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ELKINS -- After serving as executive director of the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area for more than 20 years, Phyllis Baxter has announced that she will be retiring at the end of January.
Baxter will be recognized during a celebration Friday at the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center. The public is invited to attend the event, which will take place from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Railroad Avenue location.
Baxter was originally hired as part-time coordinator of AFNHA when it was created in 2001.
Two years later she moved into the executive director role and has been there ever since.
"The AFNHA was initially a grant-funded project for WVU," said Baxter. "It transitioned to a non-profit organization in 2003 and at that point I became executive director of the organization."
Baxter said she was well past the retirement age and knew the time was now for her to step away.
"I've kept doing this because I care about it so much," Baxter said. "But it's time for me to step down from the leadership and the administrative duties of running an organization and let younger and more energetic people take it on."
Even after her retirement, Baxter said she still plans on being around the organization.
"I do hope to stay involved for a while, particularly with some of the interpretation projects," she said. "So I will be doing that as a volunteer."
During her years with AFNHA, Baxter's leadership, oversight and advocacy has guided the organization.
"Our biggest, most visible thing that I'm proud of is our National Heritage Area designation," said Baxter. "We worked on that for many, many years and it took a bill through Congress to do it, and we finally got that in 2019. And then we spent three years working on the management plan as a National Heritage Area."
Baxter said she is equally proud of the AmeriCorps program that the organization started in 2007.
"Our other biggest program is our AmeriCorps program," Baxter said. "I'm really proud of that and all of the awesome AmeriCorps members who have gone through our program and done so much for our community."
In all, Baxter has 30 years experience in public history and non-profit management. She has also served as a volunteer board member of Historic Beverly Preservation since the late 1990s.
"The Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation bought one of the buildings and opened it as a little visitors center around the mid-90s," said Baxter. "The Historic Beverly Preservation later got the other building, and in partnership, we were able to to develop the Beverly Heritage Center."
Baxter, who was raised in Oklahoma, moved to Randolph County in 1979 and raised her two children, Nathan Baxter and Hannah Knavenshue, with her husband of 41 years, Peter Baxter.
"I grew up in Oklahoma, but I'm a West Virginian by choice," she said. "Both my kids were born and raised here and they've both decided to stay here as well."
Baxter has a history degree from Oklahoma City University and a Masters in American History from University of Texas Austin. She also has a Certificate in Public History from WVU.
The Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area works with partners in 16 West Virginia counties and two counties in Maryland to explore and enhance the relationship between the forested mountains and the people who live there. The AFNHA focuses on conservation, forestry, cultural heritage, asset-based tourism, and community development.
For more information about the AFNHA, visit www.appalachianforestnha.org.