Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley has named Johnson City-native Bart McFadden as its new president and CEO.
McFadden has a long history of service to youth through Boys & Girls Clubs and other organizations and is a club alumnus, having attended Boys & Girls Clubs in Johnson City, Tennessee, as a child. He will assume the role of president and CEO on March 15, 2016, and begin working in Knoxville on March 28, just in time for the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year – the Gift of Hope Luncheon on March 29.
“We set out to find the best person for the job, and we’ve identified that individual as Bart,” said Bunny Oakes, board chairman for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. “He has a long, respected and acclaimed history of service with Boys & Girls Clubs, and he has a proven track record of improving programs and increasing the reach and impact of the Clubs he leads.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley board conducted a search for a successor starting in October, when previous president and CEO Lisa Hurst announced she had accepted the same position at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale in Arizona.
McFadden began his Boys & Girls Club career in 2002 when he opened and directed a new middle school club in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He then worked in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national office with the FITNESS Authority program. Following completion of his master’s degree, McFadden served as director of the Walt Disney World Boys & Girls Club, part of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, where he also served as area director. He developed programming that was recognized by Boys & Girls Clubs of America with a National Honor Award in 2009 and then moved in spring 2011 to open a new club in Las Vegas.
In 2012, McFadden took the reins at Boys & Girls Clubs of West Georgia as the organization’s chief professional officer. He led the organization from serving 400 children in 2012 to more than 1,000 in 2015 and achieved an increase in average daily attendance from 160 in 2012 to 350 in 2015. Additionally, the organization expanded capacity with the acquisition of operating control of Boys & Girls Clubs of Chambers County, Alabama, in 2015.
He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in sports management from East Tennessee State University. He has been an active member of the LaGrange Rotary Club and has served as an adjunct professor in the nonprofit management program at LaGrange College.
“As we work to close out the ‘Our Kids, Our Future’ campaign, this is a pivotal time for the organization, and it is an exciting one,” Oakes said. Thanks to the hard work of the organization’s staff and board, the commitment of our donors, members and other supporters and Bart joining the team, we are poised for continued success.”
The “Our Kids, Our Future” campaign has raised $14.5 million of the $15.5 million goal to build a 54,000-square-foot multipurpose facility as the organization’s primary hub, invest in technology upgrades at all 19 Clubs and increase the number of youth served by the Clubs to 7,500 annually. Construction on the Caswell Avenue headquarters, which will include a pool, gymnasium, teen center, technology center, medical clinic and administrative offices, began last March. It is slated to for completion by summer 2016.
To learn more about Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, visit www.bgctnv.org.
