The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature has announced that Jim Balsitis and George Rose joined the board this past winter.
Balsitis has been a Wildling member and supporter for many years. His significant contribution as the lead contractor on the Solvang museum building project include donating his time, the maple paneling, and art hanging system in the second-floor Valley Oak Gallery.
Currently, Balsitis is the director of facilities at Old Mission Santa Barbara. He is an avid hiker, has created and published day-hike maps of the local area, and led a number of adventurous hikes for the Sierra Club.
Rose is a professional photographer. In the 1970s and ’80s, Rose served six years as a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times. His independent assignments were published in USA Today, Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone.
From 1982-96, Rose was a photographer for the National Football League. For the past 25 years, he was a wine industry executive communications director at several successful wine companies.
In 2015, Rose moved to Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley. Much of his time is devoted to documenting the natural environment of the county, as well as top vineyard estates up and down the California coast.
He is also a contributing photographer with Getty Images.
— Mitra Cline for Wildling Museum of Art and Nature.