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Kathy Archibald
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Kathy Archibald
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Kathy Archibald is the originator and driving force behind the original TAPP Campaign.
As Chair of the Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District, where she served for six years, Kathy saw the opportunity to receive federal funding for a water quality education program. Her in-depth understanding of governmental systems, community values and the pressures placed on our sensitive water resources by escalating growth in the region led her to develop the U.S. EPA grant request that now finances the TAPP effort. The success of this ambitious effort has depended heavily on private sector involvement that only Kathy, with her extensive network of relationships within the community, could have accomplished.
Kathy is a fifth generation Floridian and has lived in Tallahassee/Leon County for the past thirty-six years. She pursued a career in printing and publishing and along with her husband, Del Archibald, built their business, The Printing House into the fourth largest printing company in Florida . They also owned Homes and Land Publishing, an international publishing franchise organization in addition to various related companies. After selling their businesses, they retired to practice farming in northern Leon County. She has two adult sons.
Kathy has been involved in local growth management, neighborhood, and environmental issues for the past eighteen years. She played a leadership role in the development of the Comprehensive Plan and has served on numerous citizen advisory committees for local government. She was a Planning Commissioner for Tallahassee/Leon County in 1988-90 and organized a six-month long class in 1997, to help citizens understand the Comprehensive Plan. She is the founder and past president of Citizen's United for Responsible Growth (CURG).
In 1998, Kathy joined with other community leaders representing the interests of business, neighborhood, and the environment seeking to reach consensus on ways to encourage economic development while at the same time, preserving the natural assets that make Tallahassee so special. Calling themselves the Economic and Environmental Consensus Committee (EECC), the group developed the award winning Blueprint 2000 and Beyond initiative. The city and county commissions of Tallahassee/Leon County adopted Blueprint 2000 as a community vision and initiated a referendum on the 2000 ballot to extend the local option sales tax for fifteen years to pay for the projects outlined in Blueprint 2000 . Under Kathy's leadership, the initiative was successfully supported by the voters with 63% approval. As a result, funding for stormwater treatment, parks, transportation and greenspace is available for community development. Subsequently, the government of Leon County was awarded the National Association of Counties award for Sustainable Communities for its adoption of Blueprint 2000, one of only four awarded nationwide. Kathy currently sits on the Blueprint Citizens' Advisory Committee which oversees the progress of Blueprint projects.
In addition, in 1997, the Council of Neighborhood Associations honored Kathy as "Citizen of the Year". In 2001 she was awarded Leadership Tallahassee's "Leader of the Year" award, and in 2002, the Association for Fundraising Professionals honored she and her husband as "Philanthropists of the Year" for the Big Bend Region.
She is also a trustee for the Florida Board of The Nature Conservancy, past chairman of the Citizen's Advisory Committee appointed to oversee the implementation of Blueprint 2000 projects, a trustee on the board of Tall Timbers Research Foundation, immediate past president of The Community Foundation of North Florida, and President of the Archibald Foundation.
Thanks to Kathy Archibald for all you do - the community is a better place for all your dedication, wisdom and vision.
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