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President and CEO Farewell I recently accepted the position of Regional Service Director with Boys & Girls Clubs of America effective January 2008. I will be providing support and consultation services for Club organizations across North Carolina, as a telecommuter working from a home office. One of the biggest advantages of this new position is that I will still be living in the Triad, so I can continue to support our local Clubs and kids in new ways. I approached this career decision with mixed feelings. My time with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point has been exciting and deeply satisfying as I reflect on the achievements of our program, staff, Board members and of course, our Club members. I’m also excited about the opportunity to share some of our practices with other Club organizations in our state, so that they can experience some of the success we have achieved together in our community. My departure will result in new leadership, which will face new challenges. As we continue to see the clear growth of gang activity in the Triad, the work of Boys & Girls Clubs will become even more critical. As disadvantaged youth seek to gain a sense of belonging and usefulness, our community will need to insure those needs are met with quality after school and summer programs. The alternative is to do nothing and allow youth to fulfill those needs through street gangs. I have been distressed as I’ve watched dramatic decreases in local public funding for our Boys & Girls Clubs and kids over the past few years. I can only wonder what the future direct and indirect costs could be for the destructive outcomes resulting from active gangs in our community. I hope our government, business and community leaders will take action, before it becomes too late for prevention programs to be effective. Even with the challenges ahead, I’m comforted in making this career change knowing that the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point is in good hands with strong Board leadership, as well as a skilled and dedicated staff. This organization has been the highlight of my career and I’m forever thankful for the opportunity to have served this community. I hope that everyone reading this newsletter will continue to support our kids, because their ability to reach their full potential depends on it! Steve Morris, President and CEO October 2007 - North Carolina Awards Again Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point was recognized for outstanding achievement at the 2007 North Carolina Area Council Meeting of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The meeting was held in Raleigh on October 4-5th and was attended by over 130 Board members and staff from the 48 Club organizations in the state. High Point received a 2007 Honor Award for Program Excellence in the core service area of Health and Life Skills. One annual state award is given in each of the five core services areas. The local Club organization is the only agency in the state to receive annual program awards for eight consecutive years and has received the most honor awards with 17. This is a testament to the quality and consistency of the Club staff, as well as the overall program strategy of the agency. Boys & Girls Clubs of America also presented High Point with the annual Brand Matters Excellence Award for outstanding compliance with the national graphic standards of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. These standards are used for development of agency publications, website design and operational documents. In addition, Jon Kemp was recognized as the 2007 North Carolina New Board Member of the Year! Jon is completing his second year on the Board, but has already had a huge impact. He was able to obtain donations of paper, custom design, and space to display four Boys & Girls Club billboards around town during February and March 2007. His company, Ed Kemp Associates, produced a local DVD presentation to use with civic club presentations, individual donors, special events, etc., which has also been attached to the agency website for viewing. Ed Kemp Associates also donated their time to redesign the agency website and included a page called KZone - a website links page for children and parents. The website received 35,429 hits in 2006 and over 22,000 so far in 2007. Due to the work on the website, it was recognized through the National Marketing and Communications Awards program with Boys & Girls Clubs of America by receiving a Silver Award in 2005, Gold Award in 2006 and in 2007. Thank you, Jon! November 2006 - A Very Special American Flag On November 22nd some special pen pals finally met and received some special recognition in front of High Point Regional Health System on Elm Street. MGySgt (Master Gunnery Sergeant) Patrick Morris was in town to present some members of the Boys & Girls Club with a 3'x5' American flag that was flown over Camp Fallujah in Iraq. This flag was purchased by his unit that served in Iraq for the kids in appreciation of the support they received from them through the Operation Snack Attack program. Boys & Girls Club members "adopted" the Marine Unit stationed in Fallajuh, Iraq in February 2006 with a new program called Operation Snack Attack. Members manned various local stores, to collect snacks and drink mixes that the Marines had requested and were unable to obtain in Iraq. The Club members were able to send six boxes to Iraq from March to August, with a total of over 79 pounds of snacks for the Marines. Along with the snacks, Club members also sent cards and letters to support them and the Marines were great about writing back each child. The unit also emailed back pictures of the country, sand storms, buildings, and themselves for the kids to post on bulletin boards at the Clubs. The unit returned home safe and sound in September 2006. The flag presentation