Club Staff

Club Staff

I am sure you have heard the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. I heard that as a kid and never understood what that meant…until I became an adult. Now, while I personally do not have children yet, I have lots of friends and family who do and have been initiated into their personal village. I am always up for picking up a friend’s kid from soccer practice because a work meeting ran late or babysitting another so their parents can attend a parent teacher conference. I am proud to be part of these villages because I know the importance of this additional support and having your kids be taken care of by someone you trust.

I feel this phrase also holds true for the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC). It takes a large group of people to make the two Club units run smoothly so the members have a fun Club experience. So, today, I wanted to highlight the Club “village” who works hard for our members. In total, between the two Club units, the BCBGC has 16 employees. At the top of the organizational chart is me, Bud Taylor, as Executive Director, and I am a full-time employee. Within administration, we have a part-time Business Manager (Susie, who has been with the Club over 11 years!) and a part-time Marketing Coordinator. At the Olathe Unit, we have a full-time Site Director, Tim, (who has been interviewed in a past article) and two part-time adult staff. I bet you are wondering why I stipulated that they were “adult” staff in Olathe; I will expand on that later. At our Montrose Unit, we have a full-time Site Director, Megan, (also interviewed in a past article), along with six part-time adult staff and three part-time junior staff. What is the difference between adult and junior staff you may be asking? Adult staff is just that; adults over the age of 18. Junior staff are high school-aged students who work after school and during the summers, with Club often being their first real job. I, myself, was a junior staff member in high school. With that, high school-aged Club members or junior staff are eligible to apply for the Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year program if they meet certain requirements (an explanation of what the Youth of the Year program entails was also featured in a previous article).

With that, I bet you are wondering how we came to those amounts for the staff needed at each unit. The staff to member ratio is 1 staff person to 20 members. At the Olathe Unit, which averages between 30 and 40 kids during the school year, three staff is perfect for coverage, even if someone takes vacation or calls in sick. Administrative staff can also cover working with the kids if needed. The Montrose Unit averages about 120 members during the school year so 10 staff is a good amount for support. All staff go through a background check and go through internal employee training throughout the year. These staff not only manage the day to day Club activities but also help with fundraising events.

It does take a village to take care of the kids at the BCBGC and my village is an awesome one. I appreciate all the hard work they do for the kids of Montrose and Olathe.

Bud Taylor is the Executive Director of the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) and has been for the past three years. Prior to that he was a Club kid, Junior Staff Member, and Board Director of the BCBGC. For more information on the Club, please visit www.bcbgc.org.