Member Spotlight - September 2007

Gail and Tommy Bridges

When Gail and Tommy Bridges read about TLC in The News & Observer years ago, they were immediately interested in the organization. Gail recalls that they felt that “TLC was the right group to go to” because of its focus on saving important places and balancing smart growth with conservation. The article prompted the Bridges to join TLC and they have now supported the organization for twenty years.

Both Lee County natives, the couple lives in Sanford, where Tommy is president of Bridges-Cameron Funeral Home and Gail works part-time as a medical technician at Central Carolina Hospital, although she says she is actually retired! They are active members of Flat Springs Baptist Church.

A former trustee of Central Carolina Community College, Tommy is involved with the Railroad House Historical Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of Lee County. The Association sponsored the 1991-1992 Lee County Architectural Survey and restored the Endor Iron Furnace along the Deep River. TLC helped protect a 426-acre tract surrounding this Civil War-era brownstone furnace that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tommy’s family has lived in the area for six generations and he says that the Deep River has “always been part of our lives.” The couple’s affection for their county and its special places is apparent when they talk about the tranquility of the river. “When you look at parts of the river today, you can still see what my grandfather saw,” he says. “And it’s important that our grandchildren will have the opportunity to see that as well.” The Bridges have two daughters, Stephanie and Anna, and two granddaughters, Lydia and Eliza.

 - Marisa Bryant, Membership Coordinator

Member Spotlight Archives

April 2008 - Jon Stucky

March 2008 - Ken & Roz Winter

February 2008 - Pearson Stewart

January 2008 - Don Stephenson

December 2007 - Amy Mackintosh & Tom Kagan

November 2007 - Lao Rubert & Steve Schewel

October 2007 - Andrea Reusing & Mac McCaughan

September 2007 - Gail and Tommy Bridges

August 2007 - Sarah & Chris Capel

July 2007 - Karen & Ben Barker

June 2007 - Adam Meyer

May 2007 - Liz Pullman

January 2007 - Julia Elsee

December 2006 - George McRae and Laura Young

November 2006 - Danny and Caroline Kadis

October 2006 - Stella Boswell and Craig Heinly

September 2006 - Robert & Pearl Seymour

August 2006 - Amin Davis