Betty Martinez Lowery – president- social media

After decades of vacationing in Lake Lure with her husband of nearly 50 years and their  4 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren, Betty and Darrell purchased their retirement home in Rumbling Bald in 2018. Betty retired from Walt Disney World, where she led the company’s Corporate Citizenship, Community Relations & Philanthropy efforts for nearly 17 years. 

Betty began her professional career in education, progressing from the classroom to district level roles in community engagement and as the district public information officer for Orange County Public Schools for 10 years. She later spent 10 years as the Executive Director of a nonprofit human relations organization prior to joining Disney. She served on numerous nonprofit boards in Orlando before moving to Lake Lure. She is delighted to lend her experience in community engagement, fundraising and nonprofit management to the important mission of Lil’s Thrift Shop. 

Karin has had a dog by her side her entire life, almost all of them rescues. These beloved furry family members have watched her grow up. There was the white one with the brown spots who let her, and her brothers dress him up and dance in front of the tv. There was the little spunky shedding machine who would sit on the pile of papers as she’d grade late into the night. There was the Bassett Hound who lay next to her when she started labor. There was the bestdogintheworldever who taught everyone in the family how to be kind and chill out. And now there is the goofy giant who walks with curiosity around the new home Karin and her husband, Chad, have recently moved into in Lake Lure. (They moved from a small farm close to Charlotte, and their kids, Boden, Emily, and Carlos are still there.) There were lots more animals on her journey, including horses, cats, fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, birds, ducks, sheep, goats, and even alpacas. They have all been a huge part of her life, and she is thrilled to be a part of Lil’s to support animals through some amazing non-profits.

Come visit Karin at Lil’s and talk about "hug patrol," selling luggage and fountain pens, teaching, swapping travel tales, founding a non-profit “free store,” Guatemala, professional organizing, or the writing groups she leads around town.

After a 35 year career in retail, Kathy and her husband Greg retired and moved from Madison Wisconsin to beautiful Lake Lure in 2019.  While they missed much about their time in Wisconsin, they were thrilled to pack away the parkas and mittens and enjoy milder winters for the first time. Kathy worked mostly in leadership positions in inventory management, but also worked in operations, marketing, merchandising and logistics. Within her first year of retirement, with retail in her blood along with a love of animals, Kathy felt volunteering at Lil’s Thirft Shop was a good match. She enjoys talking with the many regular customers at Lil’s as well as meeting the many visitors who stop by the shop. She is incredibly grateful to the generous donors who bring their treasures to the shop to find new forever homes. 

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Kathy is a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan. She enjoys boating and golfing and is working hard to break that elusive 100.

Jamie Bardol moved to Lake Lure full time approximately 2 years ago from Florida. She tells all that she moved here because of the wonderful people, and her love for nature and animals. Jamie spent the last two decades self-employed running a real estate investment firm, and in her spare she time ran a business called “Loving Petcare by Jamie” in which she cared for her communities pets in her home. Many dogs have severe anxiety getting boarded so Jamie gave them a great home while their parents at were away! The dogs loved it almost as much as Jamie did!  Before that she was a divisional manager for a Fortune 500 bank offering loans to homeowners. She was also a financial specialist for Wells Fargo Bank. Her passion is animals and she is always available to help when it comes to our fur-babies. 

Becky grew up in Ohio and loves all animals, but from the age of five, horses were her first love. She was fortunate to be able to stay on the farm and raise horses while raising her three daughters. Becky raised and showed Arabian Horses and over the years had six National Championships.

When her husband retired they spent the winters in Sarasota, FL and summers in northeast Ohio. After her husband’s death in 2000 she became a full time Florida resident, where she met Bill Swirles. She and Bill came to Lake Lure on a time share and in 2006 bought a condo in Mountain Village. After they married in 2012 they left Sarasota and became full time residents of Lake Lure. Becky is an avid golfer and very active in the golf community at Rumbling Bald.

Volunteering is a way of life for Becky from running fund raisers for various organizations to pounding nails at Habitat for Humanity. She just recently joined the volunteers team at Lil’s Thrift Shop.

Karen P Donovan, BA, RVT, APLB Certified Bereavement Counselor

PET LOSS AND BEREAVEMENT COUNSELING

Education:
* Degree: Arcadia University, BA Psychology
* Associate Degree: Veterinary Technology from Manor College

Areas of Special Interest:
* Client Education

* Hospice and Palliative care management.

