New President for the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy

The Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy announces its next President is Louise Witherspoon Williams. Ms. Williams was born and raised in Alberta, AL. Her mother, Estelle Witherspoon, was the voice and heartbeat of the Freedom Quilting Bee, which she cofounded in 1966.

Mrs. Estelle Witherspoon was the stalwart of the Freedom Quilting Bee (FQB) from its inception in 1966. It was Mrs. Witherspoon’s leadership and finesse that made the FQB the basis for the quilt economy of the region and its prominence in the world of quilt art. Louise learned the value of family and community from her parents (Estelle and Eugene), grandmother, aunts, uncles, and elder cousins at an early age. Louise graduated from Pine Hill High School and moved to Mobile, AL to further her education. She graduated from 20th Century Business College.

As she assumes the role as President of the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, she will carry on the great work of the organization that was begun by outgoing President Elaine Williams.

We welcome Ms. Louise Witherspoon Williams as the new Board President and look forward to Elaine Williams (no relation) being a continuing Board member. There are several community centered projects and programs on the slate for the FQB Legacy. They include The Airing of the Quilts Festival scheduled October 8, 2022, Tour of Museums (a $3,000 grant from the Black Belt Community Foundation), and of course the Adaptive Re-use of the Freedom Quilting Bee Building for which the organization has received $35,000 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Louise Witherspoon Williams is a Public Health Analyst with the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Office of Policy, Partnerships and Planning, at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA.

Louise has traveled domestically and internationally with her husband, Eugene, who is a 21½ year U.S. Army Veteran and for her work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but she will always call Alberta home. She was delighted when asked to become a board member and then later to be elected President of the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, where she will follow in her mother’s footsteps to continue to enrich the lives of the people in Alberta and surrounding communities and to share the wonderful gifts the people of these communities bring to the world.