For context, when Jerry joined the organization full-time in 1979, national headlines included the meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, the taking of American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Iran and the release of two classic albums with “wall” in the name, Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall.
In fact, he even predates the organization’s name by eleven years as “Girls” wouldn’t be added until 1990. Just one of the many milestones passed on a long and successful career serving youth across the city and throughout the area.
“My goal in college was to teach and coach in public schools,” he says. “I just kind of fell into the Boys & Girls Clubs and loved it because of the variety of working with people and all kinds of programming and government officials and volunteers and board members. I loved it all.”
Jerry was born in Southern California where he lived until age ten when the family moved to Las Vegas. Following his sophomore year of high school the family moved again, this time to western Arkansas where he attended Hartford High School, graduating in 1974. It was a bittersweet time, not only for the culture shock but also for losing his mother.
“My mother had a terminal illness, a brain tumor, and she was about to die,” he says. “That was challenging, for sure. She had been in and out of the hospitals for seven or eight years and it was a really tough situation on the family.
“My father wanted to be around his family, so that’s the reason for the move back to Arkansas.”
A standout baseball player, Jerry played for what was then Westark, now the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. After two years he transferred to the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, then known as College of the Ozarks, graduating in 1979.
“I started working part-time for the Fort Smith clubs back when I was attending Westark in 1975 and 1976,” he says. “When I transferred to the University of the Ozarks, I started working for the Boys Club in Clarksville. The director of that club left for medical reasons, so they hired me to be the executive director at that club in 1979. That’s when I started full-time.”
By 1982, Jerry was recruited to join the Fort Smith organization, starting out at the Stephens club located on North Sixth Street. In 1987, he was promoted to director of operations for the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs and was named executive director in 1990.
Jerry had no time to ease into his new role as that same year, a capital campaign was launched to build a new club, Goldtrap, at 8800 Dallas Street, completed in 1993. It was the first of several successful capital campaigns and building projects that also included rebuilding and expanding the Stephens location after it was destroyed by tornado in 1996 and a $2.5 million campaign and renovation of the Evans club in 2003. He also led a campaign to improve Hunts Park, raising $2.5 million in 2019.
“We completely turfed the field and made major improvements for football, soccer and baseball,” he says, a note of pride in his voice. “Activities are played there year-round, and we also lease that field; Northside Public High School uses it for their home baseball field and Trinity Middle School plays their football games there. We rent it out for various soccer groups in town along with our own soccer program and flag football. It’s really a great facility.”
Programming has grown right alongside the physical elements of the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs. While most people equate the organization with after-school supervision and sports programs, the actual slate of programming is much broader, from tutoring and mentoring to guest speakers and scholarship programs.
“We provide meals for free at the clubs,” Jerry says. “During the summer we serve breakfast and lunch and then during the school months we have after-school snacks and a dinner meal. That comes through a state program, prepared and delivered by a local church. In 2021, we served 109,000 meals.
“We also have after-school transportation where we provide van service to pick up approximately 250 kids per day from fifteen different schools and bring them to the clubs until the parents can get off work and pick their children up. I think that’s a great service.”
Jerry says the diversity of programs, from the traditional to the progressive, is one of the things that has held his interest and kept him here for more than four decades.
“There’s fundamental things in life that remain the same,” Jerry says of the club’s impact. “I think the club offers a safe haven for kids, a place for them to go to feel that they belong. It also provides a sense of security and friendship, providing new opportunities for kids to expand their horizons. Those are the main things that have stood the test of time.
“The thing that has changed is how fast paced everything is, especially with cell phones and social media and the complexity of life. The simplicity of how things were in the ‘70s, ‘80s or even the ‘90s, that’s been accelerated with all kinds of things kids face in today’s world. For good or bad, there’s been a lot of changes and things will continue to change, for sure.”
Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs executive directors have a tendency to serve long careers. Jerry, who’s just the fifth executive director since 1928, lived up to that tradition and then some. But unlike his predecessors, he hands off the baton in historic fashion, welcoming the first woman to hold the job, Beth Presley, who succeeded him in September.
“I’ll definitely miss the kids, the volunteers, the board, the staff,” he says. “But I do have a lot of hobbies. I write music; I’ve done that for many, many years and I’ll continue to do that. My wife and I love to travel. I love art, I love learning and I may be going back to take some college classes, maybe try to learn some new things.”
As he retires, Jerry leaves the organization far better than he found it, having just completed a $3 million campaign to renovate and expand the Jeffrey facility. Construction for that project is set to start later this year. He admits it will take some getting used to not driving to work every day, but he’s not ready to completely step to the sidelines just yet.
“I want to volunteer within the community, either with some United Way agencies or the public schools,” he says. “I’m on a board at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith; I want to get more involved there as well.
“I think of the old Byrds’ song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” which was based on Bible scripture from Ecclesiastes 3:1, that says there’s a season for everything. Well, I’ve had my season at the Boys & Girls Club. I’m very appreciative of the time I’ve experienced there and I’m excited about the future of the organization.”
Learn more about the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs at fsbgc.org.
