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By Richard Burnett

Tucked away in a few buildings in downtown Leesburg, Beacon College bore little resemblance to a college when Dr. Dan Averbeck and Hugh Thompson III arrived in 2012. As new members of the board of trustees, they knew Beacon faced some major challenges ahead.

More than a decade later, Beacon has experienced dramatic growth — expanding enrollment, academic programs and its physical campus — while earning national recognition as the first accredited college designed for students with ADHD and other learning differences.

For Averbeck and Thompson, who recently completed their service as trustees, watching that transformation has been a source of deep pride. Much of Beacon’s progress, they said, was shaped under the leadership of President George Hagerty, who also began his tenure in 2013.

“His firm but calm hand brought great discipline to board practices,” Flanagan said. “His biggest talent was his ability to listen and respect all points of view, particularly those of the faculty and staff, whom he deeply respected. The seriousness with which Beacon board members take their responsibilities is in no small part a result of Dan’s leadership.”

Thompson brought four decades of corporate finance and management to the table – first as a senior executive of Coca Cola Foods, later as president of Cutrale Citrus Juices USA in Florida.

Hagerty praised both trustees for their lasting contributions to the college.

“It is impossible for me to contemplate the advances of Beacon College over the past seven to 10 years without acknowledging the central role played by Dr. Averbeck in his capacity as chair of the board of trustees,” Hagerty said. “He was a colleague to all – respected, admired, and held in great affection. These qualities were the foundation of his success as an effective and vital leader for a unique institution on a meteoritic trajectory.”

As for with Thompson’s appointment, “the Board recognized that it had attracted a business and financial leader who could ask the discerning questions and offer insightful future direction to a fledging institution with great expectations,” he said. “His abiding presence and perspectives paired with his calm and balanced approach to “all things financial” set Beacon on the course to its current enviable and distinct place among institutions of higher education.”

Among the trustees’ most memorable milestones were the decision to more than double enrollment, Beacon’s successful accreditation review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the college’s navigation through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet both men agreed their most meaningful moments came during commencement ceremonies, when students crossed the stage surrounded by family and friends.

At the May 2025 ceremony, Thompson knew it would be his final commencement as a board member.

“I was sitting there watching these young students walk the stage to get their diplomas, and I realized how gratifying to me it has been to have spent 12 years at Beacon and be able to see results like that,” he said. “These students graduate and have opportunities they might never have had before.”

Averbeck agreed.

“You see the pride that the families and students have in their accomplishments,” he said. “You know that it’s about more than the academic accomplishment, which is great. But it’s also about how they learned to get along with others, increase their social skills, learn to work independently and hopefully live independently. It’s just very touching, and something I’ll never forget.”