Spring 2023 High Vistas

Raising Funds for Razor’s Edge Skate Park

Not 70-somethings would care about a dilapidated skatepark. But most people aren’t like Joyce Speas, FRIENDS Northern Highlands chapter chair! Joyce, who turned 80 in March, saw the padlocked park in her hometown of Sparta, North Carolina, and wanted to do something to fix it. She drove by the park almost daily and knew it was well-used by kids in the many

community before it was closed. Joyce, the self-proclaimed “cock eyed optimist” enlisted FRIENDS to help fundraise for a new one. We’re just starting a campaign to renovate the Razor’s Edge Skate Park. Thank you, Joyce, for your leadership in helping fulfill our mission of enhancing the quality of life in communities throughout our Blue Ridge!

Promoting Outdoor Activity and Bike Safety

Our new bike racks are rolling out all over Roanoke, Virginia! Thanks to a Cox Conserves Heroes award received by FRIENDS Roanoke chapter member Barbara Duerk, we were able to fund racks at Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP), Vinton Public Library, Burgland Center, Fallon Park, and Explore Park. We hope this initiative to inspire bike safety and accessibility spreads beyond the Roanoke Valley into the other areas our chapters serve. Have a spot in mind? Let us know! Also at Explore Park, FRIENDS looks forward to the May 6 grand opening of our new playground that we funded in partnership with Roanoke County.

30 Students Receive Lynn Davis Scholarships

We have had a phenomenal response from high school students throughout North Carolina’s and Virginia’s Blue Ridge to our inaugural Lynn Davis Scholarship Program! There were 49 applications received from seniors in the region hoping to earn one of the college scholarships. We invested $30,000 in this year’s scholarship program —

named for co-founder Lynn Davis — seeking to support exceptional students who plan to pursue environmental science or cultural studies in college. Our goal is that they’ll one day help sustain the natural vitality and cultural uniqueness of our beloved Blue Ridge communities. A special thank you to the dozen board and chapter

members on the selection committee. They had a tough assignment based on the caliber of talent displayed by the applicants. After their deliberations, 30 students were chosen to receive a scholarship We look forward to introducing you to them in the next High Vista newsletter this summer.