|
|
|||
|
|
|
||
On the Spot - John Beck |
|
By Jacque Eckhardt-Nelson Administrative Director |
There are few people who are familiar with RAMP that don't immediately recognize the name John Beck. John has been with RAMP since 1985! To give you some perspective, that's the year that San Francisco won the Super bowl, Coca-Cola created "New Coke" in an attempt to attract younger consumers, Lionel Richie had Best Album of the Year, while Tina Turner rocked us with What's Love Got to do with It" as the number one record and
The Color Purple was Best Picture of the Year.
When I asked John to reminisce about his first days here at RAMP he stated, "I didn't have a clue. I really looked up to Ken Kerns who was the Executive Director at the time but unfortunately he left about six months after I started." When John started, RAMP had five employees and about 80 consumers. (This compares to our current counts of 35 employees and 1,275 consumers.) His first position with RAMP was as an Independent Living Advocate. From there he quickly moved into the Community Services aspect of RAMP. His focus in that role was accessibility awareness for businesses before it became a law to make facilities accessible. He also became actively involved in promoting disability-related legislation both locally and at the state level.
John states, without reservation, that in his early years at RAMP he didn't give his best effort. He said for several years RAMP was lacking focus and leadership which led to him not taking pride in the organization. Then in 1992, John Beck became the Executive Director and John credits her with channeling RAMP's potential into the very well focused and effective organization that it is today. "Julie brought the type of leadership that made staff want to be the best they can be," John recalls. It was Julie who convinced John to take charge of the fund raising for RAMP. John's initial reaction to this idea was that he didn't want to be the one to ask for money. He didn't want people to run in the other direction when they saw him coming. However, with Julie's continued encouragement, he took the perspective that there is money contributed to charities all the time and he liked the idea of being the person who would let people know about RAMP. He was comfortable with the idea of giving people the opportunity to support us without making them feel pressured or uncomfortable.
If you have had occasion to speak with John, you know that his commitment and belief in our mission is deeply seeded. When I asked John what is most important to him about the disability movement and the work that we do here at RAMP, he said "it is the opportunity to encourage people to look past their limitations and to focus on their abilities - to utilize their strengths and abilities." He went on to state "I believe that so much of what keeps people with disabilities from living the life they want isn't really because of their disability but because of their lack of belief in what they can do." John is a strong believer in "we get what we expect". He believes if we focus our energy and efforts on what we want, we will get it in some form. He also is a firm believer that everybody has a responsibility to do the most they can with their life. He loves that RAMP provides the impetus to move people with disabilities toward this outcome. He also loves that we expect people to take charge of their lives and that we are about personal responsibility and self-direction.
John is very confident in his beliefs because he lives them everyday. At the age of 16, John incurred a C 4-5 spinal cord injury in a diving accident. Since that time, John completed high school, earned a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Illinois, has spent 19 years working for and expanding the vision of RAMP, purchased a home, fell in love and is now happily married and the list goes on and on. John said his disability means he needs assistance with getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing and various other incidentals. He spoke very fondly of his Personal Assistant, Otha "Ned" Grayned. He states he has been able to count on Ned 7 days a week for 13 years! He is very grateful to Ned for this and feels extremely fortunate to have him. "One of the biggest apprehensions a person in my situation experiences is not knowing if there will be somebody there in the morning to get you up," said John. "Thanks to Ned, that's something I don't have to worry about. Regardless of whether he's under the weather or coming through bad weather, he shows up day after day. That's why I call him St. Ned."
John states his disability is just part of who he is. He meets every individual in his life whether a stranger or a long time friend with the attitude of "Here I am. This is who I am. You be who you are and lets see what happens." John's successes don't make him a "super gimp". They are simply a result of not being willing to be any less than who he really is.
I asked John what he thought he might be doing for work if he wasn't at RAMP. He thought for a moment and said probably some kind of work that had a goal of saving our natural environment. His eyes glimmered a bit when he spoke of his love for natural spaces, wildlife, trees, and water. He said there is just nothing more beautiful than landscape untouched by man. John said he would really like people to be more conscious of how their acts impact the environment. I asked him what else was important to him. He said his wife, family and other loved ones - people he has positive, enjoyable relationships with. He really enjoys the relationships in his life especially the one with his wife, Sandra. When not at RAMP, John enjoys reading, spending time at a family summer home in Wisconsin, watching sports, and serving as Alderman for Rockford's 12th Ward.
I asked John for some closing words of wisdom. He thought for a moment and said, "Focus your energy and thoughts on positive things - what you can do and not on what you can't do."
Have
comments about or problems with our site?
Contact the webmaster.