The funds will be used to build a new facility in the Smyrna and La Vergne area that will include a teen center, add a teen center to the Murfreesboro facility and further develop the clubs’ endowment. Because of the campaign, more children in the community will have access to the Boys & Girls Clubs each day.

“Even though times are hard, the need for the Boys & Girls Club is still important. We need everyone to pitch in,” said Kenneth Victory, chairman of the Capital and Endowment Campaign. “Every bit will add up and soon we will have a wonderful building in Smyrna and much needed teen center in Murfreesboro.”

In honor of the Capital Campaign kick off, The Post has profiled the Top 10 (12, because the Boys & Girls Club tries harder) people involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County.

For more information, visit the Boys & Girls Clubs'  Web site at www.bgcrc.net or call them at 615-890-CLUB.

1. Maya Hill
Maya Hill is one of many at-risk children who have found a home and a future at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County.

The 15-year-old Siegel High School junior found herself in jail for fighting and, thanks to the Boys & Girls Club, turned her life around.

“If I’m not at home, I’m at the Boys & Girls Club. …” Maya said. “The club provided me with a place to be other than somewhere dangerous.”

2. Kenneth Victory
Kenneth Victory is serving as chairman of the Capital and Endowment Campaign.

“I am honored to be chairing this campaign,” Victory said. “I remember people in my youth that opened doors for me and gave me the opportunity to become successful. I want to open the doors for our youth. I want to help put back in what I have received from the community.”

The Capital and Endowment Campaign is important to Victory because he believes children need the Boys & Girls Club. With the tremendous growth of Rutherford County and single parent households children need a positive and caring place to go when school is out.

Victory’s family has been involved in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County since the first Steak & Burger in 1987.

3. Richard Thomas
Richard Thomas is the current president of the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. Thomas has served on the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors since 2005.

“This is a great organization that truly is the positive place for kids,” Thomas said.

Having four children of his own, Thomas is intent on building a new Boys & Girls Club facility in north Rutherford County and a teen center in Murfreesboro.

“With the completion of these facilities, we will be able to offer many more kids the opportunity to have structure in their life. The kids will receive help with their homework, which many would not get at home. Also, the new teen center in Murfreesboro will provide a place for teens to hang out that is not on the streets.

“This campaign is going to be great. We are just going to ‘git-r’done’.”

4. Christy Coffey
Christy Coffey is serving as co-chair of the Major Gifts Division.

Coffey joined the Campaign Leadership Team because she believes the new Boys & Girls Club facilities are needed in our community and will be a benefit to the community’s future.

“What would our community be without the Boys & Girls Club? For some children this is a safe place for them and somewhere they can find caring adults,” Coffey said.

Coffey has been involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs since 2002 and served as auction chair for two HolidayFest Galas.

5. Kelly Rollins
Kelly Rollins has been involved in the Boys & Girls Clubs for eight years. He volunteered for five years and has served on the Board of Directors for the past three years. 

“The Boys & Girls Club allows me to make a difference with helping the children who need us the most reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens,” Rollins said.

“Now more than ever, our local youth deserve the best our community has to offer in providing a safe and positive environment,” he continued. “It is imperative to our community that we continue to take a pro-active position in serving the on-going needs of our children and leaders of tomorrow. When you invest in a child, you invest in everyone’s future.”

Rollins believes strongly that it is everyone’s responsibility to give back to the community that has given them much.

“We are all very blessed to live in such a prosperous and generous community like Rutherford County,” Rollins said. “Please join us in having a positive impact on the future of Rutherford County.” 

6. Kendra Cooke
Kendra Cooke is serving as the co-chair of the General Gifts Division for the campaign.

“I support the Boys & Girls Clubs because I know how blessed my child is and I would like to help provide a positive out of school environment for other children,” said Cooke, who served as chair of the Boys & Girls Club HolidayFest Gala for two years and Auction Chair for the Steak & Burger one year.

