Class of 2011
2011 Georgia Hall of Fame
Frank Callen
Legacy
After 20 years of service, Frank Callen died January 29, 1949. At his funeral, twelve black police officers served as pallbearers. Eight of them were former students of the Boys’ Club. The Savannah Morning News ran a headline - Useful Life Ends - the paper described Frank Callen as an outstanding Negro youth leader, founder, and managing director of the Savannah Boys’ Club. The Savannah Tribune’s editorial headline summed up his life - A Useful Citizen Passes. It recorded the fact that "his passing removes from among us one of Savannah’s most respected citizens." The Herald’s Editor, Floyd Adams, Sr., ran the headline – Frank Callen, Savannah’s Father Flannigan. He continued, "Frank Callen, a native Savannahian, a confirmed believer in the underprivileged Negro youth of his community, offered his guidance, counsel, and protection whenever they were confronted with problems."
It is said that while he was a Probation Officer, not a juvenile spent a night in the jails. He would work far into the morning, if necessary, to obtain a home for the juveniles. As a result, many of these underprivileged and rehabilitated citizens along with the family and community mourned the passing of a good citizen.
During Mr. Callen’s tenure as Boys & Girls Club professional he lead the organization to be the first chartered Club in Georgia, if not in the South. It is a matter of great pride to citizens of this community and Georgia. His visions helped build the Boys & Girl Club brand in Georgia and the Coastal Empire Area and paved the way for the current organization to reach more children with greater impact.
Mr. Callen's leadership served as a beacon through many difficult political and economic times in Savannah and for the Boys & Girls Club. He led the charge for minority professional development at Boys & Girls Clubs of America during a time of social change. His leadership continues to be an inspiration to a generation of black and white leaders in Savannah. Under Frank Callen’s leadership and role model, the history and tradition of the Boys & Girls Club Movement thrives in the Southeast Area of Georgia.
(Excerpt of 1928) "Of special interest was the contribution to the Convention program by Frank Callen, Colored Boys’ Club of Savannah, Georgia, who voiced a new racial standpoint. A group of colored singers gave an impressive rendering of Negro Spirituals, which provided atmosphere for the address."
Jim Newland
Lifetime
James Newland was born in Washington, Georgia. He graduated in 1966 from the University of Georgia with a BBA in Finance. Mr. Newland retired from banking in 1997 after 32 years of service. His involvement with Boys & Girls Clubs started in 1967 when be became a Board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens. He has held every office imaginable with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens including three terms as Board Chair and remains an active member today.
Recently he has served as a member of their capital campaign cabinet where he was instrumental in securing a $1 million gift. The campaign resulted in over $7 million secured from the public and private sector. In 1983 Jim Newland joined the National Associates program of Boys & Girls Clubs of America and did an incredible job in fund raising.
From 1988 to date Mr. Newland is on the National Board of Trustees of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He also serves on the National Awards Committee since 1988 and in September 2006 became Chair of this Committee. He also serves on the Resource Development Committee Task Force. Jim chaired the first Southeast Region Board Leadership Conference in August 2001. He served as chairman for a two-year term for the Georgia Area Council. In 1981 he was the winner of the "Georgia Area Council Layman of the Year’. Since 1979 he served as Vice Chair of the National Area Council Committee. Mr. Newland was honored with several awards; in 1977 he received the National Medallion; in 1983 the Southeast Pacesetter Award; in 1990 the Bronze Keystone and Service Bar; in 1992 the Ambassador James Kemper Award; in 1999 the W. Clement Stone Award for Most Outstanding Area Council Member; in 2007 the National Service to Youth Award for 40 Years of Service; also in 2007 the U.S. President’s Call to Service Award and in 2010 The Jeremiah Milbank Gold Medallion.
Being one who has a problem sitting still for any extended period of time, Jim Newland’s service to the community extends well beyond his Boys & Girls Club calling. He has held leadership positions with a number of organizations including Presbyterian Homes of Georgia, The American Cancer Society, Athens Neighborhood Health Center, Athens Regional Medical Center, the Athens (GA) local Olympic Organizing Committee, Hope Haven School, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation and the Presbyterian Church Mission Responsibility through Investments Committee. He is also the Secretary-Treasurer of the Newland Family Foundation.
Mr. Newland is married to the former Dorothy G. Sams of Athens, Georgia. He has two married children including Jimmy Newland, who is also an active member and past Chair of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens Board of Directors. Jim is the proud grandfather of four grandchildren.
Ruth Osborne
Lifetime
Born in Harlingen, Texas, Ruth grew up on the US/Mexican border primarily in Laredo, Texas, back when it was a benign flower and fountain filled town where kids could safely go anywhere. Ruth’s parents were Salvation Army officers who provided services to Hispanic communities in Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, Harlingen, and Mexico City. Both parents were fluent in Spanish, and the family flourished in a very Latino-oriented atmosphere.
