Arthur Allen is new head of Boys and Girls Clubs of SWGA
Arthur Allen
Allen replaces Lee Wagner, who was recently named chief executive for Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Georgia. Allen assumed his new job on April 23, 2012, and will be leading Boys & Girls Club services in both Thomas and Grady counties.
Mrs. Alston Watt, a member of the selection committee which chose Allen as the next chief professional officer commented, “I am thrilled that Art Allen has accepted the position of executive director at the MNW Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Georgia. As a member of the selection committee, I was able to immediately see what an asset he will be to the club and our community. Art brings with him a 31-year wealth of experience leading other Boys and Girls Clubs in the south and a proven track record of serving kids. He will take these clubs built under Lee Wagner’s fine leadership to the next level. I learned during the interview process that Art is not only an effective leader, he is also a great guy with a real sense of civic responsibility. Our youth are fortunate to have such a wonderful mentor coming to serve them.”
Allen is very enthusiastic about assuming his new position and commented, “I look forward to coming on board with the MNW Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Georgia. The organization has enjoyed a rich tradition of serving youth, and I am excited about being a part of continuing efforts to expand the Boys & Girls Club impact and reach into the community. Certainly, broad base support from the community is needed, and the Thomas and Grady county areas have always been there for us. “
Arthur “Art” Allen was most recently president and chief professional officer of A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club in Birmingham, Ala. He is a Georgia native from Savannah, Ga., with a master of social work degree from the State University of New York, Buffalo. In 1999, Allen was named Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s “Professional of the Year.”
The Thomas County organization serves almost 1,500 youth in three chartered sites in Thomasville and Cairo. The Marguerite Neel Williams Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Georgia is a nonprofit organization targeted at providing positive and measurable impacts on youth, especially those who need us most, of both Thomas and Grady counties. Key result areas, which have been targeted, are to avoid crime & substance abuse, to lower the school dropout rate, and to reduce childhood obesity.
