Joe grew up on a farm in Verona, VA, (now protected with a conservation easement), and graduated from Randolph-Macon College where he majored in mathematics, football, and baseball. Joe’s adventures over the next 12 years included the U.S. Marine Corps, graduate school at UVA, working on the loading dock at Smith’s Transfer in Verona, and climbing Denali in Alaska. After involvement in multiple businesses including a metal fabrication shop, two athletic clubs, and a baseball team in the Valley Baseball League, Joe found his niche in the conservation arena. In 2000, he started Conservation Services, a business specializing in planting hardwood trees and creating riparian buffers. In 2012, Joe retired from active tree planting and became involved with the Friends of the Middle River, where he was Chairman for six years.