1996
Betty H. Sherrill

Betty Sherrill, former president of the Transylvania County Historical Society, received the award in 1996 for spearheading the drive to preserve the oldest known wood-frame house west of the Blue Ridge, the William Deaver House. Sherrill’s ties to Western North Carolina run deep. “I’m not just interested in the Deaver House or the history of Transylvania County, but the counties that touch on us.”