August OBX Park News: Board of Directors announced and more

A Summer of Celebrations

It's hard to believe that our first summer as the official nonprofit partner of your OBX national parks is starting to wind down. In less than a year, your support of Outer Banks Forever has helped your parks celebrate two major anniversaries, grow awareness of ocean safety, and better connect with volunteers and the local community.

There is much more to be done to protect and enhance your parks, and we've got just the team to do it. I am excited to officially announce Outer Banks Forever's founding Board of Directors! These dedicated volunteers are helping us build a strong foundation of support for your OBX national parks.

Founding Board of Directors:

Trip Forman, REAL Watersports (pictured above (left) with NASA Astronaut Eric Boe)
Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy, Coastland Times and Community Advocate
Nick Graham, Standard Insurance
Beth Midgett, Midgett Realty
Michael E. Smith, JAM Media Solutions
Bob Woodard, Dare County and Towne Insurance

Click here to read more about each of our Board members and their dedication to their community.

We’ll be expanding our Board of Directors over the next year to also represent visitors and OBX lovers from around Virginia, North Carolina, and beyond. If you’re interested in learning more or joining our Board, feel free to contact me for more information.

Thank you, and our Board of Directors, for embracing us this first year and being a part of this journey so far!

See you in your parks,

Jessica Green

Director, Outer Banks Forever

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Meet Your Park Ranger: Josh Nelson

Last month we started a new series to introduce you to the men and women who make your parks extraordinary every day.

This month, meet Josh! Josh is your Lead Ranger at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. His career so far has taken him around the country, from Acadia National Park in Maine to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and now here to the Outer Banks.

Read on to learn more about how Josh was inspired to become a park ranger at the young age of 5, his story of meeting a visitor who told him how being at Fort Raleigh felt life changing, and more.

Learn More

Celebrate Virginia Dare's Birthday with The Lost Colony

August 18th marks the 432nd anniversary of the day Eleanor Dare gave birth to the first English child to be born in the New World. She named her Virginia Dare, and each year our friends at The Lost Colony celebrate her birthday with a very special addition to their nightly performance.

This Saturday, August 17th, The Lost Colony continues its long-celebrated tradition of using real babies during their performance on Virginia Dare Night! Being a “Virginia Dare Baby” is a coveted role in the community that many locals have had the opportunity to be a part of.

You can also join The Lost Colony and the National Park Service for a special Virginia Dare Birthday Celebration starting at 5:30pm. The pre-show celebration is free and open to the public and includes birthday cake for children under 12!

Learn More

Day of Healing at Fort Raleigh

August 25, 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the first landing of enslaved Africans in English-occupied North America.

While Fort Raleigh is best known as the site of the first English colony in the New World, it was also the site of the Freedman’s Colony that became a beacon of hope and the start of a new life for more that 3,000 freed slaves and their families after the Civil War.

The anniversary will be commemorated as a day of healing and reconciliation at national parks across the nation.

Your park and Outer Banks Forever invite you to join us for a special program at Fort Raleigh at 2:30pm on Sunday, August 25th that will include guest speakers and a bell ringing at 3:00pm that is being coordinated nation wide..

Photo Credits: National Park Service, Roanoke Island Historical Association

Outer Banks Forever is an official partner of the National Park Service and the three national parks of the Outer Banks.

Learn more at www.obxforever.org