Leslie
Riggins’ roots are five generations deep in California. She’s not “from around here,” but we are glad
she got here as fast as she could. We
can thank her husband, Ward P. (Skipper) Riggins III, for that.
How
the couple met is testimony to the drive behind the creative genius of the NoAshAtAll.org website.
In 1982, Leslie was videoing museums when she had the idea that brides
and grooms might like videos of their weddings, too. Perhaps, she thought, a
wedding photographer would like to add that feature to his or her package.
With
a hefty Orange County telephone book, she started—in the Yellow
Pages—alphabetically calling the 800 professional photographers listed. No, no, no was all she heard until Skipper, a
stranger, said yes. Business led to
friendship, eventual courtship and marriage in 1996. Four years ago, Leslie moved with Skipper to
his hometown, and she fell in love with Southeast Georgia.
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In 2012, Leslie Riggins moved to Wayne County with
her husband, Ward P. (Skipper) Riggins III. Since
the
March 16 coal-ash public meeting, the former
environmental land-use planner
has donated more than
300 hours to the anti-coal-ash-dumping campaign by
creating its website: NoAshAtAll.org.
In addition, she
designed the group’s logo and brochure. The California
native has adopted Wayne
County. She loves it so
much that she
encouraged her mother, Franceen
Webb, a retired second-grade teacher from Palm Springs,
to move here. Leslie beams,
“And Mom loves it, too!”
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And
that’s when Wayne County got lucky—twice.
A talented Jesup native came home, and he brought his gifted wife with
him. Skipper is working on a graduate
degree in special education. Leslie, a Microsoft-certified web designer and
online-technical writer, is working nearly nonstop in our community’s fight to
keep Republic Services from dumping toxic coal ash in its Broadhurst
Environmental Landfill.
“We
really lucked up getting Leslie involved in our cause,” says Peggy Riggins, a
leader in the volunteer No Ash At All group.
“I had no idea how extremely talented she is. Her designs are phenomenal! I cannot imagine what this quality of work
would cost us, and she provides it all for free. She is another example of the hundreds of
people who love Wayne County enough to give their time and talents to protect
it.”
After
Skipper and Leslie attended the March 16 public meeting on coal ash, the couple
was ready to go to work. “Skipper’s not
just my husband,” Leslie says. “He’s my best friend.” Her best friend has also been her cheerleader
as Leslie has poured more than 300 hours into the website design. And that doesn’t count her work designing the
campaign’s logo or its brochure.
Peggy
is right. Leslie has been a
godsend. From zero to wide-open, she has
taken a concept and given us a comprehensive communications tool, drawing
accolades from across America. A day
rarely passes without someone’s e-mailing me a “wow” compliment. I’m quick to pass the kudos to Leslie. She blushes and shrugs off praise by saying,
“There have been no constraints on budget.
It’s been an act of love. It’s
been a wonderful thing to do … with the freedom to invent the page. I enjoy watching it come together.”
Leslie
doesn’t consider herself an activist, but she was a group leader to get GMOs (genetically
modified organisms) in food on the ballot in California. “When you see something that is wrong, you
just have to fight,” she says. “Putting
toxic and carcinogenic materials over a watershed is just wrong. I had to get involved.”
Thank you, Leslie.
We are glad you got to Wayne County
as fast as you could.
