Some people find The Wheelhouse. Others feel like they were always meant to be part of it. For Georgette Ford, it started in the back of a station wagon.

“I got involved with The Wheelhouse as a young child,” she says. “My mother used to drive our station wagon and deliver fried chicken. We weren’t allowed to walk anywhere near the house, but it was nice to see that we were helping these men get sober.”

She didn’t realize it at the time, but those small moments mattered. Watching from a distance. Knowing her family was part of something bigger. Something that changed lives.

Years later, that quiet connection turned into something much bigger. “It really just took one invitation,” she says. “Ralph Russo asked me to come to a meeting.”

One meeting turned into another. Then into a seat on the board. “And… voila,” she laughs, “I got stuck on the board! And I love it.”

“I miss Ralph. I miss my mother. They were both on the board for The Wheelhouse, and they both just did so much to save so many men and their families.”

What started as a child watching from a distance became a calling. Today, Georgette serves as Chairman of the Board, continuing the work that meant so much to the people who came before her.

And she doesn’t just lead from a boardroom, she shows up.

Her company, Aqua Solutions Inc., hires men coming out of the program, giving them a real chance to rebuild. “It’s been so rewarding,” she says. “We enjoy helping these men get sober, find jobs, and become good members of our community.”

Georgette’s roots run deep in Deer Park; a place she’s called home for more than five decades.

A proud Deer Park High School graduate, she went on to earn her degree and eventually returned to help lead her family’s business, founded by her father Tom Bedford. Today, she continues that legacy while staying deeply connected to the community that shaped her.

And that connection shows. Georgette has served on numerous city committees from Beautification to Animal Shelter Advisory and has held leadership roles in the Community Development Corporation and Parks and Recreation Commission. She’s been a steady presence in the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and countless local initiatives.

Her impact has touched nearly every corner of Deer Park. In 2012, she was named Deer Park Citizen of the Year. But she says the real reward isn’t any kind of recognition. “It’s people. Its families getting stronger and our community getter better.”

For Georgette, The Wheelhouse isn’t just an organization she serves.

It’s part of her story. From a little girl in the back of a station wagon to The Wheelhouse Chairman of the Board to someone still showing up, still helping men and their families rebuild their lives.

You can be part of this story and see what happens when a community shows up and what your support is making possible every single year.”

Visit TheWheelhouse.org today to make a donation, to volunteer, to help more men rebuild their lives, restore their families, and find lasting recovery.