Local Boys & Girls Club CEO says young people struggle with social and emotional well-being

Published 8:07 am Monday, April 1, 2019

Young people are struggling with social and emotional well-being for a variety of reasons, says Ginny Wright, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County.

“Some have experienced traumatic events, some are experiencing toxic levels of stress, many are over-reliant on social media or text and don’t know how to communicate face to face, and most experience way more screen time than is developmentally appropriate,” Wright said. “All of these things are hurting kids’ abilities to form meaningful relationships and build the coping and resiliency skills needed to become productive adults. We certainly do not do enough but the Club is addressing this in a variety of ways.

“All of our staff are trained in Trauma Informed Care and positive guidance and discipline techniques. Staff guide members through problem solving. The Club limits the amount of time members spend with technology and does not allow cell phone usage outside of our Teen Room. Kids interact with each other through games and discussion. We teach kids about manners, about making eye contact, and how to listen.”

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Wright would love to see many additional programs at the local Boys & Girls Club. “I don’t think there is enough time in the day for me to tell you everything we want to do in the future, so I’ll just highlight a few,” she said. “I would love to develop programs and services especially designed for teens that give them the support they need in a building of their own. We often lose Club members in the most critical years of their lives when they are making critical decisions for their future. I would love to see us offer a robust arts program that includes music, dance, drama, visual arts, all of it. I would love to employ a social worker that could spend one-on-one time with our most at-risk members and connect them and their families to other resources. Lastly, I would love to give every kid the opportunity to have a residential camp experience in the summer.”

The most rewarding part of Wright’s job, she says, “is that there is purpose. At the end of the day, I know my work changes the lives of kids. I have loved watching our organization develop and grow over the past five years. Our board has transformed into a highly engaged, award-winning board. Our staff members grow in their roles and as organizational leaders. We really have a great team. We are all trying to get better and better because we know kids deserve the very best from us.”

Wright says there are a lot of varying roles to her job. “One day, I might be working on financial projections, and the next day I might be working on staff development. Sometimes, finding the right balance for where I put my time is tough. There is also a lot of gravity to this job. Decisions feel heavy. Mistakes feel even heavier. Everything I do at work affects kids in some ways, so I feel a lot of responsibility.”

Wright explains some of her short-term goals. “In January, our board and staff formed a visionary strategic plan,” she said. “We want to increase the number of kids at our current Club. We want to expand teen services and open a Club dedicated solely to teens. We want to create situations that give 100 percent of Carter County’s kids access to our programs and services. We want to continue to improve our financial sustainability.”

Long-term goals are also a priority. “I want to continue to grow as a professional in the Boys & Girls Club movement,” Wright said. “I really cannot imagine my life without working for Clubs. Each promotion has been bittersweet because with every move up, you get further from the hands on work. However, with every job move, I feel like my impact on kids grows. Long-term I still want to be working for Clubs, serving at an executive level, but I want to be serving more kids with a larger staff and board structure.

“Achieving these goals will mean that I will need to grow and develop as a leader. It means I will need to work to create new and deepen existing partnerships. It means I will need to improve my communication skills to inspire our program staff and front line youth development professionals, full-time staff, and board to reach these goals. It means I will need to hold myself and others accountable to being the best for kids.”

Wright believes vision for the organization is the largest success factor for her. “I have always felt that my passion and willingness to work hard has set me apart, but in this role as a CEO, I think my vision for the organization is what has made me successful,” she said. “When I came to Elizabethton, I very much saw in my mind the amazing experience I wanted for these kids, and I have never lost sight of that. I have really enjoyed working to get the board, staff, and community to become integral parts of making that vision a reality.”

The local Club is a member organization of the Tennessee Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. “The Alliance collectively advocates for kids in the state and applies for larger pots of funding as one organization,” Wright said. “All Clubs are member organizations of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, so we communicate with other professionals and board members through conferences and regular gatherings. The CEOs in Northeast Tennessee get together regularly. We all borrow each other’s good ideas. I have been blessed to form many friendships throughout the Boys & Girls Club movement. Whenever I need advice, I know a trusted colleague is only a phone call or dinner conversation away.”

As the organization’s CEO, Wright is “responsible for the overall operation of the organization. I work with the Board to set the vision and strategic direction, and my job is to implement that direction. I think of my job in terms of people, money, programs, narrative, and strategy. I ensure that we have the best people working for our organization, that we are financially healthy, that we offer kids a life-changing out-of-school experience, that we tell the community what we are doing, and that we have a strategy for where we want to go and what we want to achieve for kids. All that being said, I am here to equip our staff and board to do a phenomenal job for kids.

“I really had an amazing childhood with two parents who loved me unconditionally, encouraged my interests, gave me every opportunity to succeed, and taught me about service to others,” Wright said. “That is a part of what drives my work. I believe every child deserves the shot I got. My parents live in Smyrna, Tenn. I am incredibly close to my sister, who does corporate litigation in Atlanta.”

Wright, who moved to Elizabethton in August 2013 to accept her current job, describes how she began working with the Boys & Girls Clubs. “I started my career, unbeknownst to me at the time, as a volunteer when a Club opened in my hometown,” she recalled. “I worked as a youth development professional in the summers in high school and through college in Columbia. I moved back home and took the job as full-time Education Director at the Smyrna Unit for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. I then moved to the Murfreesboro Unit as the Program Director, planning programs and equipping our staff to implement a quality Club experience. I was promoted to Club Director to run the Club operations. I then moved here to run the total organization.”

In February of 2017, Wright was honored with the Dick Ullum “Rookie of the Year” Award. This prestigious honor is presented annually to an outstanding new Executive Director/CEO who exhibits leadership, represents BGCA values, and creates a meaningful impact on kids and on the community. It is a Southeast regional award presented by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Wright was selected from all of the new executives in the Southeast Region.

Wright enjoys spending time doing a variety of outdoor activities. “I really enjoy any outdoor activity, whether it is hiking, gardening, whatever,” she said. “I spend a lot of time playing with and training my dog in the yard. I love to read. I read mostly books on leadership/organizational development and literary fiction. I love to cook but I hate to bake. I enjoy dinner with close friends.”

Wright describes her personality. “I am a very passionate person so I come off as pretty intense,” she said. “It stems from the fact that I care deeply. I am very hard working, but I also like to have fun. I like to think of myself as witty. I am idealistic, so that means I dream pretty big. It also means that I have high standards for how things should be done. I am reserved but I treasure meaningful relationships and enjoy deep connection and conversation. I feel like I am someone who is always trying to improve in some way. I really do believe that we can all make the world a better place in some way.”

For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County, please call 423-543-2946, email gwright@bgcecc.org, or visit the website, http://www.bgcecc.org.