Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

Banner House Museum Has A New Director

Banner Elk native Carol Lowe Timblin has been named executive director of the Greater Banner Elk Heritage Foundation.

“I am thrilled to be living in Banner Elk this summer, to be surrounded once again by the beauty of these mountains and the wonderful people who live here,” she said. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the community that has meant so much to me throughout my life.”

The daughter of the late Leo and Flora Lowe, Timblin was educated in the public schools of Avery County and earned degrees from Lees-McRae College, Guilford College, UNC-Charlotte and Appalachian State University. She currently serves on Lees-McRae’s Board of Visitors and in 2005 received the Distinguished Alumni Award from that institution.

The new director brings a wealth of professional experience and expertise to the foundation. She has served as a classroom teacher, community college instructor, library media specialist, travel writer, book author and magazine editor. She received awards from the North Carolina Society of Historians for two history books, including The Bard of Ottaray: The Life, Letters and Documents of Shepherd Monroe Dugger, a book about a Banner Elk author that she co-authored with Leslie Banner. In 2003, she received the prestigious Charles Kuralt Award from the North Carolina Travel Industry Association for the many articles she has written about North Carolina. Her article on the 1803 tune book, on display at the Banner House Museum, appeared in the May 2008 edition of Our State magazine.

For the past 39 years, Timblin has lived in the Charlotte area, where she has been active in church and civic affairs. She was the founding president of the Mint Hill Historical Society and currently chairs the Historic Cemeteries Committee of Philadelphia Presbyterian Church. She and her late husband, George Timblin, reared a son and a daughter in Mint Hill and have four grandsons.

Contact Timblin at 828-828-3634, bannerhousemuseum@yahoo.com or ctimblin@bellsouth.net.