Jim Sullivan, ForestWatch Advisor, and founding member

ForestWatch Faces

Get to know the folks who make it happen

This web feature spotlights some of the special folks behind the scenes of Georgia ForestWatch. If you'd like to nominate someone for ForestWatch Faces, please contact our office by clicking the e-mail link below.

Meet Carole Ligi: Volunteer Extraordinaire

A good friend told Carole Ligi that "if you want to meet the right people in Ellijay, volunteer at Georgia ForestWatch!" Now, over seven years later, Carole remains one of the most dependable supports for the office staff for larger projects—as well as a lively and charming individual with whom to visit.

Carole is a native of New York City, and also lived in Paris and Belgium before returning to the Big Apple for another 25 years. She then moved to Northern California where she began to study herbalism and sell herbal products. During a trip to Miami, she happened to stop in Cartersville to visit a co-worker on Lake Allatoona and was enchanted by the North Georgia Mountains—enough to relocate to Acworth to be close to them. After observing that many of her weekends were spent visiting friends in Ellijay, she ultimately decided that it was where she needed to be, and we are lucky neighbors indeed.

An afternoon with Carole can yield many wonders: A discussion of a recent NPR interview with a best-selling author, a story about the elite "21 Club" in its illustrious heyday, or a recitation of Sufi poetry. "I’m an eternal student," she says, with a gleam in her eye. Her current topics of interest include nutritional awareness, Middle Eastern studies, and following the cultural programming on LINKTV—Television Without Borders.

Georgia ForestWatch has enjoyed Carole’s help as well as lively discussions and debates since 2003, and she has been recognized as ForestWatch’s Volunteer of the Year. Our membership mailings are nearly effortless with her company and endless curiosity about human nature and our relationship to our larger world. And Carole continues to learn with us as well as meet new friends. "Now I know the right people," she says with a grin. "Georgia ForestWatch has definitely broadened my horizons tremendously."

Thanks to Carole, Georgia ForestWatch is running smoother AND has a wider cultural perspective!

ForestWatch Faces archive:

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