Constance Newnam Parker – Emeritus Member

Constance Newnam Parker was born November 19, 1943, in High Point, NC. Always a good student and graduating first in her class of 420 students, Connie was voted “Most Likely to Succeed”. Are you surprised? She was an only child whose mother was a career woman, which was not usual at that time; and Connie grew up with a role model for a successful woman. Her father was a small business owner, who was blessed with a mathematical mind. He would have preferred his daughter become a teacher, but she could not be persuaded to abandon her health care career path.

She developed her interest in nursing and a desire to attend the University of North Carolina by first volunteering while a teen Junior Red Cross Nurse’s Aide. When it came time to select colleges, she did not hesitate to attend Carolina and go into the nursing program to obtain a four-year Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. This program prepared her to teach or to become an administrator, while developing her knowledge of health care. After graduating from UNC in 1965 she worked as a hospital nurse for a year, and then was accepted in the Master of Nursing program at Chapel Hill in Psychiatric Nursing Education. As life continued to take Connie on different tracks, she could not officially pursue psychiatric nursing beyond her years in grad school; but it provided her with the training for life in learning how to listen carefully to people to hear what they were saying. She developed strong organizational skills and an ability to problem-solve to defuse issues before they got out of hand.

Also, while at Carolina, William Paxton Parker, Jr., a native of Nashville, TN, entered Connie’s life while she was a graduate student. He was a Neurosurgical Resident at UNC, having received his BS from Vanderbilt. After their marriage they moved to Florida for Bill to teach at the University of Miami and at the associated Veterans’ Hospital. While living in south Florida, their two children, Katharine and Matt were born. Matt would eventually go on to earn four degrees, the first at Vanderbilt University and the last, Master of Nursing at UNCW. He is a Family Nurse Practitioner in a family and sports medicine practice in Edenton, NC. Katharine lives in St. Petersburg, FL, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by an MBA from UNCW. She is a Senior Program Manager at WorkForce Trust Solutions out of Sunrise, FL. Her team works with human resources to place temporary health care professionals throughout the HCA hospital system. Connie also has two stepsons, five step grandchildren and one recently born grandson, Paxton.

In the early 1970’s Bill was pursued by a Neurological Surgery group from the Greensboro area when Dr. Lyndon Anthony of Wilmington invited him to come to visit and check out Wilmington and opportunities. Loving the beaches, water, boating and friends from Carolina who were in Wilmington, they decided to settle at the coast. Bill worked with Dr. Anthony and practiced from 1974 until his unexpected death in 2005.

Connie said to me, “As I was thinking about this interview, I wondered how do I start talking about all I have done?” She started volunteering mainly in organizational roles, problem solving, and working out solutions with her education and talents. As did many of us, she started out volunteering at school PTAs; first fundraiser chair, then president of that PTA. On to the next PTA, etc. Then came the Junior League of Wilmington and creation of Sea Scholars, an Environmental Education program at North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher which has worked with the public schools and fifth graders for 35 years. Connie is now an emeritus member on the NC Aquarium Society Board.

She became active with the local and then state chapters of the Medical Society Auxiliary. The memberships were outlets for a young mom to meet with others and be involved and still be home by the time children were home from school. And true to her nature, soon she was the President of first the local Medical Society Auxiliary and then the State Medical Society Auxiliary. The focus for the society during her year as president was Adolescent Health, dealing with physical and mental issues or comprehensive care. During her work with other professionals in this field, and learning what other communities were doing – “Healthy Carolina Task Force” was formed with Connie as a leader with former Health Department Directory Bob Parker encouraging her at every step.

During this time, in 1994, Connie headed the first fundraiser for the Arboretum on Oleander Drive and helped to start the Hospital Hospitality House with the New Hanover-Pender County Medical Auxiliary.

With donations from the Junior League, Woman’s Club, Medical Auxiliary and a grant from The Duke Endowment through New Hanover Regional Medical Center, plus a major national matching grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a total of $1,000,000 over three years, Wilmington Health Access for Teens (WHAT) was created. The grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was one of only 13 in the country awarded that year. No public monies were used to start WHAT but as their good works became know it was easier to solicit funds. Wilmington Health Access for Teens was born in 1995.

The New Hanover County school board was not in favor of school health centers in the schools and she faced opposition. Finally, WHAT was able to establish a school health center at Lakeside High School, an alternative setting, several years before they were able to establish school health centers in other schools. By delaying centers into traditional schools, a potential grant of $5 million was lost to the system. Once one seat on the Board of Education changed, that was the vote that enabled the Alliance to get health centers in what is now all four New Hanover County high schools. WHAT has now merged with Coastal Horizons to expand resources and contacts and people served. Of WHAT, Connie is now the Emeritus Executive Director.

