Local Resident Donates $20,000 for Parks

Eighty-seven-year-old Rochelle Bolyard, a lifelong resident and familiar figure at the Senior Games, has donated $20,000 to the Clayton Recreation Foundation for use at a local park.

Bolyard, who has set records as a Senior athlete, hasn't yet decided how she want's the money used, but hinted that it may go to help the games she has loved for so long.

"I've been involved with the Senior Games ever since they got started," she said, "and I know they can use the money. I want to do something for Senior Citizens. I've seen their faces light up when they win, and it might be the only thing they ever won. I think that's the best medicine---to get out and do something you didn't think you could do."

Long active in civic affairs, Bolyard said she "wants to give something back." The gift is in the name of her parents, Brinton and Bettie Coats Harrison, descendants of former president William Henry Harrison and his grandson Benjamin Harrison, also a former president.

"What's she's doing is a great way to honor her parents," said Parks & Recreation Director Larry Bailey. "It's a great gesture. I hope it will lead to other people doing similar things."

Bailey said he has long depended on Bolyard and husband Marion, who passed away a few years ago, for help and support. Both have served on the Senior Games Advisory Committee.

"I've looked to them a lot for consultation and ideas over the years," he said. "They've always been great people who stayed active and enjoyed life."

Though she worked in state government for many years and as Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, many know Bolyard best as a record-setting athlete who loves to compete. She’s participated in the Johnston County Senior Games and North Carolina Senior Games for the last 21 years and has placed at the National Senior Olympics. She's even carried the Olympic Torch through town.

One thing she's especially proud of is the Department of Agriculture's designation of her family as a Century Farm Family after more than 100 years of continual farming. She's a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as being a life member and former County Chair of the Roanoke Island Historical Association.

She likes speaking to groups, especially children, about her life and the things she's accomplished. And what advice does she give them?

"I tell them to always do your best."