A Self-Made Woman with a Passion for the Arts, Schools

When Arlene Beckles was 19, she left the small town in Barbados where she grew up to move to Brooklyn by herself. Her family owned a traditional rum shop on the island, which she said made for an interesting childhood. “But I knew that in order to grow, I had to leave,” she said.

That braveness and unwavering expectation that things can—and should—be better has marked Ms. Beckles’ life. Having landed in Norcross, it seems that she has her hands in an endless number of civic projects, from her work creating a safer route for local students to get to school to her latest title, “the chair lady.”

Beckles recently helped local art students raise about $2,400 for their schools with a Norcross Arts Alliance project called Chairs for Charity.  The project was started in response to dwindling budgets for the arts in schools. Beckles has lead the effort to collect donated chairs, then helped local students paint the chairs, which were auctioned off at the Norcross Art Fest on Oct. 1 and 2.

The project didn’t just help them stockpile supplies or run auctions in their schools, though. “They learn marketing—you’re going to paint a chair that gets sold. They learn responsibility—you have to be there after school to get the job done,” said Beckles. 

And the project hopefully gave students a sense of accomplishment that will motivate them to keep up their artistic pursuits. When Beckles told one student who painted a Harry Potter-themed chair how much her work sold for, the student beamed. “She said, ‘I want to keep doing art—I want to keep doing this,’” Beckles recalls.

“She is the epitome of self-service and giving back to the community,” said Norcross Mayor Pro-Tem Ross Kaul of Beckles. “She is so purpose-driven.” He said they will talk about an idea for to make the community better, and when he talks to her again she’s dove into it head first.

Back when she made the big move to the U.S., Beckles lived with a family friend in Brooklyn, doing whatever odd job could, from babysitting to house cleaning, eventually putting herself through college. A few administrative jobs at corporations eventually led to her big break.

In 1991, her boss was Rebecca Logan, a woman who recognized that Beckles had a talent with computers, since she often helped the IT guys patch other employees’ problems. “I looked up to her,” Beckles said of Logan. “She was the first black woman I saw in a position of authority.”  

Job opportunities at nearby Technology Park brought Beckles to Atlanta and to Norcross specifically—but it was the local schools that helped pushed her to get involved in the community. When she took her daughter out the private Hopewell Academy and put her into local public schools, she was amazed by how little was expected of the parents. “They didn’t show appreciation to the teachers or get involved,” said Beckles, dismayed.

She continued her tenure as room mom and started fighting to get people involved in local education. “If we don’t do it, who’s going to do it?” said Beckles. Now, she’s at the schools so often, she said people often mistake her for a teacher. 

"I always tell my daughter, ‘In the end, you are going to see it is for you,’” she said of her volunteering. Well, the rest of the community has seen the benefit too. 

Editor's note: We're looking for your nominations for great people in the community. Know a cub scout who came up with a unique project? A gifted teacher who organized a special project? A businessman giving back? Let me know! Laura.sullivan@patch.com.