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about us | Quality and fun are the cornerstones of our endeavors and the basis of our success, and have been since 1964. Our goal is to offer our clients the finest service and natural products available. The fusing of expertise as founders of organic community gardens, farmers markets, and as managers serves our projects well. We happily bring to the table our enhanced perspectives, gained through professional backgrounds in the arts, graphic design, urban planning, marketing, & photography. |
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| Management  Ward P. Riggins III, owner & founder
Village Market Square was founded in 2006 by Ward P. Riggins III, former Marketing Director for Angels Health Food Institute in Central Point, Oregon, and Barber and Company/Dixie Outfitters in Odum, Georgia. Ward began as a high school staff photographer in 1964, supplying newspapers and publications with photos of local events. After earning his Bachelors Degree in History from Georgia Southern University he advanced his profession in photography with Larry Case Photography, photographers for The Cloister on Sea Island, Georgia. He established a successful clientele over a period of five years at The Cloister and then relocated to the Buckhead section of Atlanta to work for Gittings Photography. In 1981 the company sent him to Los Angeles to open a branch with Bullocks Wilshire, and in 1984 started Riggins Photography Services, his first job being the photographer for the swimming and diving venue of the 23rd Olympiad (1984 Los Angeles Olympics), where he was also a Protocol staff member of Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. As the Photographer of Protocol for the Nixon Library, he received White House clearance and was assigned to photograph visiting dignitaries. In the Seattle area, Ward worked hard with Snoqualmie Valley farmers and suppliers to provide the local food bank with fresh produce and goods, created the Helping Hands: A Community Harvest Education Program and the non-profit Community Jobs Initiative for the Snoqualmie Valley region, and founded a Community Garden project and the Carnation Farmers Market project in Carnation, Washington. Ward maintained his photography services business in Newport Beach, California and Seattle, Washington for 14 years before moving back briefly to the Savannah, Georgia area. In 2005-2006 he served as a member of the Board of Directors for America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, and, after moving back to the West Coast,he served on the Board of Directors for the Medford Market Cooperative in Medford, Oregon, where as a liaison to individual donors he cultivated ongoing relationships, encouraged donor involvement in fundraising activities, was instrumental in producing promotional events at prominent venues, and generated public support.  Leslie Webb Riggins
Leslie Webb Riggins is an environmental land use planner (a field of urban planning) and technical writer with a background in art history, calligraphic instruction & production, furniture conservation, advertising, graphic design, web site design, and technical and copy writing. Leslie majored in Communicative Disorders at California State University, Long Beach but shifted her emphasis to pursue a career in Fine Arts, spending ten years in the Decorative Arts field working with various southern California museums and private clientele. Leslie's interests further expanded into technical writing and, eventually, urban and environmental land use planning. She has worked as a planner for the Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center in Brunswick, Georgia and for Terra Nova Planning & Research, Inc. in Palm Springs, California. A former Toastmaster and American Business Women of America's Woman of the Year, Leslie owned and operated the video production company, DocuCam Video for the Arts, producing programs for in San Marino, California and other art-related venues, and secured private contracts with entities such as Toyota and the Southern California Multiple Sclerosis Society. As a professional calligrapher she's taught workshops in calligraphy and illuminated medieval manuscripts for private and public institutions including The Huntington Library, and received Microsoft certification for web design and online technical writing. Advisory Richard B. Gartrell
Rich's background in organizational communications and systems management has been instrumental in reengineering, focusing, and stabilizing organizations. His visionary leadership and perceptive skills have helped guide organizations in assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and then develop programs that address their specific needs. Included in his repertoire of accomplishments are the following:
• Developing Board Relations and Responsibilities
• Staff Development
• Communication Audits
• Conducting “Community Assessment Programs” ©
• Writing Strategic Marketing Plans
• Designing and Assessing Educational Programs
• Conducting Training Programs for Management
Prior to being a community college executive dean for continuing education and economic development, he was involved in economic development leadership positions for 27 years, including 18 years as an association chief executive officer, and six years in community development with the state department of economic development.
Because of his strong communication skills and practical hands-on approach, Rich has been asked to teach many seminars and workshops throughout North America, Japan, Malaysia and Australia and has written numerous articles for both trade and professional journals. He has also translated his varied experiences into a well-known economic development book on fundamentals for destination marketing (Destination Marketing for Convention and Visitors Bureaus) and has been published in professional and trade journals (among topics: management and leadership, strategic thinking, marketing).
Rich holds his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from San Francisco State University and did doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska. He is a “Certified Program Planner” (for Contract Training) and holds certifications in association management and tourism marketing. Ruthie L. Painter
As a business counselor at Southern Oregon University's Small Business Development Center, Ruthie Painter coaches and counsels entrepreneurs and writers in strategies for enhancing all aspects of business development, with a focus of profitablilty. Ruthie is also currently the owner and operator of R. L. Painter Literary and Business Development in Ashland, Oregon. Her business background includes working as a business counselor and instructor for SOWAC Microenterprise Development Center in Medford, Oregon, where she coached one-on-one with clients to help them create their own business plan and to network with community partners. Ruthie was also co-owner and operator of Upward Bound Career Program in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she researched and colaborated on a career testing system, and secured a vocational rehabilitation contract from a private firm for career discovery, research, job retraining, and teaching interviewing skills. She also co-owned and operated several restaurants which included Greek Isle Café at Eugene's Fifth Street Market and Deli La France in Medford's Rogue Valley Mall. Professional development includes various courseworks in business planning and management, and active involvement with entities such as the Rogue Civic League Round Table, the Arts Council Consortium for the Arts, Oregon Writers' Colony, Willamette Writers Conference, Screenwriting Workshop, Toastmasters, and Lifespring Seminars. Ruthie holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Illinois in Rhetoric and French, graduating with honors. | |
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