“My grandfather dropped [my friends and myself] off at Sycamore Canyon,” Eric “The Cornville Kid” Wyles, age 61 and an avid hiker, said, describing how he discovered his favorite trail in the Verde Valley.

“The second day, we had one heck of a monsoon storm, and we had to take high ground and we found a cave where we spent the night. It was spooky because you saw where people had fires in the corner of this cave … Once we got a fire going and looked up, the ceiling of the cave was undulating up and down, and there must have been a million granddaddy spiders on that ceiling who were seeking shelter from the rain also. But we stayed dry. So we stayed in a cave I’m sure many people through centuries have stayed in.”

Low-Income Student Aid president and Mingus Union High School math teacher Kelcy Lyons said that building something that lasts beyond his lifetime has long been one of Wyles’ dreams, which is appropriate given his professional career is in construction and his founding of a nonprofit helps to build financial security for Verde Valley families.

“He’s definitely built a legacy,” Lyons said. “Because LISA is kind of one of its kind. We’re unique by providing direct aid to families, and I think that’s why we’ve been so successful. And then of course, all of the support from our community donors, and through different tax credits and grants, it’s been really fun to be a part of it.”

Another formative summer monsoon in Wyles’ life hit in 2017, when a storm damaged the greenhouse at the Oak Creek School in Cornville and Wyles dropped off a friend’s check to assist in rebuilding. That was when he learned about the district giving alternative lunches to students with overdue lunch bills.

“That hit me square between the eyes,” Wyles said. “Because I remember growing up and needing food stamps to raise our family, even though my wife and I worked six, seven days a week, we needed that help. It just hurt when I heard about these kids getting that lunch, as somebody beside them would have an entree … I let that percolate for a couple days and went down and talked to my dad and said, ‘Dad, are there laws that allow us to do a nonprofit that can help this?’”

His father, Dwayne Wyles, drew up the necessary paperwork and they formed LISA.

LISA started out serving 230 students at Oak Creek School in 2017 and has grown to serve over 1,400 students at Cottonwood Community School, Dr. Daniel Bright School and now West Sedona School. During its last fiscal year, LISA granted 2,905 aid requests valued at $56,772 against annual operating costs of $372.

“We have a program manager now that is working part-time, and in the future, we would like to employ two or more low-income adults to help us,” Lyons said. “Right now, we’re looking at a five-year goal of being in every public school in the Verde Valley.”

In recognition of his efforts, Wyles received the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona’s Volunteer of the Year award during the group’s annual Spirit of Philanthropy Awards ceremony at the Yavapai College campus in Clarkdale last month. 

“When you meet Eric for the first time,” Lyons said, when presenting the award, “You learn very quickly three things that he’s passionate about: Native American art and culture, serving others and children … By creating a way to get direct aid to the children who would otherwise slip through the cracks, LISA is able to give families hope that their children can have the same opportunities as kids in higher-income families.”

Wyles described the award as a bucket-list item that he was never seeking. It follows decades of service as a volunteer soccer coach, a former member of the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District Governing Board and with several other community organizations.

“Traveling overseas in the future and helping more people and making sure that we can keep volunteering to keep serving others,” Wyles said when asked about the other items on his bucket list. “That’s what’s amazing for me to be Volunteer of the Year. It’s satisfying and it also makes me feel like an integral part of the community, and community is important to my mind, especially in our smaller rural setting.”

Wyles moved with his family to Cornville in 1976, graduated from Mingus Union High School in 1981 and started working in construction immediately after graduation.

“I’ve got three beautiful daughters,” Wyles said. “Amy and her husband Ryan live in Kansas, they have two sons, Aiden and Henry. Erica, my youngest, lives down in Glendale, but is making plans to move back to the Verde Valley. And Paige, my middle daughter, has moved back to the Verde Valley [with her] husband [Jon Bodam]. And yesterday was quite a special day. We welcomed little Barrett Jay Bodum to the world a couple days earlier than he was planned. But mom and Barrett are great. Harper gets to meet her little brother. She got to meet him yesterday and I just am blessed with such wonderful kids.”

“I’ve been able to get by, build a house and raise a family by being in construction in this valley,” Wyles said. “I’ve watched the Verde Valley change, but even though we have growth, I believe we have had so many great people move into this valley, and it’s been humbling to be able to meet so many of them while building their homes.”

For more information about LISA, visit oakcreeklisa.org.