KCAA Hosts 2026 Annual Meeting

On Thursday, March 12th, the Kitsap Community & Agricultural Alliance (KCAA) held its Annual Meeting at the Eagle’s Nest Community Building at the Bremerton Fairgrounds. There wasn’t an empty seat in the room!

The evening began with a potluck and social hour. From hot chili and cornbread to cucumber salad and peach cobbler, the spread was a delight. As attendees enjoyed dinner and caught up with friends, they also had the opportunity to visit tables hosted by other agricultural organizations in the county. Representatives from the Mason-Kitsap Farm Bureau, Friends of the Farms, Kitsap Environmental Coalition, Kitsap Community Food Co-op, Kitsap Conservation District, WSU Regional Small Farms, and Kitsap Fresh were on hand to share information about the work their organizations are doing in our community. Tables were filled with displays, informational materials, and plenty of stickers to take home.

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM with a warm welcome from KCAA President Bob Geballe. Bob introduced the KCAA Board of Directors: himself, Karissa Holcombe (Vice President), Erika Anderson (Secretary), Geno Holcombe (Treasurer), Scott Hall, Jeremy Anunson, Ryan Crossen, Ashley Kennedy, Ron Carson, and Mary McKeirnan. Each board member briefly shared how they became involved with KCAA and the skills and perspectives they bring to the organization.

The Board also highlighted KCAA’s three active working committees and the important roles they play in advancing their mission: the Financial Committee, the Government Relations Committee, and the Communications Committee.

The floor was then opened to four guest speakers.

Jen Clark of Roots Farm shared an overview of her fiscal sponsorship relationship with KCAA and discussed a current Washington State Department of Ecology grant supporting her work. She also introduced a series of free vermicomposting workshops that will be offered throughout the community over the next 18 months, along with future plans for expanding education and growing programs at the farm.

Heather Cleveland, Long Range Planner with Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development, provided an update on the outcomes of the county’s 2025 “Year of the Rural” initiative. She also discussed upcoming efforts to protect agricultural working lands in our community and previewed the formation of the newly established Agriculture Advisory Council, whose first meeting is scheduled for March 26.

Heather Burger of Friends of the Farms announced the upcoming screening of the documentary Women’s Work: The Untold Story of America’s Female Farmers and shared the motivation behind bringing this film to Kitsap County. KCAA was pleased to announce that we will be offering 20 scholarship tickets for community members to attend the April 19, 2025 showing at the Lynwood Theatre on Bainbridge Island.

Finally, Melissa Kittrell of the Kitsap Agritourism Coalition shared an update on plans for the 2026 Farm Tour. Melissa spoke about the Farm Tour’s fiscal sponsorship relationship with KCAA and explained why this event is so important for connecting community members with working farms throughout Kitsap County.

Following the presentations, we welcomed members of our local Silverdale 4-H group, Fence Line Friends. These vibrant and enthusiastic youth shared about their 4-H projects this year, what inspired them to get involved, and why they believe it’s important to stay connected to agriculture.

The microphone was then handed over to four young women representing North Kitsap High School’s FFA program. During a short Q&A panel, they shared stories about their involvement in youth agricultural organizations and why this work is meaningful to them. Hearing from these young people involved in 4-H and FFA was both inspiring and a true joy.

Finally, we opened the floor for community feedback and asked attendees a simple but important question: What would you like KCAA to focus on in the coming year? The thoughtful feedback we received will help guide our work and priorities for 2026.

To close out the evening, KCAA served hot coffee, offered potluck seconds (and thirds), and hosted a free raffle featuring six baskets of locally donated goods. These generous contributions from our community included everything from wine and charcuterie from Olalla Vineyards, gift cards and cider tastings from Bushel and Barrel Ciderhouse, coffee from Integrity Roofing & Construction, chicken-keeping essentials from North Kitsap FFA, honey products from the Holcombe family, and t-shirts, tumblers, farm snacks, and even an oil painting from Pheasant Fields Farm.

Attendees left with full bellies and full arms - and we left with full hearts.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support our organization and the future of agriculture in Kitsap County. Be sure to take a look at our 2025 Annual Report below, and let us know what your favorite part of the evening was!

And whether you attended the meeting in person or not, we value your feedback. Everyone is welcome to complete our post-meeting survey and share ideas about how we can better support our agricultural community in the year ahead.

We hope to see you again soon!

2025 KCAA Annual Report - Print.pdf

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