Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 9, 1990                   TAG: 9003092013
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW PARKWAY GROUP LAUNCHES FUND DRIVE

Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway's headquarters are on Starkey Road in Roanoke County. Jack C. Smith, retired executive vice president of the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, is the group's president.

Smith said he and others, who have worked closely for many years with parkway management, formed Friends of the Parkway as a way to raise money to help maintain the "margin of excellence" in the parkway's operation.

The parkway, managed by the National Park Service, stretches 470 miles from Rockfish Gap in Nelson County to Asheville, N.C. It is one of the country's most visited national parks.

"With federal budgets becoming tighter and tighter, we felt a private fund-raising group such as the Friends could make a significant contribution toward maintenance of the high standards that have meant so much to parkway visitors and neighbors for more than 50 years," Smith said.

Money raised by the group will be used for capital projects such as buying land, Smith said. Parkway management has been receptive and enthusiastic about the idea, he said.

When the parkway celebrated its 50th anniversary five years ago, Smith served as chairman of the Virginia-North Carolina commission that planned the celebration. Three years later when the parkway was finally completed with the dedication of a stretch at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, Smith again served as chairman.

The idea for the Friends group grew out of discussions among people involved in those events, Smith said. The group thought it would be nice to have money to buy historic sites that might become available along the parkway when there was no money in the federal budget, Smith said.

The goals of the group outlined in its grant of tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service are:

Support and promote the Blue Ridge Parkway, including raising money for renovation of historic structures.

Construct facilities for use by travelers on the parkway.

Cut the burdens of government by financing parkway projects.

Provide educational opportunities for those interested in the history, culture and geography of the parkway and the corridor through which it passes.

Different levels of membership will be available to those wanting to support the group. Individual memberships will begin at $15 and corporate memberships at $100.

Those businesses and people who become "patrons" with contributions of $50 or $200 and more will be receive special privileges, including periodic mailings about parkway events, Smith said.

The solicitation of memberships and the raising of money will begin soon with mass mailings. Other fund-raising techniques will be used later.

The group has no target level of membership now but will wait to gauge the response to the first direct mailings, Smith said.

Other members of the group's initial board of directors are: David Felmet, Waynesville, N.C.; H.T.N. "Ted" Graves, Luray; Mary R. Guynn, Galax; Lewis H. Jenkins, North Wilkesboro, N.C.; and Thomas L. Mallonee, Candler, N.C.

Anyone wanting more information about the group should write: Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, 4370 Starkey Road, S.W., Suite 2-B, Roanoke 24014.