Elder Speak 2024: Eliot Scull reminds us of the importance of giving back
Eliiot Scull remembers being told at his New England boarding school that as a privileged young man, he had a moral responsibility to give back to society. That lesson in commitment to the greater good has animated Eliot’s contributions as a conservation leader and financial supporter in North Central Washington.
Eliot is one of four individuals who are part of the Ripple Foundation’s Elder Speak program. This fall, they will be sharing some of their wisdom at programs in Leavenworth and Wenatchee.
Eliot and his wife Christine have set an example with their financial gifts to important civic efforts, including major gifts to the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust and Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Eliot has also excelled in leadership roles in conservation, the environment and local history. His relentlessly constructive, relational approach that focuses on finding common ground has made him an effective and trusted leader. His approach of building trust, listening deeply and viewing issues from all sides is an example we can all emulate.
Like every other Elder Speak participant, Eliot admits he isn’t very comfortable talking about himself but he is enthusiastic when he talks about projects he’s been involved with and the deep relationships that have been nurtured.
Despite growing up in a family of means, life has thrown him some vexing challenges. He has tenderly accompanied Tina on her difficult journey with Alzheimer’s — what is often described as the long goodbye. She is in Hospice care locally as she nears the end of that journey.
In recent years, Eliot has dealt with chronic back pain, although back surgery was successful and the ever-active former ophthalmologist is back walking and hiking seven or eight miles a day.
His love of the outdoors and the access to mountains, rivers, and the opportunity to hike, ski and kayak drew him to North Central Washington. He says he’s not a religious man, but he finds spiritual strength while communing with nature.
Eliot joined the Wenatchee Valley Clinic (now Confluence Health) in 1974 as the health care organization was launching an ophthalmology department. Tina was a family physician.
In the late 1970s, the late Bill Asplund asked Eliot to testify in favor of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which was a bit of a baptism by fire. Eliot faced a hostile crowd of loggers who were concerned about their livelihoods. “Ever since then, nothing scares me when I’m speaking publicly,” Eliot told me.
Eliot was one of the founders of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, along with friends Joan VanDivort, Mark Shipman and others. That conservation group was viewed with suspicion by some folks in the community who assumed they were radical environmentalists. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Those founding leaders adopted that positive and constructive approach and, over time, won the respect of once skeptical members of the public. What helped was that CDLT was from the beginning focused on more than preservation. It was dedicated to building trails, expanding recreation and supporting local economic development while also preserving critical habitat.
Eliot was one of three co-chairs of the campaign that raised more than $8.67 million to preserve access to the Wenatchee foothills for community in perpetuity as well as manage the properties to support mule deer and shrub-steppe habitat.
Having grown up on a farm, Eliot didn’t take offense when people got mad at him for supporting conservation. “I can empathize with people that are farming or running cattle, or the whole connection between the land and their jobs and restrictions on the land,” he told me.
Connecting to nature is what has gotten him through his most difficult personal challenges, particularly hiking the trails in the Horse Lake Reserve.
Eliot’s example serves as a master class in how to navigate thorny local issues. Deep listening, considering all sides of an issue, building trust and trying to do what’s in the long-term best interest of the valley is a mindset that we can learn from and emulate.
Service, community, relationships. That’s what it’s all about.For more information about the Elder Speak program, check out theripplefoundation.org.
