Author: Friends of Jockey's Ridge
Friends of Jockey's Ridge welcomes Sallie Hedrick Bowman as its new executive director, after a unanimous vote from the board of directors. Bowman previously served as the school library media coordinator for Manteo Elementary School. She brings 20 years of leadership experience in event planning, public relations, advocacy, fundraising, marketing, and outreach with nonprofits, public service, and education.
Craig Honeycutt, chairman of the friends board said, "We are really happy to have Sallie joining us as Executive Director. She brings a deep love of Jockey's Ridge to the Friends group and a great skillset to elevate our work to a higher level."
Bowman will have overall strategic and operations responsibility for Friends of Jockey's Ridge, as well as execution of its mission. A key leader in planning special events, community engagement, fundraising and keeping the board on track with its mission, she will also liaison with the staff of Jockey's Ridge State Park, the public, businesses and organizations.
"I'm thrilled to join the Friends of Jockey's Ridge and I cannot wait to work together to celebrate and elevate the inspiring history of Jockey's Ridge as well as the preservation of its future," Bowman said.
A native of Wake Forest, North Carolina, Bowman is no stranger to the Outer Banks. Apart from spending her childhood summers on Roanoke Island, in 2001 she was a dancer in "The Lost Colony" outdoor drama. She has served as a production executive for the North Carolina Film Office, as director of volunteers for the Sundance Film Festival, and as a grant officer in the office of former North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue. Bowman is a graduate of Meredith College and is working on a master's degree in library science at East Carolina University.
About the Friends of Jockey's Ridge
The Friends of Jockey's Ridge is a nonprofit organization established in 1990 for the support and maintenance of programs and the development of facilities of Jockey's Ridge State Park. Their mission is to support, enhance and promote Jockey's Ridge State Park as a significant geological feature of the Outer Banks.
Jockey's Ridge State Park has the tallest living sand dune on the east coast of the United States, estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old. After a 2-year advocacy campaign led by Carolista Baum and the People to Preserve Jockey's Ridge, the now 426-acre dune and surrounding maritime thicket was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974 and as a North Carolina state park in 1975. In 2021, it was the most visited state park in North Carolina with 1.8 million visitors.