Spotlight on Outer Banks Lighthouse Society Volunteer Betty Parrish - Spring 2006

Betty Burge Parrish served as membership director for the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society for eight years. A long-time resident of Charlotte, NC, she is the wife of Bill Parrish and the proud mother of two daughters and two grandsons.

As the first Charter Member of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society, we feel she is the perfect subject for our first highlight feature. She is an integral part of our organization. She handled OBLHS membership correspondence – literally thousands of messages from memberships to event tickets – and became like family for many of our members. “Miss Betty,” as we lovingly called her, attended every society function. We have long depended on for her organizational skills and willingness to work throughout an event.

Betty is retired from BellSouth with thirty years of service as Marketing Specialist. She continued working as a part-time employee at Bank of America for eight years. After retiring from two careers and raising a family, Betty returned to college and earned her undergraduate degree with honors and thoroughly enjoyed “the journey.” When she is asked what she “is doing” with her degree, she replies that she is listening to second graders read and hoping that her love of reading is contagious.

A valued community member, she gives generously of her time to various causes as a volunteer. Betty is active in the Avondale Presbyterian Church, serving on two sessional committees, served as a tutor in the church’s After-School Enrichment Program, and has participated in home building for COAP-Christian Outreach for Appalachian People, a Habitat for Humanity-like group. North Carolina’s lighthouses are lucky to have her as a friend. She is truly an advocate for the preservation and restoration of all lighthouses, especially the ones on NC’s Outer Banks.

Betty works on Hatteras lens

Photos courtesy of Betty Parrish