National office
Vilonia student wins Beta Club presidency
The Vilonia High School Beta Club sponsor calls Drake Toll “the most self-motivated student I’ve ever had,” which could explain his wins as state and national president.
Toll, an incoming senior, is the first national Beta Club president from Arkansas in 25 years.
“As soon as [the convention announcer] said, ‘Your next state president is Drake Toll,’ the first thing I said was, ‘We’re going to win nationals,’” Toll said.
In only his second year in the organization, Toll, 17, was elected state Beta president in January in Hot Springs.
“Everything went our way; it was absolutely a God thing” that he won, Toll said. “We brought almost 90 kids to state convention wearing shirts with my face on them. It’s the first time a candidate had ever done that. I, for sure, was not expecting to have gone there and won. It was definitely like, ‘Wow.’ We found a way to upset … it was a David-and-Goliath deal.”
With his win, Toll joined a short list of state officers from Vilonia; he said he’s the third in the past 30 years.
Vilonia High School teacher Cara Cromwell, Beta sponsor for the past 12 years and a former state officer herself, said Toll began his national campaign long before the convention.
“He networked with other state officers and met members of their clubs. He created for himself a strong social-media
presence, and when you have only a few days to garner votes, those things are imperative,” Cromwell said.
Toll went up against 13 others for the national presidency. At the national convention in June in Savannah, Georgia, students vying for office had to perform a two-minute skit, a sort of campaign commercial.
His slogan: “If you’re on fire for Beta, stop, drop and Toll.”
“One of the major things that I anchored in on was that Beta isn’t for everyone; it is for upper echelon, elite high-schoolers … for kids who excel, the ones who are passionate about a successful future and have a drive for leadership,” Toll said. “You can’t be in Beta unless you have all A’s and B’s and a spotless record. They want the best of the best.”
Toll is also involved in several other school and community organizations, including Student Council, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute.
He is the founder and head announcer of Vilonia Sports Network, “our oneman broadcast program,” Toll said. “I do announcing for baseball, football and basketball. I did the first live-stream broadcast of a track meet in the history of Arkansas.”
The teenager was also named Vilonia Youth of the Year by the Vilonia Area Chamber of Commerce.
Toll said Cromwell, who taught his world history class when he was a sophomore, inspired him to get involved in Beta Club.
“Cara Cromwell is one of my favorite teachers of all time,” Toll said. “She kind of led me into it: ‘Hey, you’re a leader; you need to do this.’”
Toll said that what attracted him to the Beta organization is the core value to “lead by serving others.”
He a l s o ment i o n e d
support from club sponsors Brooke Jones and Jessica Castle and assistant sponsor Kenneth Kemp.
“I give a lot of credit to my high school principal, Matt Sewell,” Toll said. “He’s done a lot for me. Two years ago, I played a lot of sports but didn’t do a lot leadershipwise. I’ve really blossomed [into] someone who has a passion for leadership, for community service and, now, taking that to a national scale.”
Sewell said Toll of ten comes to him with ideas and doesn’t give up. For example, Sewell said Toll got the idea to do an evening pep rally with a big bonfire and other activities, and he came to talk to Sewell about it every day for about a month. Toll organized it, and it went off without a hitch.
“It was a big thing; it was a hit,” Sewell said.
He said Toll also keeps his broadcasting equipment in the principal’s office.
“We just had a lot of opportunity over the course of the year to have some manto-man visits in my office, to talk about what a leader is and what type of leader people will respect,” Sewell said. “He is very talented in the area of leadership. … He’s very goal-driven.”
Sewell said Toll is “pretty mature for a 17-year-old.”
Sewell said he has advised Toll “to remember as he accomplishes these goals that what’s going to matter is all the impact he had on people who are between where he currently is and the goal he’s trying to achieve.
“He’s just a very motivated guy, and the future is very bright for him.”
Cromwell said it wasn’t just Toll who benefited from the national convention in Savannah.
“It was nice to see the young adults in a new place,” she said. “Many haven’t had to a chance to travel yet, and it was an important experience for them. They were all well-behaved and enthusiastic and were always flexible when it came to changing plans during those long campaigning days.”
She said Toll will benefit for years from his experience as national president.
“This honor wi l l be a strong accomplishment when applying for scholarships and other financial aid,” she said. “The speaking engagements will certainly help him in his future career and will, in general, increase his confidence. It is truly an honor to be elected to an office of this level. Vilonia now has two national officers — Drake and Taylor McNeel, who was elected FFA president two years ago,” she said.
All state Beta presidents have the opportunity to at tend an a l l - e x pens epaid trip to a leadership conference in Washington, D.C. As national president, “one of the coolest aspects is I get to lay the wreath on the [Tomb of the Unknown Soldier] at Arlington National Cemetery,” Toll said.
From November through March, Toll will travel to 15 to 20 cities, including Orlando, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Birmingham, Alabama. He’ll give keynote speeches, mingle and have time to tour the cities.
Before that is a busy summer. He has a weeklong break after his Washington trip before going on a mission trip to New Orleans through Friendship Baptist Church in Conway. Then he has the Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute Summit, as well as a mission trip to Boston.
His goal after graduation in 2019 is to attend Baylor University in Waco, Texas, to get a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in sports marketing. He plans to coach college basketball. He has played basketball in school and coached Special Olympics basketball and youth-league teams.
“I was called to the ministry,” he said, but instead of spreading the message as a church pastor, “I expect to reach as many people as I can through coaching.”
Cromwell has no doubt that Toll will succeed.
“He advances academically, but his real strength lies in his ability to interact with adults and his relentless ambition,” she said. tkeith@arkansas online.com.