Mary Beth Jewell

Mary Beth Jewell. Farmer. Artist. Community Advocate.

Mary Beth adopted Eastern Kentucky as her home in 2006 when she and her husband, Randy, a local attorney, created their farm in Knox County where they raise angora goats for the fiber she uses in her fiber art. Mary Beth is a juried member of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, the Sheltowee Artisan Guild and the Mountain Heritage Artisan Guild.  In addition to her art and farm work, Mary Beth is an advocate for her community and strives to be a force for positive change through her board and volunteer work.

Mary Beth relocated to Knox County after living in Lexington, Kentucky, for 27 years. Initially working for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Planning Division before joining the Lexington Herald-Leader staff as a graphic artist. When Mary Beth left the Herald-Leader she was Vice President of Marketing and Director of Kentucky.com, a state-wide digital news service. During her time in Lexington, Mary Beth served on a variety of organizational boards, including; Women Leading Kentucky, the Lexington Humane Society and LexArts. As a former media executive and non-profit board member, Mary Beth understands the importance of ethics, transparency and accountability in government at all levels and that service to one’s community comes in many forms.

In 2014 Mary Beth worked with a small group of like-minded individuals to help establish the Knox County Farmers’ Market (KCFM) and is the Vice President and Secretary of the market board. As an active market member Mary Beth understands the local economic impact – as well as strong community ties – that come from buying direct and eating fresh local food produced by friends and neighbors. Mary Beth also sees the direct impact and importance of food supplement programs such as Kentucky Double Dollars for WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (WIC FMNP), the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP.) As an farmer/artist, Mary Beth recognizes the need for local craftsmen to have a venue from which to sell their hand-made products and is proud that the market has served as a business catalyst for several craft and food processing vendors. Mary Beth also sits on the Knox County Extension Advisory Council and has served on the State Extension Advisory Council and has strong ties to her rural community.

As an advocate for underserved populations, Mary Beth’s interests led her to serve on the board of the Knox County Economic Opportunity Council (KCEOC), an eight county Community Action Council, offering job training and economic empowerment, life skills, Head Start, Meals on Wheels, affordable housing, summer feeding programs, emergency shelter for women and families and youth in crisis, along with other critical needs programs in Eastern Kentucky. Through her roles in both the KCFM and KCEOC, Mary Beth has been instrumental in providing fresh, local produce to the KCEOC Summer Feeding program and the emergency homeless shelters.

Mary Beth is the immediate Past President of the GFWC KY Barbourville Woman’s Club which raises funds for downtown enhancement projects in Barbourville, an annual scholarship for female students attending Union College, monthly donations to the emergency housing shelters and donations to other worthy projects in Knox County. Mary Beth has a long track record of working to support animal rescues and humane shelters and is a strong supporter of strengthening Kentucky’s animal anti-cruelty legislation and addressing the many issues related to pet overpopulation in Eastern Kentucky. Mary Beth recognizes the many complex issues confronting Kentucky communities are interwoven and need to be collectively addressed in order to identify solutions to those problems.