Karlyn Armsworthy

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By Bridgett Dillard
Davie Community Foundation

Karlyn (Phipps) Armsworthy graduated from Davie County High School in 2009.
“After high school, I knew I wanted to serve others, but I just wasn’t exactly sure how,” she said.
Initially drawn to teaching, her early college experience helped her discover that a career in business could also be a powerful platform for her to make a positive impact.
“I found that a career in business could allow me to lead with purpose, support others, and create opportunities for growth and mentorship,” she said. This realization shaped her academic and professional journey and the scholarships she received from the Davie Community Foundation played a crucial role in making it all possible, she said.
Throughout her undergraduate studies, she received several local scholarships: the James McGuire Scholarship, the Dianne and Allen Snipes Family Scholarship, and the Helen C. Gantt Memorial Scholarship.
“The scholarships I received gave me the financial freedom to truly focus on my education,” she said. “But more importantly, they showed me that others believed in my potential.”
Karlyn attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in communication studies in 2013. Later, she completed her master’s degree in business administration at Gardner-Webb University in 2021.
Today, she is the director of customer and community relations at Liberty Sheds in Mocksville. She helps carry out the company’s mission of using business as a platform for ministry by building relationships, supporting nonprofit organizations, and coordinating impactful service projects.
Through Liberty Sheds, she’s had the opportunity to participate in mission trips to a children’s home in Mexico, where her team helped build a school, and to a refugee camp in Greece. “Both experiences were powerful reminders of the difference we can make when we step out of our comfort zones and serve others with compassion.”
Karlyn also teaches business courses as an adjunct instructor at Catawba Valley Community College, a role that brings her full circle to her initial passion for education. She also serves on the boards of Family Promise of Davie County and Serving Our Neighbors, a local food ministry, and stays actively involved in other volunteer efforts.
Karlyn said the most valuable lesson she’s learned on her journey is the importance of integrity and consistency. “Titles and accomplishments are great, but people remember how you showed up and, even more importantly, how you treated them,” she said.
To the donors who helped make her education possible, she offers a heartfelt thank you. “Your generosity made a difference, not just in my education, but in the life I’ve been able to build since then. Thank you for investing in students like me and for continuing to support young learners in our community.”
Karlyn and her husband, Bradley, a fellow Davie High graduate and quarry plant manager for Blue Water Industries, have made their home on a small horse farm in Davie County.
“Professionally, I’m excited to continue growing at Liberty Sheds and finding new ways to expand our impact across the communities we serve. Personally, I’m focused on being present for the people in my life, continuing to serve where I’m called, and embracing whatever new challenges and opportunities come my way.”
The Davie Community Foundation “inspires philanthropy to strengthen Davie County for present and future generations.”
The foundation is working to promote a spirit of giving and build a permanent endowment. Earnings from the endowment will benefit Davie organizations and projects. The foundation accepts gifts in any amount, at any time: for an existing fund, the Community Scholarship Fund, or the Davie Community Impact Fund. Options for establishment of named funds in honor or memory are also available.
To learn more, contact Jane Simpson at (336) 753-6903 or jsimpson@daviefoundation.org or visit www.daviefoundation.org.