The Laredo Boys Club was a great draw, especially to Ruth’s three brothers, with occasional events that included all family members. There was no getting out of Boys Clubs’ sphere of influence, especially since within a year of graduation from high school. Ruth married Ron Osborne who had accepted a position (his first) as Club Director in Decatur, Alabama in 1954. The following 18 years were filled with experiences in many fine Boys Club organizations in cities like Baltimore, Winston Salem, New York City, and Chattanooga, where as a volunteer, Ruth found a great many tasks to be done. During that period, Ruth and Ron finished their degrees and raised three sons. After obtaining her BA from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga in 1972, Ruth worked first as Camp Director, then as Executive Director for Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Atlanta. The Atlanta organization became the largest Girls Clubs organization in the country. Three years later, after serving on the regional staff of BGCA, Ruth’s husband Ron became the President/CPO of Boys Clubs of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc.
Parallel careers in Atlanta were collaborative, competitive, and invigorating! In 1990, after two years of exploration by boards, community, parents and members, it was determined that the two organizations could best serve youth by merging.
At the time of the merger, Ruth, after serving 13 years as Executive Director of the Girls Clubs of the Metropolitan Atlanta organization became the Senior Vice President of the new organization: Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, ensuring that girls would be well served. Many programs and staff familiar to girls would be carried forward, and that the boys and girls would be helped to develop wholesome and mutually respectful relationships.
In 1993, Ruth Osborne retired from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta to spend more time with family and travel. Her involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs could not be left behind. Since retiring, Ruth has worked as an Interim CPO or consultant with 13 Boys & Girls Club organizations, most in Georgia, but also in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Ruth Osborne’s finger prints will remain on the lives of thousands of club kids, communities, and professionals.
David Roark
Lifetime
David Wayne Roark was born in Bristol, Virginia, attended Bristol public schools and was a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Bristol from the age of 6. He is a true product of the Boys & Girls Club Movement and has embodied the impact of the national and local organization. He attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology from East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee and his Master of Science Degree in Management from Southeastern Institute of Technology, Huntsville, Alabama. His Boys & Girls Clubs experience has included serving as a Program Director and Executive Director, Boys & Girls Club of Bristol, Virginia and Huntsville, Alabama; in 1982 he joined the Southeast Service Staff as a Regional Service Director, a position he held until 1985 when he was promoted to Assistant Regional Director.
In 1987, he was promoted to the position of Regional Vice President / Southeast. David retired from BGCA October 2007. During his time with the national organization he etched his name in the history of BGCA leadership by having completed the longest concurrent tenure as a Regional Vice President in the history of the Movement over 20 years. In his role as Regional Vice President and as member of the Southeast region staff, David excelled as a servant leader to the nine state Southeast Region, including Georgia. Under David’s leadership over 600 new Clubs were formed, over 70 in the state of Georgia and 500,000 additional youth were served in the region, over 50,000 in the state of Georgia. Roark’s leadership over the 20 year period directed the investment of over 165 million dollars of private, governmental, and foundation funds to local Clubs in the Peach State.
He says of his experience with the Movement: The Boys & Girls Club was the primary reason he achieved his high school diploma. Because of exposure to a broad range of social, education and cultural experiences through the Club program, David was able to pursue success and later begin a career in the Boys & Girls Club Movement. David credits the Boys & Girls Club with changing his life and states, "I owe the Boys & Girls Club more than I can ever repay to the thousands of volunteers and professionals who have been and are dedicated to making America better by making a better life for disadvantaged youngsters.”
He and his wife Jane have been blessed with two children, Susan and Eddie, and three grandchildren, Chandler, Lily and Adan.
Ben Slade
Lifetime
It has been said that the greatest gift that anyone can give is there time. Ben Slade has generously given his time over and over again in the past 50 years, not only to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia but to his community. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and Indiana University, Ben Slade, a successful banking executive, has been a long time advocate for children and his unwavering commitment to the Boys & Girls Club’s mission is considered by many to be immeasurable. Under Ben’s leadership, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia has been able to assemble a high impact board of directors, and staff leadership team who serve over 3,500 youth annually.
Mr. Slade’s commitment to community includes active service with Partners in Education, Georgia Council of Economic Education, steering committee member of the Ferst Foundation for Children’s Literacy, steering committee member for Communities in Schools, past president and current board member of Kiwanis Club of Brunswick, past president of Okefenokee Council of Boy Scouts of America, past chair of Georgia Area Council of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, past president and current board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia, and a past member of the Georgia Alliance board of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. When asked what the Boys & Girls Club has meant to him as a board member Mr. Slade responded with, "I have always thought the Boys and Girls Club Movement was unique in the clarity of its mission and the quality of the professionals and volunteer leadership that is exhibited from the national level down to the individual community boards. There is nothing quite like being associated with an organization that has a clear mission and assembles a group of volunteers who are passionate about the cause and enjoy working together.”
Ben Slade’s heart for service and leadership has authored a pattern of excellence and will serve the children of Southeast Georgia for years to come. Mr. Slade is a member of Vestry and former Senior Warden Christ Church, Frederica. He is married to former Sylvia Pollard of New Orleans; they have four children Scott, Barrett, Ben and Eliza, who have provided eight beautiful grandchildren.
Congratulations to our Youth of the Year 2023-2024 Candidates!
