Cherokee Boys Run
a Man-Sized Business
The buildup of buscvs, building's and
€kC|iiipm«kiil is only one side of lliis
amazing Boys Club development.
Dcodcdl» youthful arc the club directors, in
session here "ith Manager Roy Kinslond. De«ey
0»lc, club president, is at the doik, presiding.
The others, left to right: Doug McCoy, treosurer;
Ned Stamper, club secretory; Kinslond; Lloyd
0»le, corporofc president; Do»id 0»le, *icc
provident. Four other directors, Vernon Horn
buckle, George Smith, Al»in Smith, and Don Me
Coy, didn’t get in the picture.
Feminine influence has a hand in the 8oys Club
operations Here is Gcroldinc Junolusko, with
some of the office machinery o«er which she
presides.
Four presidents — Trumon, Eisenhower, Johnson,
Niion -sent autogrophed photos to the Boys
Club, ond they arc prominently disployed on on
office wall.
By LEON N. SILER
There has been a grievous error if
any North Carolina list of shoestring
starts which wound up in extraordinary
successes fails to place the Cherokee
Boys Club and its works up near the
top. As might be guessed from the
name, the club's home is alongside the
Oconaluftcc River in the Indian town
of Cherokee, eastern port of entry to
the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park.
It might not be a bad idea, some
people have said, for the powers-that-
be in Washington to come down to
Cherokee some time and see how the
Boys Club manages things. If they did.
and went back to Fantasyland. D. C\.
without having learned any lessons, it
wouldn't be the Boys Club's fault.
The club is in its sixth year of
corporate, non-profit existence, and it
takes highly complimentary adjectives
to describe adequately the example it
has set of how to get things done, in¬
cluding steering a lot of Cherokee
youngsters clear of frivolous outlets for
youthful energy and into helpful and
profitable ones.
"Jobs, training and recreation for
Cherokee. N. C.. Indian youth" is a
club slogan printed on its official sta¬
tionery. The slogan is expanded in a
folder handed to visitors, which very
properly includes leadership and com¬
munity service among the club objec¬
tives.
A Going Business
The folder describes the club as self-
supporting and the description is in¬
adequate. It’s that and more.
The boys began business as a
corporation in 1964 with a thousand
dollars provided by the Cherokee tribal
government as their cash assets. Right
away they went into debt $3,000 for a
truck and a tractor. The remainder of
the club's original capital wasn't to be
measured in dollars. It was vision, and
the know-how needed to translate
vision into reality.
The club in less than six years has
borrowed $600,000 from commercial
banks and $100,000 from the Chero¬
kee tribe with which to purchase addi¬
tional equipment for its business enter¬
prises. All but about $300,000 has
been repaid, and the club now owns:
Two office buildings.
An oversize garage.
Л
body and front end repair shop.
Л
building supplies store and
three warehouses, with a stock of
lumber and hardware.
A laundry.
Twenty-four school busses and
three highway coaches.
Half a dozen other vehicles.
A construction business.
Roads, parking lots, tools and office
machinery have been among other club
investments.
Present or former Cherokee High
School students make up the club mem¬
bership. with the total now approaching
350, compared with 110 in 1964. Life
membership in the club is awarded to
all male high school graduates. There
are no dues.
Seventy club members arc now on a
full-time club payroll. All of them arc
skilled at one or more of the daily tasks
in the club shops and offices, partic¬
ularly in the operation and maintc-
THE STATE. SEPTEMBER IS. 1970