“Being a part of the Campaign Leadership Team was very important to me because I primarily work and live in Smyrna and the town needs a new Boys & Girls Club facility,” Cooke said.

Cooke has served on the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors since February 2006. 

7. Mary Esther Reed
Mary Esther Reed has taken on the responsibility of co-chair of the Major Gifts Division. She has played several key roles with the Boys & Girls Club including chairing the Steak & Burger event and serving as board president.

“I want to help provide children with a safe and positive place,” Reed said. “The Boys & Girls Club not only benefits the child, but the family as well by giving parents a sense of relief knowing that their children are in a supportive environment with caring adult professionals.”

As a former teacher and current owner of The Learning Circle, a school supply store, Reed is familiar with the temptations children face today and the support it takes for them to be successful.

“We are helping to mold the future of Rutherford County,” she said. 

8. Debbie Michaelson
Debbie Michaelson has accepted the position as co-chair of Select Gifts Division.

“I was excited to join the Board of Directors and Campaign Leadership Team because my husband and I were very active in getting the existing Boys & Girls Club in Smyrna,” Michaelson said. “I believe it is important for families to have a Boys & Girls Club available.”

 “I understand that times are difficult with our economy,” Michaelson added. “That is why now more than ever the children in this community need the Boys & Girls Club.”

Michaelson joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County’s Board of Directors in February. 

9. Mike Pirtle
Mike Pirtle is serving as co-chair of the General Gifts Division for the Capital and Endowment Campaign.

“We have a growing need to provide Boys & Girls Club services, especially in the north end of Rutherford County,” Pirtle said. “Kids today face needs and temptations that kids in the past did not. The Boys & Girls Club’s mission and staff equip today’s youth with the tools they need to face these challenges and be successful.

“If people want to make a difference in the community and are not sure how, the Boys & Girls Club is a great place to consider,” he continued. 

Pirtle has served on the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors for 14 years.

10. Darrell Scarlett
Darrell Scarlett is serving as co-chair of the Major Gifts Division for the Capital and Endowment Campaign.  

“I have proudly served on the Board of Directors at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County for 10 years, because I enjoy helping the children,” Scarlett explained.

Being married with a daughter, Mr. Scarlett joined the Campaign Leadership Team because he sees the importance of giving the children in our community hope and opportunity. 

“There is a substantial need for the Club’s services in Rutherford County. This expansion has been needed for a long time and is very important to the future of our community,” Scarlett said. “We are currently not able to serve everyone that needs us and it is vital that we are able to reach out to the children that need us most.” 

11. Steve Steele 
Steve Steele, co-chair of the Lead Gifts Division, has been involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County for nine years.

Providing a positive and safe place for the youth in Rutherford County is a priority to Steele and one of the reasons he was eager to join the Campaign Leadership Team.

“I am excited to serve under Kenneth Victory on the Campaign Leadership Team. Mr. Victory has been a phenomenal leader in the Rutherford County community for many years and with his guidance I know this campaign will be a success.”

Steele was born in Murfreesboro and raised in Smyrna. He recalls attending school with children from Smyrna and La Vergne because the towns shared the same schools.

“It is our vision to build a facility in North Rutherford County that will benefit children in Smyrna and La Vergne. I believe it is very important to both towns,” Steele said. 

12. Jimmy Woods
Jimmy Woods has stepped up to be the chair of the Prospect Evaluation Committee. He has been involved with the organization since 1996, when he attended the planning meetings to bring a Boys & Girls Club to Smyrna.

Woods, who grew up in Smyrna and now lives in Murfreesboro, joined the campaign because a new Smyrna facility and Murfreesboro teen center are both disparately needed.

“The Boys & Girls Club is a wonderful organization that provides a safe secure place for the children in our community,” Woods said. “The staff believe in the mission and really care about the children they help. Now more than ever we need the appropriate facilities so the staff have the resources needed to prepare a bright future for the kids.”

Overall, Mr. Woods wants to encourage everyone to learn more about the Boys & Girls Club so they can see the impact it has on the community.