How do you sum up decades of memories and reflect on accomplishments of a boss, friend, mentor, pseudo-mom, and most of all, amazing human being, in just a few short paragraphs?
Let me try.
By now, friends, volunteers, and community partners, all within the Osceola Council on Aging family have heard our dear friend and former Chief Executive CEO Beverly Rose Hougland, 82, passed away last week. Her Celebration of Life was held on Wednesday, October 1.
As my title says, “Bev” was not only my mentor, but a dear friend who helped guide my career within the OCOA, which eventually led to my appointment as her successor. She was so much more than a leader; she was a nurturer, and a mother figure to many of us both within the Council and throughout the Osceola County community. She was a guiding light whose vision and compassion touched most everyone, with the remarkable gift of seeing the good in people while inspiring us to reach our highest potential.
Bev joined the Council in 1979 as its Meals on Wheels coordinator. What began as a role centered on ensuring seniors receive nutritious meals, subsequently evolved into a lifelong, social service calling. Through her dedication, leadership, and vision, she advanced through the ranks of the organization and was appointed CEO in 1989.
For nearly three decades, she guided the Council with much determination, combined with a servant’s heart, to transform the OCOA into a multifaceted array of successful advocacy programs impacting the lives of seniors, families, and vulnerable residents within our community. Bev dreamed of a community where seniors and families could thrive in self-sufficiency. She never let barriers stand in her way, and she taught us to believe, to persevere, and to serve with love.
My own story with Beverly is a testament to that gift. I first met her more than 35 years ago as her hairdresser. She soon took me under her wing and brought me into the Council. From the start, she saw in me what I could not yet see in myself. She nurtured my gifts, guided me through challenges, and believed in me until the day she retired, and beyond.
I am who I am today because God placed me in her heart all those years ago. And I genuinely believe this agency has been favored and blessed because of the faith Bev poured into it. Her legacy is woven into my life, into the very fabric of this Council, and into the countless lives she touched with her love, vision, and servant’s heart.
Upon her retirement in 2019, I took over her CEO role; like always, Bev was there for me as she had been for two decades while I advanced through the ranks, just as she had. I knew she was only a phone call away anytime I needed her advice, or simple words of affirmation.
Beverly never stopped living her spirit of service. She continued volunteering in our Adult Day Care, spending hours companioning clients, talking with them, playing games, and doing whatever was needed to brighten their day. That was who Beverly was, an extraordinary ray of sunshine.
Additionally, she delivered Meals on Wheels, answered phones during times of disaster, and was always ready to pitch in wherever she was needed. Through her actions, she showed us how to conduct the mission with love, compassion, and commitment. Her legacy is not just in the programs she built, but in the example, she left for all of us to follow. She will forever live within the walls of the OCOA, our programs, the lives she touched, and the community she helped flourish.
The Osceola Community is in a better place because of her selfless advocacy towards others. Through her altruistic and compassionate leadership, she exponentially grew the OCOA into the largest social service organization within our community and became one of the most recognized advocates for seniors, disabled adults, and families living in poverty, across the state of Florida.
As we proceed through the next several weeks furthering the OCOA’s mission, we will do so with heavier hearts. I believe as Beverly Hougland transitioned her servant’s heart directly into heaven, she is looking down from above, with a brighter, more angelic smile than ever before.
We mourn her loss while celebrating the legacy she leaves behind, for her family, for the Council, and for the community she so deeply loved.
We love and will miss you, Bev!
