Ask folks in Evergreen if they know Beth Riser and you’ll get a variety of answers. “Yeah! She’s the president of the Evergreen Artists’ Association.” “Yep! She’s that fabulous photographer.” “Of course! She’s a wonderful mother!” “Oh, Beth? Yes! She’s the new owner of The Evergreen Gallery!” Beth is all of these and so much more!

The youngest of six kids, Beth was born in Winchester, Virginia. It came naturally to respect, if not love, football. “My father was the University of Maryland quarterback, and went on to the nationals. He was recruited by the Green Bay Packers. Back then,” she added, “he was earning something like $500 a year.” Then, the Baltimore Colts considered him, but that was when Johnny Unitas showed up.” Beth rolled her eyes and smiled. “He really admired Unitas!” Her father left football and went into custom furniture design, “mostly for athletes – they needed larger and deeper design.” Her mother was a stay-at-home mother “until my father built a gift shop in an apple orchard. I was about 8 years old and I learned to do inventory and run the cash register.” That was the beginning of Beth’s learning the skills of how to run a business.