Meet Carrie McClain
Board of Directors
Carrie McClain lives in Boone, North Carolina and works for her family Christmas tree farm in Grassy Creek, North Carolina in Ashe County – close to where the North and South Fork of the New River come together. Carrie’s family has been farming Christmas trees in Ashe County, NC and Grayson County, VA since 1986.
Carrie grew up in the Tampa Bay area, graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and earned a Masters in Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. In addition to running the family farm, she is also the founder of Little Saps, an e-commerce company that ships gift tree seedlings across the country and co-founder with her husband of Evergreen Pathways, a company offering coaching, spiritual direction, and retreats.
Carrie and her family restored and re-opened The Old Store at Grassy Creek, a historic store built ca 1900, which is a co-sponsor and site for Saved by a Salamander Day in partnership with the New River Conservancy and others. She serves on the board of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association and the Ashe County Christmas Tree Association. She is a graduate of the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission Agricultural Leadership Development Program.
Had the Appalachian Power Company succeeded in damming the New River in the 1970s, Grassy Creek would have been under water. Carrie is passionate about the conservation of the New River not only to preserve this historic watershed and honor the incredible legacy of the citizens, stakeholders, and politicians that fought to save it, but because this ancient river and its unique wildlife deserves to be “as it is.”
Carrie McClain received our Wallace and Peggy Carroll Vigilance Award (NC) in July, 2023.