Ginger was born in Little Rock and raised in Searcy, Arkansas.  She credits her parents – who adopted her when she was four years old – with instilling in her the values of helping others by volunteering her time within her community.  Ginger became Arkansas’s First Lady when her husband, Mike Beebe, was inaugurated as the 45th Governor of Arkansas on January 9, 2007.  She brought with her many years of experience as a wife who supported her husband during twenty-four years of public service, as a mother who has raised three children, and as a community volunteer.

Ginger’s love for volunteerism led to her involvement with the CARTI Searcy Auxiliary, the Central Arkansas Hospital Auxiliary, and the White County Rape Crisis, as well as her former membership in the Searcy Junior Auxiliary.  Ginger spent many years teaching Sunday School and children’s choir at the First Baptist and Trinity Episcopal Churches in Searcy.  She currently serves on the boards of the CARTI Foundation, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, and the Arkansas Discovery Network.  By lending her name and volunteering her time, Ginger hopes to increase attention to causes that she has long supported.

As First Lady, Ginger promotes Arkansas artists and artisans in the areas of theatre, music, visual art, and other forms of artistic expression.  In an effort to showcase Arkansas artists, she and the members of Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Association published an Arkansas Artists Engagement Calendar in 2008 and 2009.  Ginger serves on the boards of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre and the Performing Arts Center on the Square in Searcy, and is a member of the Committee of 100, which helps support the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View.  Ginger is a Master Gardener and co-chaired the Hospitality Committee for the 2007 International Master Gardeners’ Conference in Little Rock.  Always seeking to help promote Arkansas DeltaMade products, she works with the Clinton School of Public Service and is a member of the Creativity Economy Advisory Panel.

A staunch advocate of reading and literacy programs, Ginger partners with students at the Clinton School of Public Service to take Flat Stanley, the children’s book character, with them on service projects around the world.  She uses Flat Stanley’s experiences as a teaching tool when visiting with and reading to students throughout Arkansas.  Additionally, Ginger looks forward to hosting an event this spring in conjunction with the Arkansas Literary Festival, in which Arkansas authors and celebrities will read to children on the lawn of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.

In 2007, Ginger traveled the State listening to families whose children suffer from mental illnesses.  Information gathered from that tour was presented to the Children’s Behavioral Health Care Commission, which is charged with developing a system of care for Arkansas’s Children and Youth.  Ginger has served two years as the Arkansas honorary chair for NAMIWalks and currently serves as the honorary chair of the Natural Wonders Partnership Council. 

Mike and Ginger Beebe appreciate the opportunity to serve the people of Arkansas.  The Beebe’s have three adult children and five grandchildren.