VALDOSTA —
The nationwide search is on and, around the first week in December, administrators from the Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta will begin compiling a short list of candidates to replace Robert Soper, who has devoted the past 35 years of his life to the club's president and chief professional officer roles. Because Soper has been with the organization for such a long time, the club plans to slowly acclimatize the club’s new president and chief professional officer, Soper said.
He said he plans to relinquish the post at the beginning of the year, but he also said he’ll still have a role with the club until the end of 2013.
“I'll still be here, but it'll be more of a consulting role,” said Soper. “I'll serve until the successor is named, and then I'll work with that person closely for a defined period of time. I’ll be available to them until the end of next year at least.”
Soper said the club’s structure makes it unique, but its makeup could make it harder to find a replacement. Valdosta was home to the old, Boys Club model, which didn’t include females and was founded on programs that predated the modern club’s sports and recreational focus.
“We're a hybrid Boys and Girls Club, so we want to make sure that the person who comes in is a good fit because it's a unique situation here in Valdosta, because we’ve been here before sports became a heavy focus of clubs. We've been very fortunate that the Valdosta community has supported the efforts of the old boys clubs, as it transformed from a Boys Club to a Boys and Girls Club.”
Soper said he’ll probably miss the challenges and variables that go into the president’s position. He said he has spent the last few years focusing on facility development but said he’ll miss everything from fundraising and resource management to staff training and board development.
“It's been fun,” said Soper. “We've always had good volunteers, from the staff level to board level. I'm also very thankful for the support that people have given me personally. I'm not quite gone yet, but I’m getting close.”
For more information on how you can support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Valdosta, visit BCGValdosta.org or call 229-242-0676.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Robert Soper, president of the Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta, at his desk. Soper is retiring after 35 years of service with the club. Brandon Powers
Discussion
Boys & Girls Club president to retire
- Local News
-
-
VECA recognized at VSU
Rising juniors from the Valdosta Early College Academy (VECA) were recognized at Valdosta State University Wednesday night as the first group of students to begin earning college credit while still in high school.
-
Businesses raise funds for Oklahoma disaster
By now, we’ve all heard about the tragedy in Moore, Okla., a mile-wide, F5 tornado with winds of more than 200 miles per hour carved through 17 miles over a span of 50 minutes on Monday afternoon.
-
Southwestern State Hospital to close
One of Thomas County’s largest employers — at more than 700 people — and a longtime regional state mental hospital will close Dec. 31.
-
Search for survivors continues
Helmeted rescue workers raced Tuesday to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children.
-
Curator offers arts a helping hand
If you’ve been to the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in the past four years, you have seen the quiet art of Bill Shenton.
-
Albino gators visit Wild Adventures
Two rare albino American alligators have joined the other gators at Wild Adventures for the summer.
-
Officers wound man in shootout
A Lanier County man was wounded Saturday during an exchange of gunfire with lawmen, according to a Lanier County Sheriff’s Office press release.
-
Woman fights to live after cancer
To be whole again, the desire that sometimes overwhelms chair-bound Mandy Painter, fuels the Realtor each day through walking lessons during physical therapy and it's also what could see her through a cutting-edge program in Boston, where world-class neurologists can reawaken her cerebellum and see the mother of three to her feet again.
-
North Ashley Street closed following accident
A Sport Utility Vehicle traveling north on North Ashley Street drove into a telephone pole Monday morning, resulting in the closure of the road.
-
Gornto extension half complete
The Gornto Road extension project is more than half-way complete, and could be finished ahead of the one-year deadline contractors were given when the project was approved Oct. 11 by the Valdosta City Council.
- More Local News Headlines
-
