Hello

I was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia and lived most of my adult life in the Washington, DC area. Born to James Frazier and Catherine Foard Fort, of Chattanooga, TN and Wilmington, NC respectively, I attended Fairfax County public schools until my Junior year when I went to boarding school in Vermont. Following my time at Bard College, I stayed in the Hudson Valley for a number of years before returning to Washington. Planning to follow in my lobbyist father’s footsteps after working on Capitol Hill during high school and college, I instead fell into a 30+ year career in association and event management. After working for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Global Environment Fund and the National League of Cities, I started my own association and event management company, Fort Resource Group, in 2012. 

 

In 2016, I relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina, where my family has roots going back nearly 300 years. Officially retiring in 2018, I turned my attention to my passion for history and genealogy, and discovered the Scottish Society of Wilmington. After serving a term as Secretary, I was elected president in 2021 and helped guide the organization through the pandemic with virtual Burns Suppers and other online presentations. In 2022, I was contacted by a group of people working to bring Highland Games back to Wilmington and used my previous experience to help produce the first Port City Highland Games, planned and organized in less than 4.5 months. I enjoy being able to use my skills to manage the organization and produce the Games and a variety of events for the membership, including cèilidhs and Burns Suppers, and am proud to have added “festival organizer” to my resume.

 

I also serve as Secretary of the Cape Fear Scottish Immigration Memorial Fund, an organization dedicated to honoring the memory of the thousands of Scots who immigrated to Brunswick Town on the Cape Fear River. In addition to the memorial, which has just been built, the Fund is developing the North Carolina Scottish Trek, identifying locations of significance in the Scottish immigrants’ settlement of North Carolina from the coast to the mountains. I am pleased to have learned a new skill, website design and management, to help these organizations. 

 

A natural storyteller, I have enjoyed speaking to groups as diverse as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Duplin County Public Library children’s summer program. As a lifelong learner myself, I take classes through OLLI and other organizations. With many Patriot ancestors, I am honored to participate in the annual commemoration of the Battle of Moore’s Creek, even though my role is to pay homage to the Loyalists. I have also been studying Gaelic for over 10 years and look forward to traveling back to Scotland soon.

 

Other current affiliations include WHQR Community Advisory Board, Cape Fear Sail and Power Squadron, Daughters of the American Revolution, Wise Women of River Bluffs, An Comunn Gàidhealach Ameireaganach, Woodstock Country School Alumni Group, and Àr nDraiocht Fèin. Previous affiliations include Meeting Professionals International, Holmes Run Acres Civic Association, and others. I am an excellent advocate and communicator, and an administrative and governance geek.