Bamberg’s Eckels: The Total Package
A woman who moves with both a blueprint and a brushstroke
From metro Atlanta’s swirl of cultures to the grounded soil of her grandparents’ Bamberg farm, Naomi Eckels has always stood at the intersection of opposites and thrived. As vice chair of the Bamberg County School District Board of Trustees, she embodies a rare and vital blend of disciplined structure and compassionate advocacy. A logistician by training and a campaigner at heart, Eckels is a woman who strategizes with precision and dreams with boldness. Whether in the boardroom, the workplace or her blossoming backyard garden, Eckels brings the totality of her lived experience to every role she holds.
Though born in Atlanta, Eckels’ soul was shaped just as much by summers in Bamberg, S.C., under the gentle yet firm hands of her grandparents, John and Sally Mae Haynes.
“I come from a stock rooted in strength and resilience,” she said, citing her family as her first role models and compass.
From her mother’s insistence to “read anything with words on it,” to her grandparents’ lived reverence for education despite its inaccessibility in their time, Eckels’ personal narrative treats learning as a sacred inheritance.
There is a clear logistician’s streak to Eckels. With a B.S. in computer information science from Spelman and an MBA in global management, she is fluent in the language of systems. Her 13-plus years in information technology and her current role as a relationship manager have sharpened her skills in accountability, planning and strategic execution.
“I believe in doing everything to the best of my ability and always following through with what I say I am going to do,” she said.
But just beneath this structure lives a campaigner’s soul or a heart which seeks connection, possibility and joy. Eckels is a community builder, volunteer, coach and cultivator of young minds. Whether she’s leading a basketball team, nurturing seedlings on her family’s farm or mentoring a student toward purpose, she leads with a philosophy grounded in faith and generosity.
“I strongly believe in the power of education, and that every child deserves the right to receive the best education we can provide for them,” said Eckels. “I wanted to ensure that I made my best effort to fight for the children in my community to have access and opportunity for a bright future.”
Ask Eckels what keeps her centered, and her answer is unwavering. It is her faith.
“My spiritual connection has always grounded me,” she said, referencing a belief in divine timing and purpose which allows her to meet challenges with grace rather than fear.
This mindset was forged, in part, during one of the most trying periods of her life, when her son was born prematurely while she was working out of state.
“I had to grow in ways that I never imagined because I had someone who had no choice but to depend on me,” she said. “It taught me that our greatest challenges are often our greatest blessings.”
One challenge she has vowed to face is being a voice for the voiceless, especially children whose futures are often decided in rooms they don’t sit in. Her decision to run for the school board was not driven by politics, but by purpose.
“Their (parents and grandparents) steadfast commitment to learning helped me to develop a love and thirst for education, and the undeniable gift that you receive by sharing knowledge with others,” said Eckels. “I was always taught that service to others just comes with the responsibility we have as humans to participate in this life. The core value to care for and love the people around you.”
Eckels doesn’t take her title as vice chair lightly. For her, it’s a platform to ensure collaboration between educators, families and communities so the decisions reflect the lived realities of those they affect. In her world, policies are people-centered, and vision is never divorced from empathy.
Her current personal joy? Gardening. Her grandparents’ land, once farmed out of necessity, is now being revived with both tradition and innovation.
“It is a genuine thrill to learn the science of how each plant thrives,” she said. “… and to feel connected to my elders who lived and farmed the same land.”
It’s no small metaphor. Eckels is not just planting vegetables. She’s nurturing legacies in her children, her colleagues and her community.
When asked what her ideal day looks like, she said, “Relaxing in nature…whether it be a garden, at the beach or a simple walk in the park.”
Even in rest, her life speaks.
Eckels’ journey serves as a reminder one can lead structured and spontaneous, serious and soft, grounded and growing lives all at once. In a world which often demands we choose between logic and love, Eckels chooses both. And then she shows how to lead with both, too.
