• Joan Boykin, former Director of Marketing, New Products, PR & Retail for Celestial Seasonings, a division of the Hain-Celestial Group, recently joined Boulder-based Fresh Produce Sportswear as VP of Merchandising/Design & Marketing. Boykin says organic apparel is an area of future interest for the company. Visit www.fresh-produce.biz.
• Frances Draper, a 25-year Boulder resident and business veteran will take over as director of the Boulder Economic Council. Draper succeeds Sean Maher, who served in the position for nearly three years and announced this past summer that he was moving on to pursue other interests. Draper served as VP of Access Graphics in Boulder from 1996 to 2005. Maher was instrumental in the establishment of the Naturally Boulder Task Force through his work with the BEC and Chamber of Commerce and with the City Manager’s office.

The Lafayette City Council in August took the first step toward creating an organic farm on public open space. The motivation behind the charter, which if approved by voters in November, is to turn the 14-acre Thomas Open Space parcel into an organic farm with trails. The Thomas property, southwest of Baseline Rd. and U.S. 287, is currently leased to a farmer. The proposal is to use the parcel for an organic farm that would support local markets, have a produce stand and create public educational opportunities.

Sparkling natural beverage leader Izze Beverage Co. in August named Maile Buker to oversee all marketing functions, including brand development, public relations, event marketing, product placement and consumer relations. A former resident of Boulder, Buker returns from recent assignments as global director of marketing and direct sales at Black Diamond Equipment, a leader in backcountry climbing and ski gear, and as global product line manager at Nike. In Boulder, Buker was the director of sales and marketing at Kryptonics. Buker also worked in lifestyle and sports marketing at Coors Brewing Co.

Longtime organic foods writer and advocate Elaine Lipson has been named by New Hope Natural Media as Organic Program Director. The organic program director serves as the lead expert within the organization on topics related to organic foods and the organic industry. New Hope Natural Media, based in Boulder, is an international leader in trade and consumer publications and trade shows and conferences serving the nearly $50-billion natural and organic products market. Also, Susan Haeger, New Hope's VP of Strategic Global Affairs, recently received the Crusader Award from the National Nutritional Foods Association for notable industry contributions "above and beyond" commercial success.