Friday, October 26, 2012

Mourning the Loss of a Dear Friend

At the Friends of HAS Haiti this week, we received sad news about the passing of a dear friend and former Board member Chris Snavely. Chris died at home with his family, at the age of 88 years. Chris was first and foremost a family man, but he was also a US army veteran and former POW, a pioneer in the forest products industry. To us, he was a loyal friend and colleague, a gentleman and a true benefactor to thousands of Haitians as founder of the Haiti Timber Re-Introduction Project (HTRIP). HTRIP currently operates in 59 communities in Haiti with 4,000 farmers and landowners, who have planted over 892,000 trees. Christian Snavely and his inspirational dedication to HTRIP left a remarkable legacy to our cause and to the children of Haiti. His good work will continue to grow for generations, but he will certainly be missed.

Below is Mr. Snavely's formal obituary from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and an additional article written by Diana Nelson Jones, also for the Post-Gazette.
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CHRISTIAN MILLER SNAVELY, Jr.
On October 24, 2012, in Pittsburgh, PA, Christian Miller Snavely, Jr., peacefully passed away in his home at age 88, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Theresa Vant Snavely. Chris was born in Lititz, PA where he spent his youth. He enlisted in the US Army in 1942 and entered the European Theater where he fought proudly in the Battle of the Bulge. Chris was captured there and remained a POW until his liberation in 1945. He was honorably discharged in 1945, and recalled into service during the Korean War, where he served, 1950 to 1951. Chris was stationed as an Army recruiter in Cortland, NY where he met the love of his life, Theresa. Chris was preceded in death by his son, Christian Miller Snavely III. He is also survived by his children, Susan Fitzsimmons (David) and Steve Snavely (Peggy); five grandchildren, Corinne Trively (Ed), Matthew Anderson, Patrick Snavely, Laura Snavely, and Eric Snavely. Chris was the proud great-grandfather of Samuel Trively, Sophia Trively and Quinn Trively; Chris is also survived by his sisters, Mary Roth (Gene, deceased) and Joanne Snavely; and brothers, Fred Snavely and Henry Snavely (Lucy). A graduate of Drexel University, Chris was the Chairman Emeritus of Snavely Forest Products, a national wholesale building products distribution company. He was elected Chairman of his industry trade association, NAWLA. NAWLA honored him by presenting him with the prestigious Mulrooney Award, which pays tribute to his long history of outstanding contributions to the forest products industry. Among Chris' many philanthropic endeavors, he actively supported The Pittsburgh Symphony and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and was the founder of the Haiti Tree Reintroduction Program (HTRIP), whose objective is the reforestation of Haiti. Chris was a member of the Cat Cay Yacht Club in the Bahamas, Bohemian Club in San Francisco and the Duquesne Club. It has been said that he was the last to leave a party and the first to help anyone in need. Chris was a humble and generous man. Friends will be received from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on SATURDAY, October 27, 2012 at St. Clair Country Club, 2300 Old Washington Road, Upper St. Clair, 15241. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in Chris' honor at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, October 29, 2012 at Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, 5302 Greenridge Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15236. A private burial will follow in Lititz, PA. Arrangements made by JOHN F. SLATER FUNERAL HOME, INC., 412-881-4100, Brentwood. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Haiti Timber Reintroduction Program, 6740 Reynolds Street, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 or The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 803 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. 

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Obituary: Christian M. Snavely Jr. / Helped reforest Haiti
Aug. 24, 1924 - Oct. 24, 2012
October 28, 2012 12:21 am

By Diana Nelson Jones / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A man's legacy would be rich if he had done nothing more important than provide a million trees to Haiti. Christian Snavely was 82 when he started the Haiti Timber Reintroduction Project and delivered the first 1,000 saplings.
He lived to see the project grow exponentially. Today, 4,000 Haitians in 59 communities are growing trees for food and erosion control.

A veteran of World War II and the Korean War and longtime chairman of Snavely Forest Products, Mr. Snavely died Wednesday at his home in Whitehall. He was 88.

Mr. Snavely was a native of Lititz, Lancaster County, who enlisted in the Army in 1942 at age 18. He survived the Battle of the Bulge but was captured and held for six months as a prisoner of war. In 1950, he was called to serve in the Korean conflict and was later an Army recruiter in Cortland, N.Y.

He attended Drexel University on the G.I. Bill and upon graduation took a job in sales for Georgia Pacific. The company transferred him to Pittsburgh, where he was recruited to work for a smaller company. He bought that company in 1958, said his son, Steve Snavely of Upper St. Clair, who worked with his father for 40 years.

"He was my boss, my father, my partner and my friend," he said. "He was very inclusive. Whether you were a waiter or the president of a company, he was pretty much the same guy. It was one of his wonderful traits."

