Building Relationships
George Beech’s group is providing a thread of hope in the fabric of our community. ~By Leon Hanson, Generations of Today magazine
Although George Beech has roots in Byron, Minnesota, he always dreamed of seeing the world. To achieve this goal through the most direct route, he joined the United States Army. His ticket to travel the globe came by way of military intelligence.
After attending school in Arizona, Beech’s first post found him in South Korea for one year. Because of his success there, the Army allowed George to select the location for his next tour of duty. “I wanted to see the world, and Germany topped my list.”
After serving four years, George spent the next six in education. “Then, September 11 happened. My first instinct was to rejoin the Army. They informed me I had been out too long to go back in as a soldier. So, I went into service as a civilian counterintelligence special agent at Fort Meade, Maryland.”
The assignment netted George a tour Afghanistan, plus travel all over the United States and Europe.
“In 2008, my wife Christine and I decided to come back home to Minnesota, relocating to Rochester. I transferred to the Department of Homeland Security and spent eight years with the Transportation Security Administration finishing my work there as the Director of Screening Operations for all federalized airports in Minnesota—nine in total.”
Retiring in 2015, George followed a calling to the ministry. “A good friend and mentor, John Steer, asked me to become a minister on his staff. That began a glorious, five-year journey with the church.”
His background eventually led him to chaplaincy work in public service and the private sector. “My first engagement as a chaplain came through an agency called Visiting Angels where I worked with their caregivers and staff.
That experience became an incredible launching pad for George. “I met Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin and began doing chaplaincy work in the department.”
Over time and after positive experiences with Visiting Angels and the two-hundred officers and staff in the Rochester Police Department, a vision for growth emerged where he could provide emotional and spiritual support to public safety organizations in Rochester and Olmsted County. He imagined an opportunity to reach more people and provide a significant impact through chaplaincy.
What came out of these swirling thoughts? “I had a vision but was reluctant to take on something bigger than myself. There is nothing like impacting an individual one-on-one and yet there was opportunity to expand with more chaplains providing comfort and encouragement to those who protect us daily.” Confidence set in, and about a year and a half ago, George formed a nonprofit, Salt & Light Partners.
Championed by a strong board of directors, Salt & Light Partners is a group of chaplains who reach out to private and corporate sectors, seeking to create a community where care for the spirit and heart are part of workplace wellness programs. “After experiencing success with the police department, we reached out to the Rochester Fire Department and Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office. We were ready to expand if they were willing to have us, and they both came on board. It has been an incredible, impactful journey over a short period.”
Their chaplaincy has grown from one to four chaplains at the organization’s core, now with fifteen chaplains. “We would love to get to a point where workplace chaplaincy becomes common in our community,” George said.
At this stage, they’re trying to have the most significant impact on those in the public safety realm of fire and law enforcement. While the organization is faith-based, George explained that few conversations focus on this. “We encourage our public safety people to talk about what they’re going through and thinking. The basis of what we do is a level of counseling. All of our chaplains must have at least five years of counseling experience. For me, I try to honor God in everything I do. Our chaplains are all caring, compassionate, and service-driven people. As a group, we bring a diverse background to ensure we can best connect and support the people we serve.”
Salt & Light Partners focus on several aspects of serving others. “We have a three-pronged approach. We concentrate on public safety officials, their families, and the citizens they come in contact with every day.”
George and his team are confident they are creating a positive impact. “The men and women in the fire and police departments and the sheriff’s office put their lives on the line for us daily and we believe that we owe them care and support. We have seen immediate favorable responses when we ride along with a police officer for three or four hours. Our goal in that situation is to utilize the opportunity to get acquainted with the officer. If they trust us, they’ll call when they need support or when there is a critical incident where a member of the public may also need support.”
The last few years have been difficult for law enforcement and their families. “As part of our work to ensure officers feel valued and appreciated, we offered family-related activities, like the Blue-Line Buffet, picnics, a Twins game, and we also provide date night opportunities and line up a church to provide child care, so mom and dad can enjoy themselves for an evening.”
When chaplains participate in a ride-along, they often encounter people in crisis. “Once, we interacted with a citizen who had some questions about heaven and hell. Adding to his concerns, this gentleman was homeless and had just learned he had terminal cancer. In a nonconfrontational situation, this man, the police officer, and I sat on a park bench at one o’clock in the morning, discussing his diagnosis. This circumstance was crushing this gentleman’s spirit and we walked him through his next steps with encouragement and hope. These are issues our public safety professionals deal with on a regular basis and we want to help in any way that we can.”
What these chaplains do is not just about them. “We’re getting great responses from the agencies we work with, but we receive very little feedback from the citizens we’ve helped. And that is okay; we don’t expect anything in return. After all, we’re dealing with folks who may be experiencing a devastating moment in their lives.”
The process of Salt & Light Partners’ work is to build relationships, and the entire system has to work to achieve success. “Police, fire, sheriff’s deputies, ambulance paramedics, and social workers bring all this together to care for people in our community. We all have to be there to support a family who may have just lost a loved one. We will be there to help them until it is okay for us to leave. They want hope, and our job is to provide it to them.”
In today’s world, there is a growing realization of the difficulty and trauma our first responders are experiencing and how it affects their personal lives. Thankfully, a focus-driven organization such as Salt & Light Partners exists—a motivated group with a mantra of “Serving those who serve us.”
Leon Hanson at leonphm@live.com
