The Oglethorpe County Chamber of Commerce presented Linda Parish with the Oglethorpe County Lifetime Achievement award on Dec. 19.
“The real reason is the hard work for Lexington and Oglethorpe County,” Ronnie Boggs said.
The award came as a surprise to Parish, the chamber’s tourism and hospitality director, when it was presented at a Business After Hours event organized and hosted by Countryside Manor.
Parish moved to Lexington in the 1970s and has lived in the county ever since. She originally had an interior design business in Tucker.
Parish has worked with the chamber since the ’80s, with her main role being coordinating events.
“That’s really all I want to do, I don’t really want to do all that paperwork,” Parish said.
The chamber sponsors and hosts several events throughout the year, such as the Christmas Marketplace, Firefly Cruise-In and business after hours, a monthly get-together hosted by businesses and organizations throughout the county.
Her favorite event has been a St. Patrick's Day Gala, where the chamber raised money for Vincent’s Place Sanctuary, a “goat rescue and goat sanctuary in the beginning stages of creation,” according to the organization’s website.
Tom Thon, a member of the board, said he was told “you have to meet Linda Parish” when he first moved to Oglethorpe County two years ago.
“She’s doing something every day,” Boggs said.
Despite Parish’s love for working with the chamber, she said one of the main reasons for staying is because “she can’t get anybody to do anything.”
“We need volunteers,” Parish said. “You don’t have to be on the board, you can just come and be on a committee to do one of the events.”
Parish encourages those who want to volunteer to help set up and plan events to call or email the chamber.
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it,” she said.