New Year, New Board Members

After the departure of Shannon Baxter and Kris Wright from the Board, the PCA has elected two new board members this spring: Dave Carnahan and Jamie Klein.

Jamie Klein is a mental health therapist at his private practice with a group of other mental health providers in Dubuque. He is just starting to get his feet wet in his PCA involvement.

“I feel like getting involved in the PCA makes sense for me because my family and I have benefitted from all of the hard work the PCA has done since we moved to the area eight years ago,” Klein said. “We love the trails, parks and gardens. Seeing how the Platteville community works together to create fun and healthy space outside is energizing and motivates me to be involved.”

His involvement on the board of directors was encouraged by a friend who knew of his interests in the outdoors and the trails. “Joining the board was an easy decision,” Klein said. “The work the PCA does makes our community a great place to live. Being a part of the work will be rewarding.”

Jamie and his wife, Nikki, have two sons, Ira (6) and Mars (3), with a third son expected in September. In his free time, he and his 6-year-old son are learning to play the violin together. Last November he tried to complete a challenge where he, his sister and a friend tried to hike the Military Ridge Trail to Madison in a single day, but he said they failed and had to call an Uber a couple of miles outside of Verona.

“The trails - paved, gravel or otherwise - are a great place to connect the beautiful parks and gardens around the city and are a great place to do some awesome training - running, biking, pushing a stroller, whatever it is - it’s a great place to do fitness,” Klein said.

Dave Carnahan is a retired elementary school teacher at Dubuque Community Schools. He is a long-time volunteer, starting with the organization before it was called the Platteville Community Arboretum. “I worked with Martin Dawson and David Canny when the group was called FORB,” Carnahan said. “I became more involved after the tornado in 2014, when I helped with clean-up of the trail behind Culver’s.”

Carnahan’s long-time involvement volunteering for PCA showed him how beneficial the organization is for the Platteville community and the region. “After working on the Brown Team for a couple of years, I felt like I needed to get a little more involved in the PCA and how it worked,” Carnahan said. That is what led him to become a board member.

He said he appreciates a quiet place to ride a bike. “I think the trails and arboretum are a real asset to the Platteville Community,” Carnahan said. “It is great to see how much use it gets. It is such a peaceful place to spend time. The trail for bike riding is great because there are no motorized vehicles and it is a safe place to ride.”

In his free time, Dave enjoys riding his bike, fishing, working in his basement shop, reading and spending time outside. He and his wife, Ellen, have two adult children and three grandchildren.