Dwight David Beck

Year Inducted: 2020

Dwight David Beck was born in Wilmington, NC and graduated from Tabor City High School in 1971. He attended Chowan College, North Carolina State University, and Catawba College. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1987 in health and physical education.

Beck moved to Wilkes County in 1978, before accepting a job as a tutor at Mount Pleasant Elementary and a coach at West Wilkes High School. He coached seven sports combined between Mount Pleasant and West Wilkes High School. It was while working at Mount Pleasant Elementary that he found his calling as a teacher. He decided to pursue a teaching degree and enrolled in Catawba College. While attending Catawba College, he was offered a position as Graduate Assistant Football Coach. Upon graduation in 1987, he accepted a job at West Wilkes High School as a health and physical education teacher.

Beck worked as a teacher and coach at West Wilkes High School for over 35 years. He currently serves as the longest tenured coach ever at West Wilkes High School. His practice and work ethic were second to none, and separated him from most coaches. His emphasis of hard work, dedication and teamwork were not just words from the sideline or drawn up on a clipboard, but they were the actions and the lifestyle in which he lived. Students and athletes admired him because he wasn’t just a teacher and coach to them, he was a mentor who pushed them to their fullest potential to succeed on the field, and in life. He was instrumental in implementing the D.R.E.A.M Team (Daring to Role-model Excellence as Athletic Mentors) at West Wilkes High School, a program in which high school students visited elementary schools in their district to teach them to make good choices, alcohol, tobacco and drug awareness, positive sportsmanship, and healthy lifestyle choices.

Beck was known for supporting all athletes, not just the ones he coached. He attended countless home and away games of all sports just to encourage and motivate athletes to persevere. He drove school busses for other coaches so they could spend time with their players while traveling. He made sure all athletes had the equipment they needed, and food after games, even if that meant paying for it himself. Beck took pride in West Wilkes High School athletic facilities and went out of his way to ensure they were first class for all sporting events.

Beck remains active in the West Wilkes community, and Wilkes County. Even after retirement, you can still catch him at West Wilkes sporting events supporting and cheering on the Blackhawks. Beck attends Millers Creek Baptist Church along with his wife, Tonya. They are the parents of two daughters, Mallory and Morgan. He is a Gold lifetime member of the NCHSAA, continues to support students in need of Wilkes County Schools, volunteers painting fields for members of the community, and serves as a mentor to new football coaches.