BY MAGGIE BEAMGUARD, Insider Editor
This year’s Fellingham Award recipient, Ron Shepard, was announced at the annual meeting of the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association.
The Fellingham Award was established in honor of George Fellingham, endearingly known as the “George Washington of Seven Lakes West” for his key leadership role in the development of SLW.
This is awarded to a resident of SLW who has lived in the community for over 10 years and is known and recognized by the community for significant volunteer contributions. The recipient is chosen by a committee formed by previous Fellingham Award recipients.
Years in Seven Lakes West: 16
Previously lived in: Pound Ridge in West Chester County, New York
Occupation:
I worked in the marking and sales of medical electronic equipment. My work brought me to Pinehurst for business. We fell in love with the place and retired here.
Best part of living in Seven Lakes: It’s an oasis.
Hobbies and Interests: There are too many things! I play tennis and golf and enjoy gardening – even picking up pine cones. It’s just an easy way of living here. Sue and I also like to travel. We take our small camper and go on long road trips. Our next trip, we are going back to Colorado and then through the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Community Involvement:
One of the things I did early on was some work at Johnson Point. When you had boats out at the island or Johnson Point you couldn’t really tie them up anywhere. So we took the boards from a guy who was redoing his deck and bolted them in at Johnson Point and the island. We got cleats from the hardware store so you could tie up the boats safely.Since then, I served as the director of the Architectural Review Committee. I am also a past president of the board and past-chair of the Nominating and Long Range Planning committees. I’m a member of the Sailing Club, the Moore County Concert Band, Beacon Ridge Golf Club, Lake Auman Sports Club and West End Presbyterian Church where I served as the Moderator of the Board of Deacons. And I volunteer at the hospital weekly.
Becoming a Fellingham Recipient:
These folks contribute their time and talents with not only hard work but also integrity. They assumed both their elected responsibilities and numerous menial tasks quietly and humbly and without self-promotion. I’m honored to have been selected to join their distinguished ranks.
Motivation:
We were at Mt. Snow in Vermont years ago and the whole lift line started singing happy birthday. So we looked around, they were singing to this guy that’s 80 years old. So he is my inspiration. I want to stay active as long as I can and giving back keeps me going. It’s also fun. You get to meet a lot of people when you serve the community.
What others should know about community involvement:
I encourage people to step out and join a committee. You can get involved with many of the committees without having to commit an inordinate amount of time.
Personal Motto:
Do the right thing.