was attended by Club staff, Club members and Board members with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point, as well as officials and staff with High Point Regional Health Systems. This was the first time the children got to meet one of the Marines they had been supporting. High Point Regional Health System flew this special flag for two weeks as another way to recognize and thank our military personnel for their service to our country. March 2006 - Ward Street Boys & Girls Club Opens On Tuesday, March 21st , the Ward Street Boys & Girls Club at 1619 Ward Avenue was officially opened by Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point to serve children ages 6-18 in that neighborhood. The process of opening a Boys & Girls Club at that location began in February 2005, when the Ward Street United Methodist Church agreed to welcome a Club in their facility and provided the 3rd floor of their education building for that purpose. Then over $13,000 was raised to fund various renovations needed for the Club space including new lighting, painting, carpeting, windowed doors, etc. Once work was completed, additional furnishings and equipment were purchased, and then the Club began serving children in January 2006. This is an ideal location for a Boys & Girls Club for several reasons: It is across the street from Oak Hill Elementary School, within walking distance of several apartment complexes and other residential areas. Also, Ward Street United Methodist Church has already generated several outreach and family programs for the community such as a food pantry, used furniture/appliance ministry, bike ministry, Kids Cafe, and a clothing closet. The partnership of these programs with the Club programs will increase impact and effectiveness at improving the lives and future of disadvantaged families in the area. The Club includes an Arts Center, Learning Center, Technology Center, Social Recreation Center and some additional group meeting rooms. Furthermore, the school is providing access to their fields and outdoor recreation areas for Club programs and activities. As with the other Boys & Girls Clubs, Club staff will be working at Oak Hill Elementary School during the day to enhance the academic intervention efforts conducted at the Club afterschool. The Club already has over 100 Club members and it is projected the site will serve well over 220 disadvantaged youth in the area by this summer. February 2006 - Youth of the Year Selected by Board Members Cryshaunda Rorie is a true example of an extraordinary youth in our community. At age 16, she has been selected as the 2006 Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point by the Operations Committee of the Board of Directors. Cryshaunda has been a member of the Carson Stout Boys & Girls Club for eight years. At the Boys & Girls Club, Cryshaunda has participated in activities and programs such as: Keystone Club (teen character & leadership program); Fine Arts Program; Teen Leadership Camp; Power Hour Tutor and various community service projects. Also, Cryshaunda has volunteered at special events such as; National Kids’ Day, Carson Stout Community Thanksgiving Dinner and the Triangle Lake School/Club Carnival. She is currently in the 11th grade at Andrews High School, where out of 267 juniors in her class, Cryshaunda is ranked at the top 15% of her class with a 3.75 GPA. Cryshaunda is involved in various extracurricular school activities such as the Beta Club, Captain of the Dance Team and the Orchestra. The Youth of the Year program, which is administered by Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has been nationally sponsored by the Reader’s Digest Foundation since 1947, recognizes outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club, as well as personal challenges and obstacles overcome. May 2004 - National Honor Award for Program Excellence Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point was recognized with the highest award given for Club programs by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The awards were presented at the 2004 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Conference held May 18th -22nd in San Antonio, Texas. The organization received the 2004 National Honor Award for Program Excellence for Overall Program, which recognizes excellence in all five of the national core service areas: Education and Career Development; Health and Life Skills; The Arts; Character and Leadership Development; and Sports, Fitness and Recreation. To put this achievement in perspective, there are currently 1,137 Boys & Girls Club organizations that operate over 3,000 Clubs throughout the U.S. and overseas. To be selected as the best overall program is extremely difficult! The organization also received a 2004 Merit Award for Program Excellence in the core service area of Health and Life Skills. Boys & Girls Clubs of America selects one Honor Award and two Merit Award national winners for each of the five core service areas each year, plus an Honor Award for Overall Program (requires entry in all core service areas for at least one Club). Honor Awards for Program Excellence, generously sponsored by MetLife Foundation, provide national recognition for innovative programming that enriches the Boys & Girls Club Movement. "This level of program recognition is additional confirmation that our personnel, programs and kids continue to make progress, in spite of the local challenges facing our organization and kids. We are very lucky to have these Clubs in our community," stated Jeff Oves, Vice Chair of Operations with the organization's Board of Directors. Rita Tisdale, Club Director of the Southside Club, and Leessa Black, Vice Chair of Finance with the Board of Directors, attended the conference to accept the awards at the National Conference Finale Dinner with an audience of over 2,000. |
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