January 20 - The Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows
Posted by John Jones
on Jan 19, 2015
January 20, 2015
Meeting Location - Naples 7
We will be joined by the The Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Mike Wurm and special guest Eric Cruz. Mike will talk about the Club and some of the programs available for youth in our community including the LIT (Leaders In Training) Program, what it is and what it does. We will then hear from Eric and his experience with the Club.
Mike is the Chief Professional Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. He manages a top-notch staff and a devoted Board that all work in harmony to serve nearly 10,000 kids in Truckee Meadows. The company is an eighteen site, 5.2 million dollar organization that has been recognized as the leading youth serving agency in Northern Nevada since 1976.
Prior to his appointment as CPO, Mike was the Director of Operations at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, a position he first took in March 1995. During his tenure, the organization saw many changes and had many successes. For 10 years, he oversaw all programming, facility management, and day to day operations of the Club and played an integral role in growing the organization from a single site, 800 member organization to the organization we have today.
Eric Cruz and his two older sisters were raised by a single dad. Although their mom would occasionally appear in their lives, she was never a consistent influence. Tragically, when Eric was six years old his dad passed away. Without a mother to rely on, the three children shuffled between relatives’ houses until his aunt and uncle legally adopted them. This series of events took its toll on Eric, who became very introverted and quiet. Seven years later, a chance encounter with a Boys & Girls Club staff member at the grocery store changed all that. He and his sisters jointed the Boys & Girls Club’s Sun Valley Teen Center when Eric was 13, and he began to make connections with staff and peers. Soon after, he joined Leaders in Training (LIT) where he worked as a junior staff member, running programs and working with younger children.
Today, the once shy and quiet boy is a leader and a mentor. Eric continues to work as an LIT at the Boys & Girls Club, even earning a paycheck for his work during the summer. He is a senior at Coral Academy of Science where he has a 3.6 GPA, is in the top 15 in his class and is one of the senior class presidents. Next year, Eric plans to attend the University of Nevada where he will study to become an emergency services nurse.