His daughter, Susan Fitzsimmons of Mt. Lebanon, also joined the family business. Father, son and daughter have all served as president of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association at various times.

"He wanted the opportunity to be his own boss, to develop his own company and pass the experiences on to his family," Ms. Fitzsimmons said. "His generation reshaped America after World War II. He was the poster child of the 'greatest generation.'

"He always made sure I had as many opportunities as any man would have," she said. But he also taught her to be self-sufficient. Just out of college, she said, she was driving when a tire went flat.

"Dad crossed his arms and watched me change it. I said, 'Dad, come on,' and he said, 'One of these days you're going to be on the road alone.' "

In preparing a eulogy, Dean Genge, a lifelong family friend, characterized the effect Mr. Snavely had on people: "We sipped that sweet spirit of life. We are all so grateful that this humble, happy, heroic, hard-working, handsome and humane man was our grandfather, father, brother, husband and friend."

On his first trip to Haiti, Mr. Snavely was a guest of Lucy Rawson, president of Friends of Hopital Albert Schweitzer there. She spoke days ago from Haiti about him and the legacy he has left.

"Nearly a million trees now," she said. "He visited the hospital at first and told us he didn't know anything about sick people but that he'd been reading about Haiti and saw how it was deforested. " 'I know about trees,' he said. 'If you want to plant trees, I could help you do that.' "

"He said if you started an education program and taught farmers how to plant and grow trees on their own land, they will understand the value and protect them," she said. "He started with 10 villages. Each planted 100 trees. Then farmers' friends took part in the education and in the planting and attended classes. Each farmer helps the others plant. This is a sustainable agri-forest program" of a wide variety of tree species.

When Mr. Snavely started the program, he raised most of the money himself, she said. Now it operates on $250,000 a year on support from numerous foundations, many in Pittsburgh, and Mr. Snavely's friends.

During one trip to Haiti, his daughter said, he was asked to speak to a church congregation about his reforestation project.

"Afterward," she said, "a little girl just walked up to him and took his hand, and my father started to cry."
In a 2006 article in Pittsburgh Quarterly, Mr. Snavely is quoted as saying, "The optimistic thought is that the farmers will propagate their own trees to the point that within 15 years they'd have some real forest down there. The people there are beautiful. And God knows, they deserve more than what they get."

Mr. Genge's sister, Debbie Dick, said Mr. Snavely had "an amazing sense of humor, a twinkle in the eye and a boundless spirit. We kind of thought he would live forever. He was still having lunch at the Duquesne Club until a couple weeks" before he died.

Besides his two children, he is survived by Terri Snavely, his wife of 65 years, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Diana Nelson Jones: djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. Read her blog City Walkabout at www.post-gazette.com/citywalk.
A funeral Mass will celebrate his life Monday at 9:30 a.m. at Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, 5302 Greenridge Drive, Whitehall.
First Published October 28, 2012 12:00 am

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

HTRIP September Highlights.

Dear Supporters,

Mathurin Dorcèus, Albertini Alexandre, and 
Mondèsir Shellon put faith in their fellow 
technicians to guide them to hidden treasures 
across the beach in one successful 
team-building game.
September has been an exciting month for everyone involved in HTRIP. Our mountain farmers found consistent afternoon showers which will help the roots of their recently planted trees have the strength to endure the upcoming dry season. The HTRIP staff continued a tradition team building at Indigo beach. Finally, HTRIP supporters in Pittsburgh and the Program Manager were invited to a wonderful Gala featuring great music, food, and art.
A tradition started by Starry Sprenkle in 2006, the entire HTRIP staff gather at Indigo beach to partake in team building exercises and perhaps more importantly an opportunity to escape the routine and enjoy a day at the beach together. HTRIP participants entered their third lesson of the monthly education cycle which focuses on tree care. We continued compost-building konbits which will provide high-quality soil in preparation for this year’s tree nurseries.
In order to maintain a positive relationship with all HTRIP communities, HTRIP provides a small amount of budgetary and advisory support for leaders from communities that are no longer engaged in monthly education sessions but wish to continue their relationship with HTRIP. A checkup meeting on the “graduated” leaders from the 2006-2007 community leaders who have formed an organization with monthly meetings independent of HTRIP revealed progress on their fruit tree nursery is coming along.
Julson Pharèlus chats with the 2006 
community leaders of Laròk and Anje 
on the progress of their fruit tree nursery.
The 12th annual H’Art and Soul of Haiti Gala was held at the WQED in Pittsburgh and welcomed over 400 Haiti enthusiasts. It was a great pleasure for the Program Manager to see the other side of the HTRIP program and our great stateside support network. Melissa Sanon, HTRIP supervisor, was also given her first test running the project on a day-to-day basis and did a wonderful job. As always, genuine thanks to each and every HTRIP support from all of down here in Deschapelles.
 Sincerely,
The HTRIP Staff