What words can be uttered to express the love I have for one very wise man.
No … I’m not speaking of my father.
Even though he easily could be.
Instead I’m writing today about Mr. Raymond Beckham, one of the most human, human beings I have ever encountered and if there are many mansions in Heaven for the select and pure, there must be untold planets full of such places for him.
So many years ago, Ray Beckham was my college professor at Brigham Young University. He taught numerous courses in the field of Public Relations, which was my chosen field at the time and quickly became not only my mentor but one of my professional “heroes”.
Some young men adore sports heroes.
Next to my father –Ray Beckham was my hero.
He was someone that I looked up to and aspired to be anything like the professional that he was and still is.
Ray was old even 30 years ago and although time has aged him considerably, his mind and intellect is just as quick and sharp today as he was those many years ago at BYU.
When I was 22 years old, I had the honor of serving as Ray’s Press Secretary when he ran for the US Congress in 1982 and I stood by him when he lost that campaign by a mere 7,000 votes.
It was a crushing loss for him and his family and to this day I can remember standing at the podium on the night he lost his campaign. With TV cameras on and a live broadcast across the state of Utah, I stood tall for Ray Beckham – telling the audiences watching what a great person he is – what an honorable campaign he ran and that I was proud to be of service to him.
College professors come and go. Some stay in your mind as the years pass by all too quickly and you wonder what ever happened to them.
Well, Ray pulled himself up from that loss and held numerous key PR positions for the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City for the next two decades. He never lost his stride – even deciding to turn down a position in the White House for the then US President George W. Bush to stay at his volunteer post for the LDS Church.
Our family (Cris, Nicholas, Antoinette and I) made it a point to stop by and see Ray on our road trip one year ago from Los Angeles up to Montana – and likewise when we traveled south from Montana right back to that same LAX airport.
Cris and I shared our experiences of that quick year and took a moment to snap a few photos of Ray with our new baby Jeffrey.
I will never forget the great example Ray set during my budding marketing communications career in college and ever thankful for a friendship that has endured and become richer as time continues to move ever forward.
