Local Folks: Nancy Beecher
Riverside resident Nancy Beecher has been a professional photographer for the past 35 years, impressively snapping shots for two Super Bowls, the Orlando Magic, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Lightning and our own Jacksonville Jaguars (since their first game in 1995). She’s covered local college games – football, baseball and basketball – for the University of Florida, Florida State University and Jacksonville University. While she may be a freelance sports photographer by trade, she spends most of her free time turning her professional passion into acts of kindness for the community.
Beecher donates her time and talent taking publicity shots of local student athletes in action on the field at Atlantic Coast High School. This is her third year offering her services at no charge to individual students or to the school.
“Parents are so excited to get pictures of their children,” she said.
For roughly a decade prior, Beecher had taken photos for Ruth N. Upson Elementary School’s events, donating the pictures to the school for their annual yearbooks and for press release use. She first got involved with Upson when her grandchildren were students there, even doing a stint as a PTA member. Beecher has served in the classrooms, reading books to students, making pages come to life and joining them in dressing up as their favorite characters.
“They know me as Mimi over there,” she said.
Beyond the teens and children of the community, Beecher has voluntarily served up her talents as a member of the Friends of the Bill Brinton Murray Hill Library Board for the past eight years and has exhibited her photography work there for the public to enjoy. She photographs special events for the Florida Christian Center and for the Young at Heart group at the Murray Hill United Methodist Church.
When she’s not staring through the lens of a camera, Beecher has her sights set on a finish line.
“I run. I do 5Ks,” she said.
Beecher had been a walker for a long time. She and her cousin Betsy Speed Clark began walking the Riverwalk after deciding that they needed to be doing something physical to counteract the tick-tock of age. After realizing that they were already able to walk five miles, they agreed it was time to pick up the pace and sign up for an official 5K. Naturally, she picked one to help children – specifically those at the Sanctuary on 8th Street.
“The very first one we ran was the Avondale 5K Classic,” Beecher said.
Beecher admitted that she and Clark did a mix of walking and running.
“We’re old,” she said, laughing.
But old age didn’t prevent them from earning medals. Beecher was also presented a plaque for coming in second in her age group. She was impressed, at first.
“Come to find out, there were only two people in my age group,” she said.
Beecher’s done virtual runs from home, run the Great Fire Run to benefit the Jacksonville Historical Society and trekked through the Bubble Run in May 2023 to benefit families battling childhood cancer and terminal illness. That one she even ran with her daughter, Cheryl Massey. She’s not yet decided to tackle Jacksonville’s iconic Gate River Run.
“Too many bridges,” she said.
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