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Directors
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 Old Hemlock
Foundation governed by a three director board appointed by George Bird and
Kay Evans in their wills. The foundation’s directors are
dedicated to protection of their home and property at Old Hemlock, and
promoting their writing and philosophy of hunting upland birds.
They also manage the assets to meet the charitable guidelines set forth in
the foundation charter.
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Jeff
Leach brings his Business degree and management
skills to the OH Foundation Board. Jeff Leach grew up on eastern
Long Island hunting wild quail on vacant farm lands in Suffolk County.
He had been introduced to upland hunting by his mother’s brother who
mentored him through his early hunting years. He shot his first quail at
14 years old. Jeff reports, “I can still see it.” He hunted over a
friend’s setters until he bought his first English Setter, Jake, out of
field trial stock.
He
did mostly preserve shooting on Long Island
but still had one area which was leased to only a few fellows who were
getting too old to go out. He had the wild quail to himself and his dogs.
Jeff says, “To this day, that in itself was amazing.” His wife,
Gabriella, and he hunted wild quail there till 1996.
Gabby
and he drove to Unicoi,
Tennessee in 1984 and
brought four OH pups to Old Hemlock. Leach’s OH Parker and GBE’s OH Quest
were in the group. In 1991, they drove to Wheeling, WV
and returned to Old Hemlock with their OH Churchill and GBE’s OH Manton.
OH Stonehouse came in 1998 out of the Catlett
“Ice Storm Litter“. Their most recent setter, Lynford,
is from DeCoverly out of
OH Blackwater’s sister, Kay and DeCoverly’s Maurice.
After
college in Elkins, WV,
Jeff worked as a fisherman harvesting clams on the Great South Bay on Long Island. Jeff moved to upstate New York in September 2001 after a career managing
his family’s boatyard on Long Island to
live his dream of wild birds and shooting. Jeff and Gabby have both taken
up sporting clays and now combine their two passions.
Jeff Leach
served a Director and Trustee
from 2007 to
current.
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Roger
Brown has a Bachelor of Science degrees in Natural Resources and
Elementary Education,
and a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University to
the foundation. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio hunting over his father's
beagles and his father's friend's English Setter. In the
early seventies he moved to Monroe County, Ohio to live on a farm
once owned by his Great-grandfather Cronin. This area had great grouse
hunting at that time. He and his setters enjoyed the glory days of Ohio
grouse hunting just out the back door. He taught elementary school
for 35 years and retired in 2007.
Roger's
first setter, Rhett, was out of Sam L's Rebel and Turnto.
His first Old Hemlock Setter, Amber, was purchased from George and Kay
Evans in 1973. That started his long relationship with George and Kay,
and their line of dogs. He currently has three Old Hemlock Setters: True
(a son of Manton out of Aspenglow Chevre'); Diva; and Charm. He and his wife, Anna,
also have a Border Collie, Timber, and a Sharpei/Border
Collie mix, Boots. Retirement brings travel to enjoy the upland
life.
Roger Brown
served as Director
from November 2010
to current.
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LeJay Graffious contributes many years of experience as an
educator and school administrator to the OH Board. LeJay’s formative years were in central Pennsylvania.
He hunted small game and deer with his father and
grandfather. He hunted over his dad’s rabbit
dogs. He killed his first grouse when he was twelve, but only
knew of hunting with setters from Pennsylvania Game News and other
hunting magazines until he met George Bird Evans in 1974.
LeJay attended
college at Frostburg College in Maryland. He and his wife, Helen Ann,
moved to Preston
County in
1972. He accepted a position teaching at Bruceton School
and attended graduate school at WVU. While teaching, he became the
caretaker of the 4H Camp which borders the Old Hemlock estate close to
the virgin Hemlock stand. He met George and Kay in spring of
1974. This was the beginning of a long friendship. LeJay had given up hunting during the years of this
friendship and transferred his hunting skills and love of the outdoors to
bird study. George appreciated his love of bird watching and
nature study. They spent many hours hiking on Old Hemlock and
surrounding areas appreciating the flora and fauna of the Appalachian Mountains.
LeJay remembers the
first Old Hemlock Setter, Briar, that he met and still has the woolen cap
chewed by Briar as they had tea at Old Hemlock and was darned by Kay.
George invited LeJay on training quail
sessions with Quest, Belton and Manton. Their friendship steadily
grew over the years and George presented him with a complete set of his
upland hunting books. George asked LeJay
to do photographs for some magazine articles and for Men Who Shot.
LeJay converted a closet into a sound studio to
record the sound tracks for An Evening at Old Hemlock, Vol I and II, and for videos of Kay’s edited 8 mm
movies.
In
addition to being a director, LeJay and Helen
Ann were given life estate at Old Hemlock by George and Kay. He manages
the house and property, and develops educational programs for the Old
Hemlock Foundation. LeJay says, “I was
privileged to be included in the lives of George and Kay. They have
given this son of a coal miner a window on the world that I would not
have had otherwise. I feel blessed to have meet and become
friends with so many folks in the Old Hemlock Family.”
On
June 29,
2007 Old Hemlock Black Willow from Kauffman’s OH Blackwater and Decoverly Double
Down has become the latest setter to live at Old Hemlock.
LeJay Graffious served a Director and Trustee
from 2007 to
current.
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PAST DIRECTORS
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Jeff and Kendra
Kauffman
Jeff Kauffman served a Director and Trustee
from 2007 to 2010
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