Bob Baisden joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maury County Board of Directors in 2008 and has continued to serve to ensure the continued success and growth of the organization. Bob began supporting the Club in the early 2000s before he was approached by John Porter and John Stephens, who took him out to lunch and as “one thing led to another…” Bob joined the Club’s Board of Directors. Over the last ten years, Bob has chaired the Board, served on the executive committee, and chaired the Mission Committee which was responsible for vetting the 2016 expansion into the school system. Under the guidance of the Mission Committee, the organization opened 11 new school-based sites in August 2016 and began serving all Maury County schools, more than tripling the Club membership as a result. In recognition of the Board’s tireless efforts to make the new expansion a success, they received the High Performance Board Team Award for the Southeast Region of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 

Needless to say, they wouldn’t be where they are today without Bob’s steadfast support. Bob and his wife Ann have been loyal supporters of the Club’s work and have been annual members of the Jeremiah Milbank Society since 2005. Bob's passion for the Club is infectious, and it has also brought countless new supporters to the cause. Bob has expanded the donor base internationally through his personal and business networks. He got the Club their first international donor, and even converted them to also becoming Jeremiah Milbank members. Bob approaches fundraising genuinely and from a place of passion for the kids, and thanks to him they now have donors in London, Bermuda, New York, and abroad. During tough years when the Club struggled financially, Bob always ensured that the Club was able to stay afloat. He sponsors tables personally and through his business at Boys & Girls Club events like the annual Great Futures Luncheon and Dream Makers Dinner Auction.

Club Treasurer Ken Horner likes to tell the story of one time he was golfing with Bob and a potential donor. “By the second hole, Bob was talking about the Club. By the ninth hole, he had secured a donation to the Club.” Bob’s passion for our organization and our kids extends beyond just fundraising. He has taught our kids how to fish on the Club’s annual fishing trips, has given our kids and their families tickets to Titans games, and offered other opportunities. Bob received the Ora Thompson Service Award at the 2015 Dream Makers Dinner Auction. This award was first introduced in 2010 in honor of Ms. Ora Graham Thompson, a lifelong Maury County resident who, at the age of 87 in 1999, donated $50,000 to the just chartered Boys & Girls Club. With this generous donation, the Club was able to hire its first executive director and to secure a permanent location. The award was created to honor her incredible commitment to the Boys & Girls Club of Maury County, and Mrs. Thompson was posthumously honored as the award’s first recipient. Mrs. Thompson’s generosity paved the way for everything that the Boys & Girls Club has achieved to date. The Ora Thompson Service Award is presented annually to the individual who has demonstrated over an extended period a genuine passion for the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has shown significant support to the local Boys & Girls Club in pursuit of its mission. Bob has selflessly given of his time, talent, and resources, and his love for the Club's kids is evident in everything he does.

Bob and Ann now live in Brentwood but still enjoy their farm on Darks Mill Road in Maury County. They have one son, Brandon, a beautiful daughter-in-law, Katie, and the true loves of their lives—granddaughters Gillian and Ellery.