With motorists eagerly anticipating drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway for the fall foliage season, super volunteer Libby Wilcox is helping the Parkway greet visitors with its best face forward. On Monday, September 21, Wilcox set out to begin painting welcome signs all along the 469-mile Parkway.
“I wanted to continue to do things out on the Parkway that people see…a gallon of paint goes a long way!” said Wilcox, who chairs the Rocky Knob chapter of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A “FRIENDS” volunteer for about seven years, she has long been concerned with the entrance signs, milepost markers and picnic areas near Rocky Knob.
Wilcox is being supported by other FRIENDS volunteers along the Parkway. The painters began their work at Groundhog Mountain and worked their way south toward Cherokee, North Carolina before returning to complete their journey in Waynesboro, Virginia on September 29.
The project is crucial for helping maintain and beautify the Parkway, one of the most popular destinations in the National Park system. As national parks have been affected by federal budget cuts, the work of volunteers has become especially significant.
FRIENDS’ more than 10,000 members work to ensure the Parkway’s future through stewardship and fundraising that support volunteer service projects, as well as youth and adult education programs.
To learn more about the important work FRIENDS chapters are doing go to https://www.friendsbrp.org/who-we-are/chapters/ or call 540-772-2992.
