Fred Bond Jr.

Fred Gaines Bond Jr. (January 1, 1929 – June 1, 1997) was an American politician and tobacco industry representative, associated with the Flue Cured Tobacco Stabilization Corporation (now the U.S. Tobacco Cooperative). He was a three-term mayor of Cary, North Carolina.

When he died, Bond was hailed as a “founding father" of Cary. Koka Booth, a later mayor of Cary, said, "Whatever Cary was and whatever Cary will be was because of Fred Bond's leadership."

Early life Bond was born in Elbert County, Georgia and was raised on a 102–acre cotton farm that also grew wheat, cantaloupe, watermelon, sweet potatoes, and food crops for the family's consumption. He graduated from Bowman High School in 1945, and then attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where his uncle was a professor. The corporation represents the states where flue–cured tobacco is grown—Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. As the assistant to the general manager, Bond traveled across the five-state service area, visiting tobacco farmers and making presentations about the benefits of quotas and price support. However, Bond was "a very popular elected official," and would have had no opposition if he had sought re-election. He wanted to keep what he referred to as "village atmosphere".

Bond was described as having "a quiet dignity and a steely, get-it-done attitude". The park includes athletic fields, an amphitheater, boathouse, a challenge course, a community center, hiking trails, picnic shelters, a playground, and a senior center. At the southern end of the park is Bond Lake and with a boathouse and boat rentals. It was cast in bronze by artist Carl Regutti in 1998 and was installed in two places: by the Bond Lake Boat House and at the Cary Town Hall Campus at316 N. Academy Street, Cary. They moved from Georgia to Cary, North Carolina for Bond's work. They had four children who were Cary natives: Lisa, Mark, Sharon, and Tim. Bond was an active member of First United Methodist Church in Cary. He was also president of the Triangle Recreation Club.

Bond survived cancer in 1981, but died in 1997 after his cancer returned.