Sometimes it’s just about who you know that makes you a volunteer.
That’s exactly the case for Randi Eisner. Randi has been a volunteer with Kings River Land Trust since early 2023, mostly assisting with organizing special events held to support the organization, like the Bob Frisch Memorial Ride and Walk.
And being connected to an organization as close to her backyard as possible is why Randi is happy to help support our mission.
Randi grew up in Sanger. She, her parents and her children are all graduates of Sanger High School. Randi and her family call the Kings River home. In her younger days, Randi and her friends spent many days floating along on innertubes with a six packs of beer because “it was pretty economical entertainment,” she explains.
“We’re ingrained here,” Randi adds. “I’ve spent a lot of time at the Kings River off and on over the years, so I have a lot of … good family memories. “When something is that much a part of your life, you just feel like you have to contribute.”
That’s how Randi came to know KRLT. When Randi retired after 35 years of working as a fire inspector for the City of Fresno, she was looking for something to do with all her newfound “free” time.
“It’s like you said, ‘You get busier when you retire,’ and that’s so true,” Randi says.
Randi says she didn’t know a lot about KRLT, but her appreciation for the Kings River and her dedication to her community piqued her interest in learning more. And a former KRLT fundraising consultant, Erin Davis, offered the greatest selling point.
“I was kinda on the fence, and I think it was Erin who told me to be a part of something that’s bigger than myself, and that was the hook,” Randi says.
The rest, as they say, is history. Randi is a member of our all-volunteer Outreach and Fundraising Committee, helping facilitate each event KRLT puts on to connect and educate our organization to the surrounding community.
The one thing Randi says she would like people to know about the work KRLT is doing is that it’s a “worthy, humble cause.”
“It’s very fulfilling once one of these [conservation easement] projects is completed,” Randi says. “I’ve gotten to experience that with one of the projects, getting to celebrate that. It’s been exciting to watch the organization work so hard for the future of agriculture.”
If you are interested in learning more about volunteering to help our organization either as a board member or as a member of one of our committees, please reach out to Cher Arambel, director of outreach and development, at cher.a@kingsriverlandtrust.org.
5 Fun Facts about Randi Eisner:
1. When Randi is not spending time with her family, including her husband, daughters, and their children, she’s spending quality time with longtime friends. “We have such a good time traveling together, and we really appreciate the bonds we’ve made with one another.”
2. Randi graduated from Fresno State with a degree in geography and a minor in anthropology. “I liked learning about how plants and their seeds are distributed, and how the higher you go up in elevation the plants change as a result,” she explains. “I’m a sponge when it comes to learning. It makes me feel like you have a leg up on why things are the way they are.”
3. If she had not gone into work with the City of Fresno, Randi would have worked outdoors in the mountains. “I love being outdoors.” I admire some of the people who have done presentations for us, and who have found jobs in line with their interests in natural resources,” she says.
4. Randi has spent more than 30 years off and on investigating the genealogy of her family. “My daughter got me a 23 and Me test, and I found that I was mostly Scandinavian,” she says. “My mom had 12 brothers and sisters, so it can be exhausting tracing so much history. I didn’t get too far in that family line because of the time it took to document just her generation.”
5. If there was a period of history outside of this current one that Randi could live in, she says it would be before European discovery of North America. “Native American history is so interesting. Some of the things they built … and the natural landscapes of that time period, as well as the cultural aspect. I don’t know where I’d fit in, but it would still be an ideal time.