Mark Ross became the Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains in May of 1997. In December of that year our organization consisted of a gym and stage in an old primary school and an end of the year operating balance of $233.05. The organization had started the process of building their first building in Sevierville and had big plans to expand across Sevier County. They had big dreams but realized they needed to expand their current board of directors to make those dreams a reality. In that first new board of director’s class in 1998, he targeted a young professional financial advisor named Beth Urquhart, who he is proud to say is still a critical piece of our the board of directors for the Boys & Girls club of the Smoky Mountains today.

     In Beth’s first year she was placed on the finance committee and was part of the team who developed a financial strategy to help the local organization to achieve their goals for growth and pay for the organizations first building that was under construction. Beth’s business savvy and strategic planning abilities were critical to laying the financial planning foundation that continues to serve the organization well today. So, naturally, in 2001 Beth became the chair of the finance committee and continues to serve in that capacity today. In addition to her work on the finance committee, she serves on the endowment committee, executive committee and served as President of the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club in 2007. 

     In addition to Beth’s committee excellence she has also been an avid contributor to programs for our local Boys & Girls Club members. She has taught classes for our “Productive Futures Program” for many years and served as a judge, coach and contributor to the local “Youth of the Year” program at our various Boys & Girls Club locations. She regularly participates in the “Lead to Feed” program and has been a mentor and guest speaker for the “Women of Empowerment” program.

     Beth is a true example of giving of your time, talent and treasure. Since 2005 she has been at the highest levels of personal giving to the Club’s operating budget and is also a member of the Heritage Club. In addition to giving to the Boys & Girls Club she has also invested in Club staff and members who had experienced a special need or circumstance that had caused great hardship.

     Beth has won many awards of excellence in her professional role as a financial advisor. She has also won the “Woman & Youth Award” for the Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains in 2010. She has been a member of the Sevierville noon Rotary Club for many years. During Beth’s tenure on the board of directors she has attended multiple Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Conferences, Tennessee Area Councils, Tennessee Alliance meetings, various trainings and Boys & Girls Clubs Southeast Leadership Conferences all at her own expense.

     In the past 24 years since Beth Urquhart joined the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of the Smokey Mountains, our organization has built three new buildings and completely renovated two former out of use school system buildings with very little debt remaining for our organization. Our operating budget has grown from just over $80,000 to over 3 million annually, our organizational endowment has grown from $8,000 to 1.6 million over the years. Those successes were possible because we had a solid financial plan, growth plan and long-term plan from the very beginning. Beth was a major factor in the financial growth for our organization. Our vision in 1997 was that we imagined a future in which every school-age child in Sevier County would have a viable opportunity to attend a world class Boys & Girls Club program. We have worked hard to achieve this goal. Thanks to board members like Beth Urquhart our vision continues to be accomplished as we serve children throughout our community in multiple locations. Beth is a great leader, a great planner, mentor and even better friend to all. We could not have done this without her efforts. When Covey said to, “begin with the end in mind,” he must have been thinking about Beth Urquhart.