Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 28, 1991 TAG: 9103290574
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LINDA LOVINGOOD/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He describes the past few weeks as "a blur," although he looks relaxed and exudes an air of calmness.
Hart is the new executive director of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Hart Roanoke Valley, and he isn't wasting any time assuming his new leadership role.
"Already he has presented a number of `program enhancements,' " and has jumped right in with Bowl For Kids' Sake, said Keith Young, who was president of the board of directors when the new executive was hired.
Hart began his job Jan. 21, less than two months before the Bowl For Kids' Sake tournament, the agency's most important fund-raiser.
This year's event had more than 600 volunteers bowling and collected an estimated $35,000 in pledges for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Roanoke Valley. This year's tournament also had 235 bowlers compared to 80 last year. A final tally won't be in until June, but proceeds from past bowling tournaments have hovered around $20,000 to $25,000.
A search committee selected Hart from the more than 100 who applied to succeed Wayne Davis, who resigned last fall to accept a hospital public relations position in Staunton.
"Chet has the educational experience and the leadership qualities we were looking for. We wanted someone who has dedicated his life to non-profit social service. We felt strongly about several candidates, but Chet was our No. 1 choice," said Young.
Hart, a 42-year-old former youth minister, came to Roanoke from Hickory, N.C., where he was director of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Catawba Valley. He began as a part-time case worker in 1985 while earning his master's degree in education at Lenoir-Rhyne College. "Four weeks after I was hired I was promoted to interim director, and one month later, I was director," Hart said. "When I finished graduate school, I stayed on."
By the time he left the organization this year, he had nearly doubled the budget and had hired a second staff person.
The Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Catawba Valley was in an "umbrella group" of family service agencies. Hart directed one of a half dozen programs in the organization that was headed by an executive responsible for fund raising and budgeting for all the agencies.
He heard about the Roanoke Big Brothers job and recognized the opportunity for a "different kind of growth." The Roanoke position allows Hart to play a greater role in the overall development and management. And with a budget of $175,000 and four staff members, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Roanoke Valley is roughly twice the size of the program he headed in Hickory.
Hart was born and raised in Plainville, Conn., just outside of Hartford. After high school, Hart went to Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and studied engineering for two years before transferring to Berkshire Christian College in western Massachusetts and changing his major to theology.
"Scholastically, math and science was my area, but I really enjoyed working with people."
With a bachelor's degree in theology, Hart went to work as a youth minister for the Advent Christian Church in Charlotte, N.C. in 1972, and then moved to Wilmington to be the church's national youth ministry director, developing and directing programs for the denomination's 500 churches and 22 camps throughout the United States.
"I headed south the minute I graduated from college." He had visited as a student recruiter for Berkshire and decided that he would move here when he graduated.
"I didn't want to live in four months of snow. I like to be near snow, but not necessarily live in it. Both of my parents died when I was in college, so it probably was easier for me to leave my roots."
An avid backpacker and canoeist, Hart was attracted to Hickory, a small western North Carolina town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.
He likes the Roanoke area for many of the same reasons. While Roanoke is larger than Hickory, "it's not so large that you can't be involved in a lot of things," Hart said.
Although he hasn't had the chance to do much but work since he arrived in Roanoke, he's looking forward to enjoying the area's natural beauty and cultural activities. He will remain somewhat "in transition" until his house in Hickory sells, and his wife, a sales representative for Philip Morris, is able to join him here.
For now, he said, he's content immersing himself in his new job - raising funds, speaking to civic groups and recruiting volunteers and helping to improve the lives of children in single-parent families.
Two case workers on the Big Brothers/Big Sisters staff keep up with the agency's more than 100 adult-child matches, providing guidance and assistance as the relationships grow.
And watching the children and the relationships grow is satisfying work for Hart. In fact, there really isn't much about his job that he doesn't like. "I enjoy working with children - I guess it comes from my father. I like being able to match up a service with someone who needs it."
Keywords:
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by CNB