Volunteer Captains
Captain: Special Projects
Fred Kessler
A retired agricultural business owner. Fred was the president of his private corporation that installed, serviced and maintained dairy farm equipment throughout the state of Montana for 35 years.
He is a cofounder of Firstfruits Farm SLO. Fred served as our first Treasurer when we became a 501(c)(3).
As our Special Projects Captain, Fred runs and organizes improvement projects such as pouring concrete, supervising construction jobs, and irrigation equipment maintenance.
"I was volunteering at a food distribution center in our community and was discouraged by the quality of fruits and vegetables that I was distributing to the clients. The produce usually came in multipacks and one piece was bad and the rest were OK.
We would open the package, clean off the good vegetables and repackage them to give them to our clients. The vegetables that the grocery store was throwing away was what our clients would receive. I felt that I wanted to be a part of making top quality produce available to all people. We are all God’s creation and I want to show God’s love to our neighbors as he has shown to me.
I now get an opportunity to use some of my skills to do plumbing, electrical, driving tractors, and to meet and work along side some wonderful people who also volunteer at the farm to make a difference in our community and someone’s life. I love what I get to do!"
Captain: Harvest Leaders
Wes Carlson
A Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments who has served clients in San Luis Obispo County for eight years. He has sat on multiple non-profit boards and provides community organization experience.
He has been involved with Firstfruits Farm SLO since 2013. Wes served as our first Secretary when we became a 501(c)(3).
As our Harvest Leader Captain, Wes will be supervising & organizing our volunteer Harvest Leaders to make sure we always have enough leaders to make every harvest a success!
"Life takes a village. We need people to share in the beautiful and joyful moments it brings us, and also the difficult ones. When suffering and loss and grief arrive at our door, we can’t bear it alone. And when we reach out to friends or family to help us through these times, we are agreeing to be connected to something larger than ourselves, which I believe is rooted in love and compassion.
That is why I am a part of Firstfruits Farm SLO. It is an act of defiance.
Pain and sorrow will not have the final say. So on those days when we see people weighted down by the world, we can come along side them, enter that space larger than ourselves, and say “I see you. I feel your pain. No, I can’t take it away, but I can offer you this produce, organically grown specifically for you. May this give you sustenance and remind the both of us that we are all in this together.”"