In 2007 with WHAT in good shape and good hands and having been approached by the Kate B Reynolds Charitable Trust, Connie retired from WHAT and went on to establish the administration of the NC School Community Health Alliance. Traveling all over the state, she led the Alliance in supporting and creating school health centers around the state. Connie worked with the NC School of Community Health Alliance for six years until she facilitated an office move to the Raleigh area.

In 2014 as work with the NC School of Community Health Alliance was phasing out, she was asked to be on the Wilmington Tree Commission where she still serves as a member after six years, having been the chair for two years. As a side from the Wilmington Tree Commission, in December 2015, Connie was instructional in the organization of the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees.

Constance Newnam Parker joined the Cape Fear Garden Club in 1975 having been sponsored by Eleanor Hunt and Joan Pence. In 1975 two sponsors were required for membership.

The committees that Connie served on and enjoyed the most were Garden Therapy, Horticulture, and the Azalea Garden Tour. Connie served as Garden Tour Chair in
1979 and 1980. 1979 was the first time the Azalea Festival received statewide television promotion. Connie said that Jim Burns, a local TV announcer and celebrity, encouraged her to travel around the state promoting the garden tour and helped make arrangements for her to appear on TV stations across the state. Again, Connie persevered against skepticism due to her young age and her closer working relationship with the Azalea Festival organization. As a result of her efforts, the profits from the tour were doubled. When I asked why she never served as president of Cape Fear Garden Club, she said that just after she was garden tour chair, she was still too young to serve as President, but she wrote two short history books, Historical Highlights of Sixty Years: Cape Fear Garden Club 1925-1985 on the club’s 60th anniversary, and Historical Highlights of the Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Garden Tour: 1953-1986. During that time she became heavily committed to leadership roles in other organizations and could not commit the time when asked to consider the presidency of the garden club. She has remained a grower of orchids since she moved from Florida and continually wishes for more time in her greenhouse.

Among Connie’s achievements were: Being President of the New Hanover-Pender Medical Society Auxiliary; the NC Medical Society Auxiliary; the Junior League of Wilmington; a founder and President of the Cape Fear Community Foundation – now under the NC Community Foundation. She has been awarded and honored by receiving the 2010 StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award; The first class of Ladies of the Cape Fear; Citizen of the Year from the Civitan Club; 2016 Distinguished Alumni from UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing; Razor Walker Award from UNCW, “walking the razor’s edge” for the children and youth of North Carolina; Women in Health award from the YWCA; General Federation of Women’s Club Women of Achievement, 2005. To top it off, the NC School Based Health Alliance Board presents an Annual award in her name.

Regarding the Cape Fear Garden Club, Connie has seen changes occur which have brought the club from a smaller, more conservation and very traditional garden club to a broadly active, more engaged, more progressive, more effective community partner that reaches out to the community. Her recommendations are that we use the power of our numbers to strengthen our community in a positive way, as there is something in the club for everyone to make a difference. No one should think she or he has nothing to offer, as the more we contribute, the more we will enjoy being a part of the Cape Fear Garden Club.

Interview by Linda Snider March 6, 2019

Listed below are links to previously featured interviews:

Mrs. Caroline Augustine, President 1997 – 1998
Click here to read Mrs Augustine’s story which was featured in the Fall of 2015

June Rogers Knox, President 1994 – 1995
Click here to read Mrs Knox’s story which was featured in the February of 2019

Mrs. Jenene Curtis Smith, President 1993 – 1994
Click here to read Mrs Smith’s story which was featured in the Spring of 2015

Alma Fennell Ivey, President 1990 – 1991
Click here to read Ms.Fennell’s story which was featured in 2011.

Elma Porter Bowden, President 1988 – 1990
Click here to read Mrs Bowden’s story which was featured in 2018

Mrs. Lucien (Freda) Wilkins, President 1981 – 1983
Click here to read Mrs Wilkin’s story which was featured in the Fall of 2015

Mrs. Bruce (Dot) Bryant, President 1977 – 1979
Click here to read Mrs Bryant’s story.

Mrs. O. Raymond Hunt, President 1975 – 1977
Carole Ellis interviewed Mrs. O. Raymond (Eleanor) Hunt who served as Cape Fear Garden Club’s President 1975 – 1977, click here to read Mrs Hunt’s story as related to Carole.

Member – Mrs. Jane Mitchell – 1909-2009
Click here to read Mrs. Mitchell’s story which was featured March 2015. Interview and profile completed by Ms. Carol Ellis, 2009-2010.