Current
Board of Directors

I joined the Jacksonville Woodlands Association Board of Directors in the fall 2004 and have served as the Association’s President since 2006.

Jeanena and I were married in March of 2003, and sold our respective homes in Napa, California while transitioning to our home to Jacksonville. Like many newcomers to the City of Jacksonville, we were drawn by the City’s small town charm as an historic pioneer town dating back to 1850’s with many of the town’s original buildings and historic neighborhoods preserved. Equaling drawing us to Jacksonville was the Jacksonville Woodlands Trail System.

In 2004, I retired from Napa County as the Napa County Planning Director following 27 years of public service with the County of Napa. Prior to Napa County, I was a Planning Assistant for the City of Chico for 3 years. Prior to that, I worked for the Wall Street Journal in Palo Alto, California as an Advertising Production clerk. Prior to that, I was living the 60's!!
Jeanena and I have three grown children and 5 grand children. We share a strong interest in community and family history with membership in the Jacksonville Boosters Club, Jacksonville Community Center, Southern Oregon Historical Society and the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society. I also enjoyed 20+ years hiking and pack-backing, primarily in the California Sierra Mountains, running & jogging including successfully running the Napa Valley Marathon, the Mt. Hood to Coast relay, and the local Pear Blossom Run.

Bob is retired from 38 years with Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management, wherein he was a falling/dozer boss in wildland firefighting (20 years), wild horse wrangler (5 years), Range Management Specialist (30 years), and also surveyed, worked in invasive species management, and timber contracting. Bob’s hobbies include trout/steelhead fishing, fly tying, road cycling, playing the bagpipes, and cooking.

Bob has been married to Terri (avid quilter) since 1981, with whom he has one son, Geoff, who lives in Williams and works for Forest Farm Nursery.

Bob joined the Jacksonville Woodlands Association (JWA) and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) as a way of giving back to the community that he greatly appreciates. Bob’s 38 year career lends itself to both these volunteer organizations.

John and his wife, Sue have lived in Jacksonville for 12 years. He is a former member of the Jacksonville Community Center Committee. John is a retired highway engineer, having worked as a surveyor, inspector and project
engineer for several public agencies during a 43 year engineering career.

John has been a member of the Woodlands Board for over 8 years and currently serves as the Treasurer

Kandee is a fifth generation Oregonian who has lived in southern Oregon for the past 32 years. She is a retired teacher, completing her career in the Central Point School District.

She is a long-time jogger and hiker and for years has been drawn to the Woodlands trails so becoming a Woodlands’ Board member was a natural transition when she moved to Jacksonville with her husband, Mike, in 2011. Mike is also a retired educator and shares her enjoyment of the Woodlands trails.

Ray Foster has been a Jacksonville resident for more than 30 years and is one of the founding members of the Jacksonville Woodlands. He's a retired high school art instructor, holding teaching degrees from Southern Oregon University and Portland State.

Foster is an practicing artist and has designed most of the Woodlands t shirt graphics. Ray recently built a pottery studio on a hillside that looks directly over much of the Woodlands trail systems. He was motivated initially to maintain the small town ambience afforded by saving undeveloped property.

A lifelong runner and hiker, he realized the trail system also greatly enhanced the joy of visiting and living in this beautiful town.

Mark Burkhalter is a retired attorney and current Jacksonville Municipal Judge. Mark was one of the early landowners in the area to transfer property to the Woodlands (Panorama Point area) and is a former chair of the JWA Board of Directors.

Gary Sprague is retired from teaching chemistry and astronomy for 35 years, mostly at North Medford H.S. His wife, Louise, an RN, is still actively working at Providence.
The two of them have lived here in the Rogue valley for 42 years and enjoy the woods and scenery of Southern Oregon. Their family includes three boys and their wives, and 6 grandchildren.

Gary joined the Woodlands Board at the same time as Bob Budesa and really appreciates the woodlands and trails surrounding Jacksonville.

As chairman of the Forest Park subcommittee, he is also a Jacksonville Forest Park volunteer.
engineer for several public agencies during a 43 year engineering career.

John has been a member of the Woodlands Board for over 8 years and currently serves as the Treasurer

Omer Kem is a life long resident of Oregon, growing up in the Salem area before moving to Jacksonville in the fall of 2012 with his family. Omer's wife Becka introduced him to trail running and both Omer and Becka fell in love with Jacksonville and its trails. Omer owns a Sports Management and Marketing company based in Oregon and operating around the world.

Cliff Oakley grew up in the Rogue Valley and has lived in Jacksonville for the past 6 years. He has a Masters degree in Biology from Southern Oregon University and worked as a wildlife biologist for the BLM before switching to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999. He retired from the fish and wildlife service in 2006 and has ran a wildlife consulting business until this year.

I love to hike and be out in the woods be it fishing on some remote stream or camping in one of Oregon's beautiful wild areas. So when I moved to Jacksonville and found the Woodlands trails right outside my door I immediately started to hike, run and ride by bicycle on those trails. I also enjoy getting out to work with people and nature so it was a natural for me to get involved in the Jacksonville Woodland Association. I have been a Board Member since 2014.

Becka Kem is a mother, wife and outdoor enthusiast living in Jacksonville. After six years of teaching public school, she settled with her young family in the Rogue Valley, choosing Jacksonville because of it's amazing people and network of trails. Her personal interests include being outside with her young son, hiking the amazing trails around Jacksonville and gardening. She is very excited about joining the JWA and focusing on development of the Beekman arboretum along with introducing new people to the amazing trails in Jacksonville.

Larry and Linda Smith have lived in Jacksonville since 1973. Larry began his teaching career in 1966 when he began teaching 5th grade at Jacksonville Elementary School where he remained for 33 years. Presently Larry is semi retired from teaching and now works as a substitute elementary teacher for the Medford School District. Larry was a National Park Ranger at Crater Lake for 23 summers. He presently heads up Crater Lake's Winter Volunteer Ranger Program. Larry and Linda have 2 adult children and seven grandchildren.

Larry is a founding member of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association having served as a board member, vice president, president, and currently as Executive Director.