Biography

George DeVault, of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, began his career as a photographer for his hometown newspaper (The Delaware, Ohio, Gazette) at age 15. He has worked extensively as a newspaper reporter and editor in Ohio and Florida, receiving numerous awards for feature and editorial writing, spot news and investigative work from professional organizations, as well as the Florida Farm Bureau Federation and Florida Agribusiness Institute. DeVault has been a farm editor at Rodale, Inc., since 1981. He was editor of The New Farm magazine for 10 years, receiving MagazineWeek's 1990 Publishing Excellence Award. Since 1991, he has managed Rodale's Russian magazine, New Gardener and Farmer (Novii Sadovod i Fermer). DeVault and his family lived in Moscow, Russia, for one year in 1993-94. DeVault and his wife, Melanie, own and operate a 20-acre certified organic farm in Emmaus, PA. They raise a wide variety of vegetables, cut flowers, herbs and blueberries, which are sold through their on-farm market, to local restaurants, health food stores and at area farmers' markets. DeVault is a board member of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. He has been an active firefighter in Emmaus since 1982 and currently serves as Deputy Chief of the Emmaus Fire Department.