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Hospitality House’s Todd Carter Chosen as 2019 Big Wig of the Year

Todd Carter shows off his award sporting his big wig.

By Nathan Ham

Todd Carter, the Director of Development at the Hospitality House in Boone, has been named the 2019 Big Wig of the Year.

National Big Wig Day is a fun cause dedicated to raising money for charities and non-profit establishments that bring about a positive impact on people’s lives.

Carter was informed last week that he would be the 2019 Big Wig of the Year, which will be celebrated with National Big Wig Day this Friday, January 25. His award came in on Tuesday.

“This is a hard time of year after the holidays, suicide rates go up. What a better way to put on a wig and be silly and support your favorite non-profit,” Carter said on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the first year that the organization, based out of Los Angeles, has selected a regional non-profit to recognize.

“National Big Wig Day is going to be featured on a syndicated show at 1 p.m. this Friday on the local FOX affiliate,” said Carter. “With it getting national exposure, they wanted to have non-profits from each geographic region.”

This is the fourth year that the award has been given out.

Carter is a resident of Ashe County and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. At Hospitality House, he is responsible for handling public relations and donor relations, as well as organizing fundraisers, marketing campaigns and meeting current and potential donors interested in contributing to the Hospitality House.

In addition to his full-time job at Hospitality House, Carter serves on the Board of Directors for the Ashe County Coalition for the Homeless, serves as President of the Watauga Branch of the NAACP, is the founder of the Lauren Jaquays LGBTQ Youth Alliance and serves on the advisory board and as a supervisor for the North Carolina Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA program.

Carter wants to use this honor to remind people that each and every person can control their own lives and find ways to bring happiness into their lives.

“It’s just a way of saying you are the big wig of your own life and you’re in control. That’s kind of what we’re here to espouse at Hospitality House,” Carter said. “Being named the National Big Wig is just another way to help people own their life and be silly doing it. It doesn’t matter what your housing situation is, what your paycheck is, we each get to be silly and have fun. It’s fun to eat a donut on National Donut Day and fun to put on a wig on National Big Wig Day.”

In addition to the National Big Wig Day celebration, a fundraising link through the Hospitality House website has been set up for people to donate. The link can be found at https://www.hosphouse.org/bigwig.