Photo by Stephanie Elverd Debbie Joseph is surrounded by her husband, children and grandchildren Tuesday during the dedication of a new bench in her honor at Wheeling Heritage Port. Easterseals Rehabilitation Center recognized Joseph for more than 40 years of volunteer service, board leadership and fundraising efforts that have raised more than $115,000 through the Vintage Raceboat Regatta, benefiting children and families served by the organization across the Ohio Valley.

WHEELING — A simple bench overlooking the Ohio River now stands as a lasting symbol of gratitude, service and a life spent giving back — honoring a woman whose work has quietly changed thousands of young lives across the Ohio Valley.

Easterseals Rehabilitation Center on Tuesday dedicated a bench at Wheeling Heritage Port in honor of longtime volunteer, board member and advocate Debbie Joseph, recognizing more than 40 years of service to children and families.

The bench sits near the city’s splash pad and riverfront — a modest but permanent tribute to decades of advocacy, fundraising and hands-on service.

“This bench is a small token to recognize her enormous impact on Easterseals and beyond,” said Eric Filberto, president and CEO of Easterseals. “The most impactful thing that Debbie gave Easterseals was the Vintage Raceboat Regatta, which she founded, she grew and she meticulously managed over the years. Debbie took something that she loved and she turned that into health care, therapy, the first words and first steps for thousands of children throughout the Ohio Valley who otherwise might not have gotten these services at all, and that is a lasting impact.”

The Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta, founded by Joseph and her husband, Dr. Daniel Joseph, brought boat racing to the Ohio River for 16 years, combining entertainment with philanthropy. Over its run, the event raised more than $115,000 for Easterseals programs supporting children with disabilities, early intervention services and family support initiatives.

Easterseals officials said the regatta became one of the organization’s most successful fundraising efforts, transforming a community event into a steady source of life-changing support.

Joseph said her journey with Easterseals began more than four decades ago as a volunteer after a moment of personal gratitude that reshaped her life’s direction.

“Our daughter Kristen was born in 1982. She was our first child,” Joseph said. “When she was born, I was floored that she was perfect, and I was grateful and knew that I had to do something. God put it on my heart to act on that gratitude. To whom much is given much is expected, and so I thought about it for a long time and called Easterseals up one day and said I would like to be a volunteer.”

She said she initially insisted on working directly with children rather than performing administrative tasks, spending her early years in therapy rooms alongside staff.

“I really wanted to work with the kids,” she said. “I worked with the therapists and would crawl around on the floor with the kids and help in any way they needed. I loved it. It was a tremendous thing in my life.”

Joseph enjoyed that hands-on role until her second pregnancy brought triplets. After some time off, Joseph’s path eventually led back to Easterseals and to a seat on the Board of Directors, where she has served for decades and continues to serve as secretary.

Over the years, Joseph said, Easterseals also became personal in another way, with members of her own family receiving services through the organization.

“It’s been a real blessing and something I don’t ever see giving up,” she said.

For Joseph, the honor is less about recognition and more about reflection.

“I don’t think people understand how many children are seen every day, every week, every month, every year at Easterseals,” she said. “It’s speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy. It’s autism services. It’s helping kids take first steps and say their first words. It’s an amazing place.”

Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder also attended the dedication and praised Joseph’s long-standing commitment to the community.

“The city is a better place when someone sees the need and steps up to fill it,” Magruder said. “That’s what Debbie has done for a long, long time.”

That sense of purpose, Joseph said, has guided her from the very beginning of her involvement with Easterseals.

“To be able to give back to an organization like Easterseals is just a really great thing,” she said. “Everybody needs to find a way to make a difference, and this is how I found the way to make mine.”