* Pet Loss and Animal Bereavement Counselor

Karen came to live in PA, USA from Wexford Ireland in 2001 and having completed her studies worked as a CVT at Rau Animal Hospital in PA from 2006 – 2018 as an O.R/Anesthesia technician. She was an adjunct instructor at Manor College Veterinary Technology program from 2014- 2017. Karen became a certified bereavement counselor through the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement in Feb 2017 and started working at Asheville Buncombe County Technical College in 2020, where she teaches young Veterinary Technicians to become the best they can be, she also serves on the advisory board of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. She has lived in Lake Lure with her wife, Joy, dog Mellie and cat Rosie since Sept 2018 and is an avid animal lover.

Professional Organizations

* National American Veterinary Technicians Association (NAVTA)

* Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA)

* Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB)

* International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC)

Diane Conroy is new to Lake Lure. She lives in Apple Valley and comes all the way from Washington State to live out her golden years closer to her 5-year-old granddaughter and extended family. Diane’s hobbies include cheese making, cooking/baking, hiking and spoiling her 2 golden retrievers.

Cathe Frierman has been a volunteer at Lil's Thrift Shop since first arriving in Lake Lure in 2014.  She currently leads Lil’s volunteer recruitment and training efforts. Simultaneous to her volunteering at Lil’s, Cathe has served on the Board of The Friends of Mountains Branch Library in Lake Lure.  Cathe has been married to her husband Michael for 42 years.  She received a Masters in Social Work, a field in which she practiced until retirement.  Cathe loves reading and yoga — and has a deep passion for animals.  Most important, she has two rescue kitties from the Rutherford County Humane Society.   Stop by and say hello to Cathe.  She would love to see you.

In 2017, Debra Gardner and her husband Greg, along with their two cats, Bandit and Chatty, moved to Lake Lure from Baltimore, MD.  The prior year, Deb sold her human resources consulting business, which she started in 1990, and agreed to work part-time for the new owners. Having a type-A personality, she was not ready to completely slow down and wanted to get involved in the community.  As a lover of thrift shops and an animal lover (of all kinds), she knew that volunteering at Lil’s was the right choice for her. The rest is history!  

Michelle Kreitman moved to the Lake Lure area from Dallas TX about 5 years ago with her husband Eric. After raising 4 human children, they are now the “parents” of two lovely whippets, River and Furgie and a sweet kitty named Monroe – all of whom have now found their forever homes with Michelle and Eric.

Michelle has had many careers in her life including IT consulting and sales, interior design work, teaching and retail experience.  She lends her talents to Lil’s through sign making, merchandising, creative thinking, some occasional process re-engineering and customer service.

River and Furgie usually come to work at Lil’s with Michelle and would love to meet you.

After first buying a condo in Rumbling Bald when their 25th anniversary Alaskan cruise was cancelled due to Covid, Donna and Paul loved the community and mountain area so much they traded up to a Canadian log home to be able to spend more time in Lake Lure.

Donna spent over 35 years as a career marketer, including senior leadership positions and Chief Marketing roles at USAA, Whirlpool Corporation, Anheuser-Busch and Cardinal Health.  She most recently ran a successful marketing consulting practice for over 10 years, helping small businesses build their brands and drive customer loyalty.  Now mostly retired, they enjoy boating, hiking and golfing but Donna won’t divulge her handicap given she’s still learning. 😊 

Donna has always had a passion for volunteering, serving as a mentor for young female professionals, serving on the Michigan Board of Habitat for Humanity, and a volunteer at a Safe Shelter.  A great love for Donna and Paul are their two English Cream Golden Retrievers, Riley and Indy, who love the mountain air and hiking even more!  The mission and volunteering at Lil’s speaks to Donna’s heart and her passion for animal

When Louisa McBrayer Koken’s grandparents purchased property on Lake Lure back in the 1940s, a family tradition was born of spending weekends and summers on the beautiful waters of Lake Lure. 

Born and raised in Rutherfordton, Louisa is the Lil’s volunteer with the deepest local roots. She attended St. Mary’s College in Raleigh and the University of Tennessee (go Vols!) where she studied journalism, leading to a 30+ year career working in advertising and marketing in the newspaper industry. Louisa married Bob Koken, and together they raised two lovely daughters, Kate currently living in Dallas, and Anna, who resides in Baltimore. But always, Lake Lure would hold a special place in her heart, with the family dividing their time between their primary home in Greenville, SC and Lake Lure. 

It was a chance conversation that first led Louisa to Lil’s Thrift Shop. Definitely a dog person, Louisa had been searching for a nonprofit where she could volunteer her wonderful skill set. Once Louisa heard about Lil’s mission to promote animal welfare and abuse prevention in Rutherford County — even though she had never once in her life set foot in a thrift store — she was hooked! It was all about the mission for Louisa.