The Wallowa County Farmers Market will open the 2011 season on May 28 with a professional manager on the job for the first time.

The markets executive board has hired Chuck Anderson, recently retired editor and publisher of the Wallowa County Chieftain, as market manager, according to board president Beth Gibans.

Anderson will oversee the Thursday afternoon Enterprise market and Saturday Joseph market as well as handle marketing, vendor relations and other responsibilities.

We were extremely pleased that Chuck expressed interest in the position, Gibans said. His marketing and managerial experience will serve us well and I dont think most people know that he also has a background in retail management, another plus for the Farmers Markets.

Gibans and other volunteer members of the executive board have managed the markets since their inception in 2003. The board decided the time had come  to  hire a professional to expand the markets,  she said.

Anderson is a longtime gardener and home cook who has shopped at farmers markets in Enterprise, Joseph,Walla Walla and California, from where he moved in 2009 to join the Chieftain staff. He retired in March.

Ive been used to larger markets with more vendors than we usually have had here, Anderson said. One of my top priorities will be vendor recruitment. We will be looking for more produce growers, sellers of other foods, flower vendors, artists and craftspeople.

The markets will open for the season Saturday, May 28, with a Spring Planting Festival in Joseph from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Main and Joseph streets. The first Enterprise market will be on the Wallowa County Courthouse lawn from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2.

For information: wallowacountyfarmersmarket@gmail.com,  541-432-0209, 541-398-1096.