Wilson Club Director is longtime Club member and staff
Mike Brown's life is all wrapped up in Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan (B&GCSM). As director of the Wilson Club in Auburn Hills since 2000, his involvement with the organization has spanned 33 years as an employee and 10 years as a member - with some overlap.
At age 8, he joined the Guest Club in Dearborn (since closed and merged with the NFL-YET Club on the Dick & Sandy Dauch Campus). When Mike was only 11, his father died, leaving behind a wife and three sons. As the youngest, Mike found solace at the Club with plenty of friends and mentors, including former Club Director Ray Jurczyk and gym director Charles "Buzz" Steffes. Mike became a self-proclaimed gym rat, playing basketball and working as a student aide. He was named Youth of the Year for that Club, which spurred him on to new heights.
After graduating from high school, he worked part-time at the Guest Club. While attending Henry Ford Community College, he worked briefly in retail but missed being around young kids and returned to the Clubs.
Bolstered by a college scholarship from The Joseph Freedman Financial Aid Fund and income from part-time jobs at the Clubs, Mike earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Eastern Michigan University. He soon moved into a program position at the Bloomer Club. He then became a gym director at the Guest Club and later at the Fauver-Martin Club (then known as the Highland Park Building). He also became a program coordinator there. Ike Hoover, a legendary director of the Highland Park Club, was one of his mentors.
Mikes likes to have fun with his job. One summer, he set up a circus at the Highland Park Club by hoisting a big parachute and making it the Big Top. Kids had to audition for circus acts: performing on balance boards, mimicking the Harlem Globetrotters or being a clown. Tapping then Club member Ricky Blalock to be the circus ringmaster may have helped jump-start his ensuing career as an Emmy-winning TV newscaster in Atlanta.
Mike met his wife, Nancy McLernon, at the Guest Club in the early 1980s when she worked there and he was a volunteer who conducted a running club. They've been married for 22 years. (She is a daughter of Jim McLernon, an emeritus board member.)
In 1996, Mike became the director at the Guest Club.
"Having been a member myself, I realize the importance of what the Club did for me," Mike said. "The Guest Club was right across the street from my house. "The former executive director (Joe Kozo) was a big influence on my life, as were Club administrators Nathan Rebeck and Jack Calvert."
A friend and fellow alumnus from the Guest Club, Carl Sitten, now of Houston, flew back to Michigan when Mike was director there to play in the Club's golf fundraiser. "If there's anything special that we needed for the Guest Club and couldn't afford, Carl always came through," Mike said.
Mike also held administrative positions at Clubs in Royal Oak and Lake Orion before becoming director at the Wilson Club.
One of Mike's most formative experiences at B&GCSM was helping to plan one of the national Keystone Conference in Denver, Co., with Club staff and members from across the country. The conference focused on homelessness and Mike coached Club member Jeremy Spencer to give a speech on the topic in front of 1,200 youth and counselors who attended the event.
What motivates Mike? "It's so much fun working with the youngsters. I try to set an example by being positive - that influences them. Some youngsters come from families with real struggles and they may spend more time with our staff than they do with their parents," he noted.
"My experience is that kids don't tend to do drugs when they belong to a Club ... they have enough going on," Mike said. "One of the members at the Highland Park Club would run home after he left the Club to stay away from the bad influence of the street. It's out there, but the Club is a good refuge."
Mike and his staff help kids reach their potential
The Wilson Club offers much to teens and preteens. It is a pilot site for "Be Great: Graduate," a national program developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help kids stay in school and graduate on time. The pilot group consists of 25 youngsters in 4th - 8th grade who are mentored throughout the five-year program.
"These kids are at a higher risk of dropping out of school because they are from single-parent homes or have behavior issues or can't keep up their grades," Mike said. "Some of the kids who've had a difficult time in school are able to turn things around by coming to the Club."
One teen, Brandon Harrison, was having a hard time in school but improved his grades markedly and has mastered Spanish while continuing to study Greek and Chinese. Brandon was voted 2010 Youth of the Year for the Club and finished third in the B&GCSM competition.
Mike encourages teens to be involved in the Keystone Club, a leadership program. Many also work at the Club as student aides. The "Jobs Ready" program and other resources help teens learn how to conduct a job search, write a resume and make a positive impression in a job interview.
Mike enjoys golfing and is trying to teach some of the kids how to play this challenging sport. He started a golf club for kids at Wilson Club a few years ago with practice and basic instruction at a local golf course and plans to pick it up again this summer. From B&GCSM Clubs to golf clubs, Mike keeps his eye on the ball when it comes to delivering the best for kids.
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Strong community support
The Wilson Club enjoys community support from individuals and businesses and has close ties to the City of Auburn Hills. "They do a lot for us," Club Director Mike Brown said. "They've brought us items that we can use for programming and in the office. They have also repaired our parking lot and assisted with various fundraisers."
The Wilson Club Advisory Council has a wide range of business people, parents and community leaders as members. Advisory Council Vice Chair Keith Stonehouse is an alumnus and former Youth of the Year. He coaches basketball at the Club, chairs the Club's annual Steak and Burger fundraiser, and also seeks donations from the business community.
Avondale Youth Assistance provides money for Club scholarships, as does the B&GCSM Women's Association, the advisory council, and Fox Sports Detroit and others, to ensure that no child is turned away due to an inability to pay.
Annually, the Club hosts an awards banquet, bestowing honors on community volunteers and Club members. In March 2010, Roderick Wynn received the Parent of the Year award for coaching and assisting with the girls' basketball team. Michael Greenberg, another coach and volunteer, received the Club's Volunteer of the Year Award. A group of women, called the Ya-Ya group, received the Community Service Award for adopting the Wilson Club and sponsoring a festive holiday party in December for members.
Henry Knight, Auburn Hills City Council and treasurer of the Wilson Club Advisory Council, is another tireless booster and financial supporter. Mike noted, "Whenever we need funds for something essential to our operations or for a scholarship for members, Henry is always willing to provide it."
Gratified by their generosity, Mike notes that these supporters are helping the Wilson Club achieve the mission shared throughout B&GCSM: help members grow up to be responsible, self-reliant and caring adults.
