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2022 NC Main Street Champion
In nineteen eighty-six, Marilyn Gardner became a resident of Fuquay-Varina and has been downtown's biggest cheerleader ever since. Community involvement has been a hallmark of Marilyn's life. As a two-term elected Town Commissioner, she serves on the Fuquay-Varina Downtown Board of Directors and Friends of the Fuquay-Varina Museums. In nineteen ninety-three, Marilyn was one of the official incorporators of Fuquay-Varina New Century, a steering committee formed to determine the viability of a Fuquay-Varina Main Street Program. Marilyn's service to the community doesn't just involve the time she spends in boardrooms. The giant chick at Easter Candy Hop, is Marilyn in costume. The caroler leading songs on the sleigh rides is Marilyn. The Commissioner sledding down the snowy hill in a Santa hat at the Town Tree Lighting is Marilyn.
Marilyn’s greatest accomplishment is the Downtown Generational Plan she advocated for which will be finalized in two thousand twenty-three. Her forward-thinking devotion to downtown is only one of the reasons why Fuquay-Varina has chosen Marilyn Gardner to be its two thousand twenty-two Main Street Champion.