About

Mike Driggs with Mike’s Local Fish and his wife Stephanie have been selling awesome smoked and fresh fish at markets now for the last 8 years. In addition to selling fish at RVGCM and serving on the board of directors Mike spend all of his free time growing a massive garden and at least a few hours a day throwing a frisbee to his relentless Border Collie. Mike brings a wide range of insight as a vendor, a Board Member for 3 years and a former market manager. Mike has supported the organization through Covid and other unprecedented change and along with an incredible group of people kept us moving forward and got our markets open on schedule. Mike is passionate about the success of every member of this organization and plans to continue to work hard to help our markets be successful. Catch Mike ringing the market bell (like his father before him) or selling incredible, fish, honey and produce at all of RVGCMs Markets!

Emily Ehrlich Inget is the owner and operator of Blue Collar Berry Patch, her family’s no-spray fruit farm in Ashland, Oregon. Established in 1983, their blueberry u-pick became a long-standing summer tradition for thousands of Rogue Valley families. Now their products include not only berries, but tree fruits, fresh and dried herbs, jams and syrups, and holiday wreaths. Emily brings a unique perspective to the market, having served as both an agricultural member and previously as an employee for other vendors for several years, as well as being a longtime market customer. Prior to the pandemic, she worked in professional theater for twenty years, twelve of them with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as the costume rentals manager, where she was solely responsible for generating three percent of OSF’s multimillion dollar annual income. Emily also has an extensive background in education (adjunct faculty Ashland High School 2005-2020), and is a certified facilitator (artEquity 2016 National Facilitator Cohort).

Doug Hormel owner of The Plant Connection. The nursery was established in 1981 growing plants for local retail nurseries around the Rogue Valley. Doug, his wife Gail and sister Linda have been selling perennial plants for the past seventeen seasons as a member of the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market. Doug was previously a member of the board for two years and has been a member of many committees over the years. Doug cares deeply about our organization and would like to gain serve as a member of the board of directors. I would like to encourage all vendors to assume ownership in this organization thereby helping our markets thrive.

Sean has a diverse range of experience in environmental activism, land stewardship and organic vegetable farming, coupled with a passion for social justice. His role as a mentor for at-risk youth kids and formerly incarcerated individuals, has served as a profound source of inspiration for starting Freedom Farms. Drawing from a rich tapestry of experiences and a deep-rooted belief in the transformative power of nature, I embarked on the journey of founding Freedom Farms—a 510 c3 non-profit and sanctuary where individuals can learn, work, and thrive in a supportive community dedicated to sustainable farming and holistic reentry support.

Jenn Plitzko is in her second year as a member of the RVG market – slinging sweet and savory treats as ‘Heim Bakery’. She has been self-employed since 2015 and carries a wealth of business knowledge as well as social skills and awareness: qualities she wants to put to use in supporting the market as a board member.

Community access to healthy, fresh, and locally grown food is one of the main reasons we started Victory Garden four years ago. Through participating in our local farmers markets and working with our local food banks and FDNP we have tried to lessen the barriers to accessing locally grown produce. I feel grateful to be able to work with such a great community organization.

Peter Salant with Salant Family Ranch has been producing natural beef for southern Oregon families and restaurants since 1995. Home-grown protein is hard for the public to obtain, and every week Peter provides that opportunity to the public by attending the RVGCM markets for the past 17 years, along with being a pilot vendor for the Winter Market. He is committed to the preservation of agriculture in the Rogue Valley.

You may recognize Anna Stevens from the Runnymede Farm booth. She has been involved in the agriculture and food systems world in some form ever since taking an urban farming class in college nearly two decades ago. I have been an RVGCM customer for many years and started a job as market staff for Runnymede in 2020. What a strange year to get involved with the market as a vendor! The following year I was hired to manage the farm stand at Rusted Gate Farm and got Rusted Gate approved as a market vendor, sending product to market with Runnymede and Salant Ranch. I love the community of the RVGCM and the micro-economy of entrepreneurs it represents.

My name is Tony King. I currently live in Medford and have so for the last 4-ish years. I moved back here from Sacramento after living in Ashland and Medford before that for over 12 years. My wife and I have most of our family here in the Rogue and have a deep and abiding love for our community. Professionally, I have been a marketing professional for over two decades, running my company with a partner for the last 10. I have been responsible for creating and managing large complex projects, annual budgets, and executing numerous marketing and communications plans. I have also been deeply involved in engagement and brand strategies and downstream tactical execution for national brands, buying groups (in the home goods area), and non-profit groups servicing independent retailers. The focus of my work for most of my career has been on supporting local, independent businesses across the nation. Currently, one of our larger clients, the WFCA, is a group dedicated to supporting independent flooring retailers and includes developing programs to lift the industry, educational and training support, and advocacy. I regularly attend their board meetings as well. I joined and participated in one of their lobbying visits in Washington D.C. as part of their ongoing advocacy effort on behalf of their industry. I am very passionate about a shop local mindset and even more passionate about food. I currently run a social media site called Rogue Mofo dedicated to serving the local food truck scene. I am a loyal regular at the Hawthorne Market (I live very close to it) and an absolute believer in the mission and necessity of the Growers Markets. In fact, I believe them to be one of the finest assets of our Southern Oregon culture and provide an opportunity to connect our community and provide a platform for our local growers and makers to thrive.”