Historical Review
In 1966 groundwork was laid by Thomas Battle and Henry Gregory, advisors to start the Boys Club of Rocky Mount. After many meetings and community studies, Robert Sharp and the Boys Club opened its doors on September 22, 1969. For a few years the Club operated from a building located on the corner of Barnes Street and Springbrook Drive. Later the Boys Club purchased a building on Albemarle Avenue owned by the City of Rocky Mount. A gymnasium was used as the main clubhouse. Dennis Reid was hired as the coordinator.
From 1979 to 1982 the Boys Club was not fully operational, because of loss of their Charter with Boys Clubs of America. At that time Melvin Wilson volunteered his time to keep the doors open until the organization could be Re-Chartered. In 1983, the organization was rebuilt and Matthew Ward was hired to run the daily operations. The Boys Club then moved to 1501 Barnes Street in 1984. The Board of Directors hired Frankie Lee Bordeaux as Executive Director in August 1985. The old establishment on Albemarle Avenue was sold in 1986. The Boys Club, with 18 members on its Board of Directors, amended the Bylaws in November of 1987 to have 24 Board members. The Club operated with 2 Professional staff, 2 Part-time staff, and a membership of 250 boys.
A new facility was built and the Club moved to its current location at 405 Raleigh Road on January 8, 1990. In the summer of 1991 girls enrolled in a test program that the Club offered as a means of meeting the requirements of the youth and studying how the Club could incorporate them into the program. After amending its Articles of Incorporation at a regular convened meeting of the Board of Directors held on the 9th day of February 1993, the amendment was adopted and the Boys Club officially changed its name to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rocky Mount. The Club operated with 3 Professional staff, 1 Membership Clerk, 2 Part-time staff, and a membership of over 650 youth. In 1992, the organization had 26 members on its Board of Directors with an Advisory Committee consisting of several past board members.
In February 1995, the Board of Directors voted to change the name to Lucy Ann Boddie Brewer Boys & Girls Club in commemoration of the contributions that Lucy Brewer and the Boddie family had made to the community of Rocky Mount. In 1997 Virginia Brewer, daughter-in-law of the Lucy Brewer, was elected as the first woman President of the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club.
In 1997 Frank Wright, a member of the Nashville Town Council, approached Frankie Bordeaux about the possibility of opening a Boys & Girls Club in Nashville. A committee consisting of Frankie Bordeaux, Frank Wright, Doris and James McBride, Greg Brown of Brigadier Homes and Ernest Alston of CP&L began meeting with the goal of establishing a Boys & Girls Club Unit in Nashville. In December of 1997, Lynwood Roberson was hired as the first Director of the Nashville Area Unit. In July of 1998, the doors of the Boys & Girls Club - Nashville Area Unit opened in a vacant building on the campus of the former W.L. Greene Middle School. Currently, the Unit operates with a Board consisting of 19 members, 2 Professional staff, 4 part-time staff, and a membership of 120 youth.
In 1999 the Edgecombe County Unit of the Boys & Girls Club was opened in Princeville, North Carolina. The Unit operated in two large rooms in the Princeville Town Hall. Opening in June of 1999, the Unit had an initial membership of 25 youth. Tony Evans was employed as the first Unit Director for the Edgecombe County Unit. In September the Edgecombe County Unit and the entire town of Princeville were completely devastated by the floodwaters associated with Hurricane Floyd. The Edgecombe County Unit did not stop operation however. Two days after the flood, Boys & Girls Club staff began transporting youth from temporary shelters in Edgecombe County to its Lucy Ann Boddie Brewer Unit in Rocky Mount to continue offering services to youth who were victims of the flood. Once temporary FEMA housing was established in the Rocky Mount and Tarboro area, the Boys & Girls Clubs continued to provide services to the youth. The Edgecombe County Unit reopened in the Princeville Montessori School in the summer of 2001.
As the organization expanded and began serving youth in both Nash and Edgecombe Counties, the Board of Directors amended the Articles of Incorporation and changed the official title to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties, Inc. The new name better represents the geographic areas in which the organization provides quality programs and services for youth. It also provides a sense of involvement and investment for the citizens of both counties and businesses of each county.
In keeping pace with the growing needs of youth in the area, a fourth Unit was opened in September of 2000 in Pinetops, North Carolina. This Unit was the first of its kind for the organization. The South Edgecombe Unit was opened in South Edgecombe Middle School. Misty Miller was employed as the first Unit Director, and Assistant Principal, Florence Wilkins, targeted 50 youth that were of the highest risk of dropping out of school due to poor academic performance and behavior issues. These 50 youth were the charter members for the South Edgecombe Unit. They participate in a program strategy developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America called Project Learn. This strategy is geared towards improving academic performance and minimizing behavior issues by becoming involved in homework assistance, tutorial and high-yield learning activities. After completion of the first full grading period the Club was in operation, Club members had improved their grades by sixty-seven percent.
Because of the growth of the organization to multi-Unit status, the Board of Directors set forth in early fall of 2000 on restructuring the organization's Board of Directors. Under this restructuring there would be three Unit Boards, one each for the Lucy Ann Boddie Brewer Unit, the Nashville Unit, and one for the Units located in Edgecombe County. The major contribution would be the development of a Corporate Board of Directors for the organization. This board would have responsibility for oversight of the entire organization from a policy and financial perspective. The Unit Boards would deal with the day-to-day operations of each respective Unit. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties, Inc. now has a corporate staff of 5 Full-time Professionals: Executive Director, Administrative Assistant, Director of Operations, Director of Finance, and Director of Marketing & Development.
Upon the retirement of Mr. Bordeaux in 2004, the Board of Directors employed Theresa Shaw, formerly with the Down East Partnership for Children, as its Executive Director. In order to meet the challenges and mission to serve a continually growing number of youth and their needs, a reorganization strategy was implemented to ensure continuity in programs, directions and goals. The Board of Directors of the two counties were consolidated into a 30 member team to oversee operations at all five sites in the twin-counties and to assure that both counties were represented equitably and appropriately. Additionally, each of the units formed advisory boards consisting of local leadership and agencies to routinely review programs and needs to ensure that consistency in program delivery was maintained without compromise to the unique situations related to the youth in their communities. And, the organization's headquarters were relocated to Station Square in Rocky Mount where it now conducts its operations more centrally.
Future plans and objectives for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties are ambitious but highly necessary to maintain its service to the youth in the two counties. Efforts are underway to fund a free-standing facility for the Nashville Unit, which has outgrown its current space. Likewise, a free-standing facility is needed in Edgecombe County in order to expand its ability to serve more children, especially in rural areas. A concerned effort is being made to recruit greater membership from the teenaged population in outlying areas of both counties. As the counties increase their range in diverse cultures, the Clubs must respond by offering more diversified programs, not only in content but language. Most unfortunately, gang activities are increasing across the nation, and the Boys & Girls Clubs intends to offer intervention programs to help curtail the related influences. Inasmuch as the schools in both counties are spread widely apart, accesses to facilities are difficult for many members; all efforts will be made to continue to serve youth in the rural areas. And finally, an ongoing effort will be exercised to maintain fundraising to ensure the sustainability of the programs and services offered to the over 1,800 children provided by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties.