Women Who Lead: Margaret McJunkin
Margaret McJunkin
Phillis Wheatley Board Member
After finishing Sterling High School, Margaret McJunkin moved with her husband to Cleveland, Ohio, where they lived for 40 years. During that time, she raised six children and developed a passion for working with youth, starting a summer camp.
When the family moved back to Greenville, she wasted no time jumping right back into the local scene. Margaret spent three years on the Metropolitan Arts Council, five years on the United Way Impact Council, nine years as President of the Nicholtown Neighborhood Association, and served as Vice President of Greenville Democratic Women.
Currently, she has actively represented the Phillis Wheatley Organization for three years as a board member. She also worked on the Mayor's Advisory Group for the Greenville Community Development Board. Margaret began working with area youth, taking kids from Rocky Mount Baptist Church on trips as far as Ontario, Canada, to focus on African-American studies and history.
Since her husband's passing, Margaret is carrying on their dream of developing a Christian retreat center on their property at Bald Rock, where church groups and families can get away for Bible study or to simply relax.
Margaret counts her parents as roles models, citing their commitment to hard work and community activism as well as their influence on her love of reading, which she feels is the true basis of success. She believes nurturing children will secure Greenville's future: "We must involve children at a very young age, emphasizing the power of recreation and family involvement in directing their path in life."