Patti Townsend
Through a series of fortunate events, Patti's infectious love of the desert and its people has drawn her to the Desert Foothills. Starting at the age of eleven, she became a full-fledged snowbird migrating from Montana. Her cousins Ozzy and Juanita Foster abated this cultural shock and took her under their wing and nearly every weekend they explored the desert in search of ancient Indian ruins and petroglyphs - all the while Ozzy entertained her with stories of folklore and native civilizations. Her love of nature, which stemmed from these adventures never stopped growing.
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Her first introduction to Desert Foothills Land Trust was through her stepfather Louis W. Menk, a great proponent, and advocate of DFLT. His wholehearted support of the Land Trust introduced and garnered many more supporters, including her, to the importance of stewardship of the Sonoran Desert.
She studied economics and accounting at Montana State University in Bozeman. Her love of nature and financial needs drew her outside to work construction. It was then she found her true love, dirt and hydraulics. While working as a highway contractor she bought a 1974 International dump truck and Case 680G backhoe to earn extra money on the weekends. Soon after, she founded Pace Construction Inc. As President and operator, her company was successful working throughout the western United States, Canada, and Russia. Pace Construction, Inc. specialized in underground utility installation, maintenance, testing, and rehabilitation. She sold her company in 2006 for the freedom to spend more time in Arizona and to travel.