Sean C. Morgan
Bob Teter is seizing an opportunity to be executive director of a Boys and Girls Club that he doesn’t expect to get any time soon in Sweet Home.
Executive Director Kevin McLaughlin won’t retire for another five years, Teter said, and Teter wants an executive director position. That career move is behind his decision to quit the Boys and Girls Club of Sweet Home and move to Florence to take over the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County.
Teter has been program director at the Sweet Home club for several years. He went to work at the Sweet Home club in August 1998 as athletic director.
“It was a very hard decision to make,” Teter said. “It was very painstaking. The main reason is it was just a career move.”
Teter announced his decision to the children at the club on April 6. He plans to continue working in Sweet Home until May 5 and will help out with the annual fund-raising auction and cleanup at the end of April.
“I was involved with the new building here,” Teter said. “I’ve seen this club come from humble beginnings. It’s been good here. There’ve been a lot of neat things that have happened out of it.”
Combining the Boys and Girls Club in the same facility as the Senior Center has provided more volunteers for club programs, and seniors help out with state games. The two groups share Halloween and Christmas parties.
He believes that is part of the reason he was hired at Florence. The Western Lane club is fairly new, and he can apply his experience in Sweet Home to what’s going on there.
Western Lane has a new teen center located in an old church, Teter said. “I think it’s another reason why I got the job. Their senior center is across the street from the teen center.”
Teter sees plenty of opportunity to plan joint programs.
Younger children participate in after-school programs held at Florence area schools, he said. The club doesn’t have a building for them yet.
Florence has about the same number of children as Sweet Home, Teter said. “Florence is a growing town. They’ve doubled population in the last five years. One of things that appealed to me is the economy is stable.”
Teter said he will miss being a part of Sweet Home. He has been involved in a number of community events and programs, ranging from athletics to the annual Celtic Festival and Highland Games. He said he will probably come back to compete in the Highland Games.
Playing on the adult football team was taking its toll anyway, Teter said, but he’ll miss that too.
“There’s football, there’s the Highland Games, the church, the job,” Teter said. “Those things have been really hard to give up. I’m going to go to a town where I don’t get to do those kinds of things.”
Teter said he also will miss the people of Sweet Home, he said. His sons have different opinions about the move.
Marshall Teter will miss “all my friends,” but Mr. Teter’s younger son, Evan Teter, “is like, woo hoo, the beach!”
Teter will make the move with his wife, Stacey.
“It’s just basically a career move,” Teter said. “It’s not because I’m ticked off at anyone. It’s not because any kids are bratty. If anything, I’m an idiot for leaving.”