Rockwall, TX (June 13, 2024) – Opening Rockwall Farmers Market on the sunny morning of June 8, current and former Rockwall city and county officials, volunteers, vendors, family members, and countless others gathered to celebrate community volunteer, long-time Rockwall community leader and co-founder of the Rockwall Farmers Market, Claudette Hatfield.
In addition to being the driving force behind the Rockwall Farmers Market, over the years Claudette has served the community through involvement with Helping Hands, Rockwall Women’s League, and, in 2006, creating Friends of Downtown Rockwall, coordinating volunteers to decorate the Square for each holiday. Claudette was instrumental in achieving the Main Street designation in 2009 and the downtown bond project development of San Jacinto Plaza, which now regularly hosts live music and events.
Claudette, whose family owns Rockwall’s Hatfield and Company, a local distributor and manufacturer, has been a pillar of the Rockwall Farmers Market, said Mayor Trace Johannesen. He described the Farmers Market that Claudette and Barb Coleson started years ago as a “slice of Americana right here in Rockwall.”
“The Rockwall Farmers Market serves as a hub of community life May through September,” said Mayor Johannesen.
Those who attend the weekly market concur; they enjoy the company of family and friends, the beautiful Rockwall Square, and the many treats and tastes of extraordinary vendors.
Not only is starting a Farmers Market a challenging project but growing and keeping a market successful is a monumental task, said County Commissioner Frank New. New knows firsthand after attempting to “emulate what Claudette did” while serving on the Heath City Council.
Several vendors addressed the crowd to personally thank Claudette and her team of volunteers. Michael Thiel of Raised in a Southern Kitchen, a delightful bakery and regular vendor, shared how his life has been blessed meeting people and making customers who travel from all over DFW to attend what they believe to be the best Farmers Market in the area.
Rick Crowley, former Rockwall City Manager, shared humorous stories of working with a tenacious Claudette on various community projects. He said that one year, Claudette approached him asking to have a Farmers Market, and while they asked the appropriate and necessary questions, he added that “we knew that if Claudette wanted one, then it was going to happen.”
Crowley knew she would see it through. And true to her reputation she established a plan, stuck to it, and today it is what it is due to her planning and attention to detail.
Claudette expressed her own appreciation humbly saying, “This is not about me but about all of you and how we come together to make Rockwall special.” She thanked her team of volunteers who put in long hours in a labor of love who begin in February to prepare for the market opening each May.
In honor of Claudette Hatfield, her contributions, and as Mayor Johannesen stated a “great reminder of the power of one individual to impact a community,” a park bench now sits in the Rockwall Square, home of the Rockwall Farmers Market and Claudette’s beloved community.
The Rockwall Farmers Market is open 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays May through September, offering the community high quality agricultural goods from local growers and ranchers, as well as providing gourmet artisan foods. Learn more at rockwallfarmersmarket.org.
Blue Ribbon News Staff Report. Photos by BRN Media.
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