Bess Averett is home.
The executive director of Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park & Campaign never really left her hometown, but she’s helping serve a Vicksburg landmark that has always seemed like home.
“My first house was on Fort Hill Drive, so the (Vicksburg National Military) park was literally in my backyard as a little girl,” she said. “I have a lot of memories of going out for family walks at night up to Fort Hill at sunset.
“When the board approached me, it was like I thought this position was created for me. I love Vicksburg, I love the park, I love nonprofit work.”
Averett has worked with nonprofit organizations like Friends since graduating from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and public relations.
“I took an elective course in non-profit public relations,” she said. “I think it was my junior year and we learned to write a grant. We got to write a grant as a part of the class, and it was a powerful moment for me to know that if you can find a cause and tell its story to the right person or committee, and have it funded.
“I think from that point on, I’ve been a sucker for nonprofits.”
She started her career at the Southern Heritage Culture Center as its first assistant director and later became executive director before moving to Ameristar Casino as communications manager.
“In fact, my role at Ameristar, in addition to team member communication and the press, was the public relations side that worked with the charities and volunteer work so throughout my career, I’ve been focused on nonprofits and volunteer work.”
She became executive director of Friends in 2012.
“Originally, it was a part-time position,” she said. “I had small children, so it was the feeling I could get back to the nonprofit world but also have a balance of work life and family life.”
Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park & Campaign, she said, “Does a beautiful job of helping to advocate for those projects, helping to create a better connection between the park and the public it serves by having more volunteer events and creating more special programs to get people in the park more often and to take a bit more ownership of our park.”
Most of the members of her board are people she has worked with on other organizations, Averett said, and focused and passionate about the organization’s mission.
“I’m honored to serve them. They have a vision for this park that I share, and it’s a fun job. It’s nice to get up in the morning and got to work every day because you know that you’re making things better. Making an impact.”
Friends, she said, has a four-part mission.
Educating people about the park, which is done through special lectures, special programs; preserving the battlefield and the battlefields at Raymond, Grand Gulf and Champion Hill for future generations; restoration, “Keeping this hallowed ground looking as much as possible to its wartime condition,” including keeping monuments, tablets and cannons in pristine condition, and special events, like concerts and volunteer work days.
The biggest challenge, she said, is fundraising, because people know the Military Park is part of the National Park Service, which is funded through the federal government.
“So I think there is a barrier where people think, ‘Why do I need to fund something that’s already funded through my tax dollars?’ I think it’s maybe an easier hurdle than past organizations have because people now know what our national budget looks like, and they know how tight it is and how many programs and services are cut.
“So as the Congress continues to try and get a balanced budget and reduce out national debt, the reality is national parks are not going to get more money. Hopefully it will stay the same, and hopefully it will not be less. There are long lists of needs that are not met within the federal budget each year.”
Which means the need for partner groups like Friends is increasing, she said.
“We have so many monuments here that need care, need maintenance, need restoration; we have programing that requires funds. Everything costs money — special programming, interpretive programming; having our school kids come in and have an experience more than just driving through the park. All that costs money.
“That includes the work at the Grand Gulf, Champion Hill and Raymond battle sites (which were put under the VNMP in 2014), as well as the land here at the Military Park battlefield.”
Averett said she enjoys interacting with the tourists.
“I think I knew tourism was a big industry for us, and I knew we had tourists from all over the country and all over the world, but I don’t think you grasp that until you’re here in the middle of it,” Averett said. “We see it every day and don’t think about the significance of what happened here, and people come from all over the world to see it and hear that story I think it makes our hometown a pretty amazing place.”
Her vision, she said, is to one day know Friends helped grow the park and helped to better tell the story of the Vicksburg Campaign and Siege, “And preserved more of that hallowed ground so other generations can here that story.” She hopes the story will include the Grand Gulf, Raymond and Champion Hill.
“It’s one thing to tell people about Grant’s approach, and the role Vicksburg played in our nation’s history, but it’s another to stand in those places and see where those soldiers fought and see the route that was taken.”
Averett said she wants to stay with Friends, adding, “I love the direction it’s going. I really enjoy working with the park staff. There are so incredibly knowledgeable and passionate people on this team, and I enjoy learning from them. “I’ve lived here all my life, but I certainly don’t know a fraction of what they know about some of the history. So it’s exciting for me to learn something new from this really professional staff.
“I hope as the organization grows, our influence will grow with the park and our shared vision will grow, and I hope we have more volunteers. I wish more people would do that. It increases your appreciation for the park.”