Dalton Elks, a lifelong advocate for individuals with special needs, was recognized last August as an honorary board member for the Beaufort County Developmental Center, Inc., a local organization dedicated to helping people with special needs.

According to Chris Kiricoples, BCDC’s chief executive officer, the board was so eager to honor Elks for his service and advocacy that it changed its bylaws to enable the honor of naming Elks as an honorary board member.

“This is a man who has lived advocacy for his entire adult life, going back to the late 1950s, early 1960s,” said Kiricoples. “He has been involved in some way with BCDC and the Arc of Beaufort County since that time, not only advocating for the needs of his own family members, but hundreds of others as well. So we wanted to do something to recognize him. We joked with him a lot about how he was our historian—I mean, he knew the whole story of BCDC from beginning to the current time—so the board voted to make him a honorary board member and actually revised the bylaws to allow for the participation of an honorary, lifelong member of the board of directors.”

According to Kiricoples, Elks has been an invaluable source of information to the BCDC management team and the board of directors about how the organization got started.

“He can literally regale you about some of the challenges the organization faced early in its infancy,” Kiricoples said.

The center’s mission encompasses group homes, independent living apartments, an adult vocational program and Beaufort County Child Development Center.

According to Allen Pittman, a board member for the center, Elks’ initial involvement, was a result of not only the need for an organization to help with issues regarding people with special needs, but also because of his son, Phil Elks who has Down syndrome.

“They were looking for a way for him to have services and a place to go in the community,” said Pittman. “It has really meant a lot for the family to have BCDC.  Mr. and Mrs. Elks were very instrumental in getting that started.”