'GoGo' Beth Heile inspires others to make a difference

As a young 5-year-old, her family would walk through the local flea market every Saturday in Marion where she would pet a group of coon dogs tied to trees. Knowing they needed love and attention, she made sure to pat them equally; if she thought she had failed to love them equally, she would start over.

“I was doing the best I could,” Heile said as she showed a picture of herself at this age. “I was making a difference in the lives of those dogs.”

Heile then explored more about her upbringing and her small-town life in Valdese with her husband, Eric, and son, Zakk. Every weekend, they traveled all over to enjoy outdoor amenities. Then she stumbled upon the fact Valdese had 300 acres of undeveloped land that could be used for trails which later became the Valdese Lakeside Park.

Although she had no previous experience in land development or grant funding, her “GoGo” attitude — and the Friends of the Valdese Rec — made it happen.

From there, it was project after another with many still ongoing such as:

• Burke River Trail
• Glen Alpine’s downtown park
• Valdese Lakeside Park pavilion
• Being a Lake Rhodhiss representative for the Duke Energy Habitat Enhancement Fund
• Serving on the N.C. Parks and Rec Trust Fund
• Attending the NC Great Trails State Conference
• Recognized with the NC Year of the Trail Spirit Award
• Friends of the Valdese Rec Learn and Luncheons
• Revitalizing the Old Glory Mill in Rhodhiss by creating apartments and businesses

She thanked many people for their help with these initiatives including her “partner-in-action” representative Hugh Blackwell, volunteers, and her supportive family.

DIFFERENCE-MAKER

After presenting each mile mark of her life, Heile explained the importance of being a difference-maker. She challenged the room to make just one difference last week and called out for people to volunteer with local organizations. Without volunteers, many of her projects would not have come to fruition.

Concluding her speech, she re-enacted the story of a young girl who threw starfish into the sea as the tide was coming in to save them. An old wise man said that the beach was full of starfish and that she couldn’t make a difference.

The girl grabbed another, threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference to this one.”

As she told the story, she tossed yellow starfish props into the audience. Attendees were also given a little baggie with a starfish pin and a card titled “You make a difference,” which told the story of the starfish girl.

Whether you are throwing starfish or building trails, you are making a difference, Heile said.

2024 GRANTS AWARDED

The Burke Women’s Fund is an organization focused on collective giving. For a $365 annual donation ($1 per day), a member/organization supports women all over Burke County.

The Burke Women’s Fund will gift grants to the following organizations this year:

Amorem’s Good Mourning Children’s Grief Camp program ($1,000) provides grief support to children and teens in the Burke County area.

Glen Alpine Food Pantry ($3,669) will be able to purchase half-gallons of fresh milk per family each week for the next two months. The pantry is serving a growing amount of families in need of food assistance which is around 300 families and is mostly headed by women.

Good Samaritan Clinic’s “We Offer Many Essential Necessities” program (WOMEN) ($5,000) offers basic essential items to the unserved women in Burke County. This program focuses on women in the FarmWorker Health program who work in tough conditions and have little access to items like hats, sunscreen, and other necessities.

Option’s “Seeing is Believing” program ($3,700) provides security cameras for the homes of domestic violence victims and their families. Not only does it provide a sense of security, but the footage could be used in court cases.

Open Hearts Place ($4,000) will be using the grant to continue its mission of promoting family self-efficiency through expanding its youth and enrichment programs.

REPAY, Inc.’s “Parenting for Success” program ($5,000) offers a therapeutic parenting group, primarily mothers, of high-risk girls.