MELODY WIGGINS
Retired from City of Graham as the Director of Recreation & Parks
Local Business Owner
Graham City Council Member
Melody spent her youth growing up in rural Stokes County, North Carolina with her three siblings. Her parents were a welder and housewife. Upon graduation from high school she attended and graduated from Appalachian State University in three and a half years with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation Administration and a minor in Business Administration. Having worked through college and paying for her own education, Melody immediately begin her career as a Director in the field of Parks and Recreation. She worked for 12 years for two other municipalities before being brought to the City of Graham as their first outside professional. Serving for more than two decades Wiggins worked to expand services, bring in new programs, build partnerships, renovate older facilities and build new facilities while balancing budgets and bringing more than 3 million dollars in grants to the city.
During this time, melody also enjoyed a 35 year career in officiating High School, College and Professional Sports. She was a referee and umpire in High School Volleyball, Basketball and Softball earning many state championship appearances. She enjoyed a career in NCAA Softball with numerous post season appearances including a National Championship. She was also an umpire in the Women’s National Professional Fastpitch League.
Today, Melody is a Business Partner at Shamrock Nutrition in Downtown Graham where she enjoys working to make people healthier and happier. She invites the public to visit her at Shamrock to get to know her and discuss any needs and opportunities.
As a member of the Graham City Council she has worked with more boards and committees than any other council member, except for the mayor, for four years. She has served as the Liaison to the Transportation Advisory Committee for the region, Liaison to the Historic Resources Commission and Liaison to the Graham Historic Museum. She has worked diligently with each board to create new opportunities and partnerships.
Beyond that work, she has been a part of the economic growth attracting companies like Lidl, Walmart, UPS and amazon and supporting our small business community to grow and thrive. Improving water and sewer services and planning for the Water Treatment Plant renovations. Improving sidewalks and streets, purchasing land for a new fire substation and increasing our public safety have also been large projects she has supported. As valuable to the city, are the opportunities created through partnerships and relationships making our city a place we all want to work and live.
Over the next four years, Melody is dedicated to continuing to build relationships that make our city strong, continuing to improve our economic development and support of our small businesses, while continuing to improve the city infrastructure, public safety and overall quality of life for our citizens.
To contact Melody, please write to her at wigginsforcouncil@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you.
PROFESSIONAL HONORS AND AWARDS
Outstanding Alumnus Award from Appalachian state University, Recreation Management Program
Distinguished Service, NC Recreation and Parks Directors Association
Meritorious Service Award, NC Recreation and Park Association
Distinguished Service in Sports Award, Alamance County Sports Development Council
Distinguished Service Award, NC High School Athletics Association
Instructor, Municipal and County Administrators School
Guest Lecturer, UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Greensboro
Member of the Board of Directors, NC Recreation and Parks Association