Ellen Wilhoit joined the Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains Board of Directors in 1992. When she joined, the Smoky Mountains was in the process of transitioning from a Unit of the Boys & Girls Club in Knoxville to becoming their own organization. The Club had a total membership of 184 children, an average daily attendance of 37 children served per day, and the operating budget was only $45,000. 

     One of Ellen’s first actions was to recruit the local Masonic Lodge to do a spaghetti dinner and auction where we displayed items on old hospital beds and auctioned mason jars of spaghetti sauce at the event. Ellen Wilhoit was living the phrase “Whatever it takes to build great futures” long before it became a national catch phrase. 

     In 1993 the Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains was formed as an independent organization and Ellen Wilhoit was accepting many leadership roles in every aspect of the organization. She chaired the Annual Auction, Steak & Burger Dinner and Great Futures Campaign. She served as Board Secretary in 1998, Vice President in 1999 and served as Board President in 2000. Ellen has always been a servant leader. One example of this is her development of a program titled “Women of the Roundtable”. Ellen created this program where she would meet with a group of young female Club members weekly, sit around a round table and discuss life, problems, solutions and how to best move forward to achieve positive results. Ellen’s program was so impactful to the children she served that as adults they still talk to her at every opportunity. 25 years later, the program Ellen started has now evolved into the program “Women of Empowerment” The program now takes place at all five local Boys & Girls Club locations for our organization and involves over twelve women board members. Members receive advice and mentoring from leading female business women and develop relationships that will better their life.

     When Ellen joined the Board of Directors she was a nurse. Later, she became the Administrator of the local hospital and eventually landed in her current role as the Executive Director of Leadership Sevier. In every role Ellen has undertaken in her professional life she has used her time, talents, treasure and influence to help the Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains. Ellen has served on our Board of Directors for 30 years. She is one of the pillars that served as the foundation on which the Smoky Mountains organization was built. It is a great honor for our organization for Ellen Wilhoit to enter the Tennessee Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame.