Sylvia R. Tawse
FIG founder Sylvia R. Tawse has conducted national campaigns for dozens of brands. Her “healthier-living-for-all” commitment is evident in her nonprofit work, from Chef Ann Cooper’s LunchBox.org and Salad Bar Project, to years of work for the Boulder County Farmers Market. Sylvia was an instrumental force in the “Keep Organic Organic” public awareness campaign for the Organic Trade Association, which resulted in the highest number of letters received by the USDA, all 280,000+ of them. Sylvia has firsthand knowledge of the food industry, from the ground up. She and her husband own Pastures of Plenty Farm, a 32-acre organic farm in Longmont, Colorado.
FIG Fun Facts
- Bet you didn’t know: Sylvia won her college scholarship based on her being in a Junior Miss contest; and that scholarship at a small liberal arts college where she was selected to interview First Lady Rosalynn Carter for the student newspaper. . .the night before her husband lost his bid for a second term as U.S. President.
- Funniest FIG moment: There are so many in two decades of memories. One of the most poignant is the night at Expo West Mel Coleman helped me to coin the term “Big Ass Catfish” Dinner at a very authentic Vietnamese restaurant we adored. The guests all thought he was a real cowboy; several asked him for his autograph.
- Biggest PR victory to date at FIG: Coining the name “Keep Organic Organic” and managing the national public write-in campaign. The USDA still cites K.O.O. as the number one write-in campaign in its history, with more than 280K letters sent in supporting high integrity regulations for organic.
- Least favorite catch phrase that should be abolished: “State-of-the-art” . . . it is right up there with “World class”
- Best meal: Bottle of Domaine Tempier Dry Rose’ with Lyle in Big Sur, with oil-cured black olives and mussels we’d harvested from the tidepools.
- Biggest adventure this year: Hiking from Crested Butte to Aspen with my bestie and almost-60 friends with wildflowers as tall as our shoulders.