Boys & Girls Club director's first month 'all about business'

After being on the job a month, Luther R. Bonds admits his new job "hasn't been too much fun."

As the new director of the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Girardeau, he has spent the majority of April studying financial reports and grants, completing training and transitioning into his role.

"It's been all about business," he said. "But I have fun when I take a break and go talk to the kids," he said.

Bonds replaces NaTika Rowles, who moved to St. Louis to be closer to family. She announced her departure publicly in January.

Bonds said he applied for the job first in 2002, coming in second to Rowles. "It's something I've always wanted to do," he said. He has a background varied in criminal justice and business management.

Starting as a counselor for the Division of Youth Services, Bonds then worked for three years for the state police, followed by working as a patrol officer and recruiter for the police department in Overland Park, Kan.

He also worked as a sports director at a YMCA in Kansas City before returning to Cape Girardeau, where he attended college starting in 1992. As a student at Southeast Missouri State University, Bonds played on the basketball team, "when we were still the Indians and were a winning team," he joked.

Back in Cape Girardeau, Bonds served as director of the Weed and Seed program and as a manager of Applebee's before accepting the position with the Boys & Girls Club.

The organization serves about 450 children, an increase of about 50 students over last year. Children are taught life skills through an after-school program that runs from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Bonds said. Sites are located at Central Junior High and at 1913 Whitener St. The Family Resource Center and Grace Methodist Church also run programs that use Boys & Girls Club curriculum.

"My first goal is getting more schools involved in doing after-school programs," he said.

Bonds said he would like to see the program expanded outside of the Cape Girardeau School District to private schools and other districts in the county. A longer-term goal is to one day have a "space big enough where we can run programs in house" with facilities such as a pool and gym.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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