A.B. “Brownie” Futrell, Jr., publisher emeritus of the Washington Daily News, has been named to the board of directors of NC Beautiful.
The mission of NC Beautiful is to foster environmental stewardship through education and outreach to perpetuate the natural beauty of North Carolina. Chartered in 1967 as a part of Gov. Dan K. Moore’s pledge to emphasize and protect the physical beauty of the state, the organization is funded entirely through private donations and does not accept any tax dollars.
Projects initiated by NC Beautiful include the Adopt-A-Highway program, the highway wildflower program, the NC School Beautification awards and the Take Pride in the Carolinas program. Today, the main focus of the organization is providing environmental education grants to classroom teachers for local school-based projects. Among the recipients of an NC Beautiful grant has been the Washington Public Montessori School.
Futrell also serves as a member of the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Authority.