Carol Beckley
Carol Beckley’s 17-year teaching career in Elkton and her experience with her family’s timber and ranching businesses inspired a desire to synthesize hard work, educational opportunities, and environmental stewardship. ECEC was created to turn that inspiration into reality as friends and neighbors came together to create a cultural, educational, and social oasis for all ages in rural Oregon.
In Carol’s own words, ECEC is the result of “many years of hard work — the kind of work I like!” Carol was involved in every aspect of building the organization and developing the site, working as a full-time volunteer for nearly 15 years. Her passion for the project inspired hundreds of other people to join the effort, creating a truly community-based center that has helped put Elkton on the map.
A Lasting Legacy
One of her greatest legacies is ECEC’s Youth Employment Program which has employed more than 100 area students over the years, instilling a love of community and a strong work ethic in an entire generation of young people. A strong work ethic is something Carol knows well—her own first job was selling daffodils in Scottsburg at 9 years old, and after graduating from high school she went on to earn a BA in Business Education from [college] and a Masters in Nonprofit Management from [university].
But for everyone who knows and loves her, it’s Carol’s energy, generosity and humor that keeps us motivated to carry her legacy forward.