Eve Fout, the incredible woman who served as the chair of PEC's board until her death in December 2007 at the age of 78, would often encourage people with her characteristically vigorous advice, "You need to be a self-starter and get on with it!" Eve embodied this can-do initiative in her exceptionally effective leadership of efforts to protect some of the nation's most precious natural, historic, cultural and scenic resources here in Virginia's Piedmont.

Eve would relate how in the early seventies, she flew out to Oregon with a friend to investigate an innovative way of protecting private land, called a "conservation easement." She was one of the first people to recognize the potential of voluntary, private land conservation, and ultimately would spearhead one of the most successful conservation movements in America. By the end of her life, nearly 300,000 acres of private land had been protected in the Piedmont countryside served by PEC, which she led as Chair for the last ten years.

Eve was energized by her deep connection to Virginia's Piedmont. She grew up in Fauquier County where she moved with her parents at the age of 10, and participated zealously in the life of this place, notably its equestrian traditions and its conservation ethic. As formidable a horsewoman as she was a community leader, Eve was the first woman trainer to saddle the winner of the Virginia Gold Cup, with Moon Rock in 1964. She was riding actively until just days before her death and, in October, she won the North American Field Hunter Championship.

A skilled and tenacious leader, Eve was unafraid to ruffle feathers but always open to working with new allies, and she never lost her nerve in the face of powerful opposition. When Disney Corp proposed to build a huge theme park on the edge of Manassas Battlefield in the 1990s, who would have thought that a coalition of up-in-arms Virginia conservationists could prevent them? Eve didn't shy from the fight, and her involvement played a major role in preventing that theme park and related development, which would have irrevocably transformed an historic landscape. With similar courage, until just before her death, Eve was captaining PEC's fight to prevent an unnecessary transmission line through Piedmont landscapes that she and others had worked hard to protect.

At PEC, we will miss Eve deeply. She was not only a proven, powerful leader; she was a marvelously genuine person, a warm and welcoming spirit, and a force of optimism. As she continues to inspire us, we will do our best to live up to her legacy.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to MOC Beagles, PO Box 346, Middleburg, VA 20118, or to Piedmont Environmental Council, online, or to 45 Horner Street, Warrenton, VA 20186.