Boys and Girls Club searching for new leader in Dundee Township

For the second time in less than 18 months, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dundee Township is searching for a new leader.

Strengthening community relationships, developing resources and creating a positive culture are among the goals club officials hope their next chief executive officer will embrace, said Tom Mammoser, interim CEO and a former board member.

But above all else, the candidate must have a passion for enriching the lives of at-risk youths in the community.

"We have an excellent job opportunity for someone who is really interested in making a difference," Mammoser said. "We really need to enhance the knowledge of the services we offer and the scope of how deeply we can affect children in our area."

Nobody embodied that mission and led the club through exponential growth quite like Curt McReynolds, who served as CEO for nine years before taking a job out of state in May of 2017, Mammoser said.

McReynolds was replaced a couple months later by Carpentersville native Mike Contreras. He stepped down to take a position with the Downers Grove Park District, prompting Mammoser and former board member Wendy Farley to step into interim co-CEO roles this past April.

Despite turnover at the top, the Boys and Girls Club has been able to maintain its respect and status in the community while following the leadership of other executive staff members and a 28-member board, Mammoser said. Now the club is looking for someone to take it to the next level.

Thanks to a grant from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Dundee Township branch has partnered with a Los Angeles-based firm to conduct an external search. The job opening was posted this month.

"There are a lot of positives to coming into Dundee Township and working with the Boys and Girls Club," Mammoser said. "We think this is really a good job and we decided to open this up on a broad scale to really seek the best candidate available."

With nearly 2,000 members and eight sites, the Carpentersville-based organization is the second-largest Boys and Girls Club in the state. It serves roughly 800 kids daily and has a strong relationship with Community Unit District 300, Mammoser said.

As the former executive director for the Dundee Township Park District, Mammoser was involved in the club's inception in 1997 and sat on its board ever since. Serving in the temporary CEO role has been rewarding, he said, particularly when he's able to visit a club site and "see the kids in action."

Though Mammoser said he'll step aside when the position is filled, Farley plans to stay on as a staff member overseeing resource development. A new CEO is expected to be chosen by year's end.