Dr. David Ratliff was recruited to join the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors in December of 1997. At the end of 1997 the organization had an operating balance of $233.05, had just hired a new CEO and the entire organization consisted of a gym and a stage at an old primary school with a janitors closet for offices. We felt like David had a passion for kids but we could have never imagined what an impact he would make on the lives of children across the State of Tennessee.

David started his service to the Board of Directors on the program committee. His service has included coaching of a branch director how to perform CPR on a hamster who was unconscious and unresponsive over the phone. “Homey the Hampster” survived the incident and so did Dr. Ratliff. David has always been actively engaged in mentoring Club members. He has mentored and coached Youth of the Year candidates for many years. He is also actively involved in teaching classes in “Passport to Manhood” and “Productive Futures” programs. 

In 2000, David changed from the program committee to become the new chair of the board development committee. It is there where David found his sense of belonging. For the past 19 years Dr. Ratliff has put tremendous time, talent and treasure in making sure the Smoky Mountains Board of Directors was the very best if could be. Under David’s leadership the Smoky Mountains Board of Directors has won the State of Tennessee “High Performance Board Team Award” 5 times, and the Southeast “High Performance Board Team Award” 3 times. In addition our individual board members have won the Tennessee Area Council “Board Member of the Year” 5 times and the “Beverly Burton New Board Member of the Year” 3 times. 

David has been very dedicated to board training by encouraging board attendance at all Tennessee Area Council Meetings, Boys & Girls Club State and National Government Advocacy meetings, Southeast Leadership Conferences and National Conferences. David started attending conferences in 2004 in preparation for his role as Board President in 2005. Since that first National Conference, David has had perfect attendance for 15 straight years. Over the years David has developed a core group of regulars to attend conferences and always tries to encourage at least one new attendee each year. All the conference attendees pay their own way to the conference and his largest group to date is 14 attendees. For multiple years David has attended The Day on the Hill in Nashville, Tennessee and Washington, DC, as well as the Southeast Leadership Conference, Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Conference and Tennessee Area Council.

David has been a great asset to the Boys & Girls Club across the State of Tennessee through his service as President of the Tennessee Alliance and CBO Board of Directors. He has also served as the Chair for the Tennessee Area Council. David has served on these boards for over a decade and is passionate about every Club in Tennessee being the best it can be.

Individually David has been awarded the Smoky Mountains Board Member of the Year in 2000 and the Man and Youth Award in 2009. David was awarded the 2015 National Area Council Liaison Award by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He has been a member of the “Great Futures Campaign”, Torch Society for 15 straight years. I can sum up Dr. David Ratliff’s commitment to the Boys & Girls Club with one story. In 2016 our Keystone Club was preparing to leave for a Keystone Conference in Texas when we discovered we had a transportation problem that would kill the trip. I called David for advice. In one hour he packed his bag and drove a group of kids to a week-long Keystone Conference in Texas. He attended the conference, gave the children the opportunity to attend the event and brought the kids back home. That is Dr. David Ratliff.