30th Anniversary History Book

Everyone, it seemed, pitched in: Leesburg leaders on such matters as issuing a special-permit zoning law alteration to allow the school to operate in a commercial district; Beacon instructors and students adjusting to new surroundings; parents giving their time and money. Sylvia Neill, for instance, answered phones for several weeks during the summer of 1992. Neill often was the initial voice prospective students — or their parents — would hear when inquiring about Beacon that summer. “A lot of hard work went into it,” said Neill, who spent 14 years on the Beacon board, including two stints as chairwoman. Of course, the founding parents had little choice but to be heavily involved during the startup of Beacon. If they did not lend their collective hands, many of the unglamorous but necessary chores would have gone undone, which could have crippled Beacon College during its critical formative stage. BEACON’S FORMATIVE YEARS: a Group Ef fort

Marsha Glines in the president’s office.

First Beacon graduating class

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