Lake Junaluska names leadership award winners
Judy and Ed LaFountaine have a deep connection to Lake Junaluska. Donated photo
Judy and Ed LaFountaine, wife and husband, are the 2024 recipients of the Junaluska Leadership Award, an honor bestowed annually during Associates Celebration Weekend at Lake Junaluska, which was held recently at the new Warren Center.
Associates Celebration Weekend is a gathering of charitable supporters of Lake Junaluska. The award recognizes strong leaders who support the mission and ministry of Lake Junaluska Assembly through their labors of love, service and charitable gifts.
The LaFountaines said they were surprised, honored and humbled to receive the award and are grateful for the opportunity to serve a place that means so much to them.
“For us, living at the Lake means being part of a wonderful community and fellowship,” the couple said in a joint statement.
The LaFountaines, who grew up in Waynesville and graduated from Tuscola High School, have been active supporters of Lake Junaluska since they returned to the area in 2005 following Ed’s retirement from the military. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Ed piloted helicopters, C-130 and C-135 transport aircraft and other planes before retiring as a two star major general. Judy graduated from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and worked as a preschool and primary school teacher. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.
Their connection to Lake Junaluska runs deep, especially Ed’s. Growing up in Waynesville, Judy frequented the “old” swimming pool and playground as a child. While Ed grew up in Waynesville, his family eventually built and moved into a house on Harrell Drive at Lake Junaluska in 1964 when he was in the ninth grade. His grandmother ran a gift shop at the old boat house where the Harrell Center now stands, and his grandfather was a Methodist minister.
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Ed also worked at the lake every summer during high school as a “gate boy” at the Lake’s East Gate entrance.
For 10 years, the couple has served as co-chairs of the annual Lake Junaluska Flea Market held each June at the Nanci Weldon Open-Air Gym, raising nearly $250,000 during their tenure. They collect donations, repair broken items and store them until the sale. The event, which raised over $30,000 this year, is the largest fundraiser for The Junaluskans, a volunteer service organization that supports Lake Junaluska, and draws thousands of shoppers each year. Additionally, Ed has served on the board and as chairman of the Lake Junaluska Assembly Property Owners Organization and the Community Council, and on the Lake Junaluska Board of Trustees.
