The Story of CFLC’s First Executive Director
By Yasmin Tomkinson
“God gave me the ability to see people’s needs and potential and I work hard to provide people with the opportunities they need to learn and grow and give. For the clients we serve, I try to understand where they come from and encourage them to take advantage of the services we provide. Because of the obstacles I have overcome in my life, I can relate to them with honest and sincere encouragement.” — Billie Carol Granger, Founding Director of the Cape Fear Literacy Council
Billie was born in Lake Waccamaw and grew up in Tabor City. She was the oldest of six children — four girls and two boys. Her father was a small tobacco farmer, and every member of the family worked hard together.
Billie married her first boyfriend, Claude Granger, who just happened to be the boy who lived on the farm next door. Billie and Claude moved to Wilmington where he went to work as a shipping clerk for a milk and ice cream company.
Claude and Billie had four sons: Randy, Dennis, Mike, and Doug. She said, “I was always involved in school, church, little league, boy scouts and all the other activities that are connected with raising children. My life was centered around church, family, and work, to each of which I gave 100%.”
Billie got a job as a weaver at the Jimmie Corporation in 1966 and worked there for 25 years. But when the plant shut down in 1985, Billie did not know what to do next. One Sunday, she mentioned that she was interested in volunteer work and Marsha Cook, the Christian Social Minister for the Baptist Association, encouraged her to become a volunteer literacy tutor.
A little while later, Marsha asked Billie why she got involved in literacy. Billie explained to her “I had worked with a man that could not read. He was the best machinist in the plant, and I had always admired him for his achievement even though he did not have reading skills. I really felt God had directed me to help people like him. This was a skill I could pass on.”
Marsha shared that the Cape Fear Literacy Council (CFLC) was in the process of obtaining its nonprofit status and becoming a community program instead of a Baptist Mission Project. There was no money to pay staff, so volunteers were needed to help get the agency up and going. Billie volunteered many hours each week, recruiting volunteer tutors and students, with Marsha’s guidance.
Eventually, Marsha said that there was a grant for Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) and asked Billie if she would serve in that way. It paid very, very little, so it was a difficult decision for Billie to make. She said, “I prayed a lot about it in the next few weeks. The more I prayed, the more excited I became about the direction the Literacy Council was going in and about how much I wanted to be a part of it. I was witnessing people being helped and learning about the need for such a program. I knew that I wanted to take this position more than anything. One night as I was praying, I remembered that God had promised that when one door was closed another would be opened, but that I must be willing to walk through.” For the next year and a half, Billie worked as VISTA and learned a great deal from Marsha who was her mentor, friend, and supervisor.
In 1987 Billie became the first Executive Director of the Cape Fear Literacy Council, and because of her leadership, CFLC became a thriving, independent non-profit agency that received local, state and national recognition. With the love, support and encouragement of her family, especially Claude, Billie led CFLC for almost 20 years.
And she left a legacy: this year, CFLC celebrates 40 years of serving this community.