Monday, March 5, 2018

Kacky Elliott: Decades of Dedication


60 years.

That’s about how long Kacky Elliott has been volunteering with the American Red Cross. Back in 1957, Elliott took her first Water Safety Instructor course and has not stopped volunteering with the Red Cross since. She holds the distinction of being the longest serving American Red Cross volunteer in South Carolina. 

Elliott smiles alongside two of her students in June 2017.
After her training, Elliott started teaching Red Cross swim lessons at summer camps. During her time at one camp in 1958, Elliott realized what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“Most of the counselors were gals who were teachers, and so I thought, ‘Well they seem to be a happy lot, so I think that’s what I’ll head myself toward doing,’” she remembered.

Elliott would go on to teach for decades, retiring from Augusta Circle Elementary School in 1995. In addition to teaching, she continued to teach swimming lessons for both adults and children through the Red Cross. She has taught in Georgia, South Carolina and in New Jersey.
Elliott's Water Safety Instructor Card from 1957.

She particularly remembers her time in the Garden State, when her Southern accent proved a bit difficult for some children to understand as she explained not running around the pool.

“They all had these perplexed expressions on their faces, and I thought, ‘Am I not making myself clear?’ One little girl raised her hand and said, ‘What is a pool?’ They weren’t sure what I was talking about when I said pool with a Southern accent,” Elliott said with a laugh.

In addition to camps, Elliot also taught from time-to-time in neighborhood pools. When parents tried to pay her, Elliott wouldn’t have it.

Elliott at Furman University' in May 1999.
“I would either ask they donate the money to the Red Cross in my honor or whatever I collected, I would donate to the Red Cross,” she said. “I’ve been very pleased with the positive responses from the Red Cross here in Greenville County.”

Elliott has been honored by the Red Cross several times. She won the Clara Barton Award for Female Volunteer of the Year in 2001 and 2008. Her greatest joy nowadays is teaching children of her former students, while showing no sign of slowing down. 


“I’ll keep teaching swimming as long as I’m physically able and mentally capable,” Elliott said while laughing.

To find swimming classes near you, go to redcross.org/take-a-class/swimming. If you want to join Elliott as a volunteer, you can do so at redcross.org/volunteer.

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