowed by our articles. We hope you’ll enjoy meeting a board member each month. Each brings invaluable knowledge, expertise, commitment, and camaraderie to the work of preserving and advancing the art and craft of dry stone walling.
Duncan comes to the board with a passion for designing and building, along with the can-do attitude of someone who does his own work. For example, without any formal instruction in stone work, he laid the patio at his home in York, Maine. He appreciates, though that “stonewall building is an incredible art.” Duncan says that if it makes sense in the context of his new business, over time he’ll pursue Level 1 certification.
In 2019, finding himself at an inflection point, Duncan left a 25-year career in which he adapted a vocation for teaching to leading professional education in a global technology corporation. Time to abandon the long commute and international travel in order to rediscover his roots and settle down. Time to slow down a bit, pay more attention to physical fitness, and spend more time with his wife and two children. A New England seacoast native, Duncan and his family settled in Maine, a venue with which he is familiar as a long-time surfer who follows the waves.
Last August, Duncan purchased a 30-year-old landscaping company in Dover, New Hampshire where he is mastering the learning curve. To his work he brings executive skills, experience with business planning, and attention to building relationships gleaned over his early career, all of which bode well for the business, not to mention for the future of The Stone Trust!
Asked why he offered his time and energy to The Stone Trust board, Duncan replied, “It’s important to become involved. If you put your head down and focus only on your own work your become stale. You limit your growth and your network.” Many thanks to Duncan for pursuing growth and relationships with us.