Brandi Ferguson

A Springfield native and a grad of Thurston schools, Brandi Ferguson is the granddaughter of Jack Crawford, who arrived from Tennessee after WWII and founded Crawford Logging Co. "My dad is 62 now and still logging," she says, "Two months ago, he had a double triple bypass. Two days ago was his first day back in the woods." For 10 years, Ferguson worked at the Eugene Airport, at first for American Airlines, then for an airline consulting firm. She married, had two kids, then divorced, and still has two kids, except for every other weekend. "I started volunteering with the Eugene Stream Team," she says. "I learned about native plants and trees." Three years ago, she adopted Awbrey Park, near her home in North Eugene, and organized work parties on the first Saturday of each month, October through May, to remove invasive plants. Around the same time, she applied for a job opening at the McKenzie River Trust. "I had references from the city," says Ferguson, who landed the job, worked one year in operations, organizing events, then became development director, in charge of fundraising. "I feel very fortunate to work with amazing, generous people." Two weeks ago, Ferguson was honored with the Wegene Award by Eugene's neighborhood associations for her efforts at Awbrey Park.