Having attended the Club as a young boy, Sam LaPorte has served the Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County is a variety of ways and has been a vital part of its success. Sam LaPorte served on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County from 1995 to 2002 and returned to service in 2013. In 2001, Citizens Bank foreclosed on an old undergarment factory. Sam envisioned the building as a new site for the Boys & Girls Club. In the past, the Club had gone through a series of less than ideal locations. This site would have the space needed to serve more kids with quality. Sam worked out all the logistics of having the bank donate the building to the City of Elizabethton for the express purpose of a Boys & Girls Club and provided city assurance that the building would operate as a city building. To this day, the City of Elizabethton pays for repairs over $500 and pays the Club utilities. Sam was the leader in the fundraising effort for renovations to the building. Without Sam’s dedicated service, the Club would not have such an outstanding facility to serve kids.

In 2013, Sam returned to the Board of Directors and has fought tirelessly for the success of the Club. Since his return to the Board, the Club has almost doubled in yearly revenue and quadrupled in member attendance. Sam continues to advocate in the community for the Boys & Girls Club and is responsible for a large amount of the organization’s corporate and individual giving. Sam has also been instrumental in the creation of the Club’s first Steak & Burger set to best Board in Elizabethton. Sam makes mission driven decisions and his actions as a Board member consistently focus on how to serve more kids in better ways while creating a strong organization. There is no doubt but that the Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County would not be the organization it is today without the leadership and generosity of Sam LaPorte.

Sam was raised in Elizabethton, graduated from Elizabethton High School, obtained a degree from the University of Tennessee in mechanical engineering, and graduated from the University of Tennessee Law School. He then returned to Elizabethton to practice law. Since then, he has been committed to helping his local community. He has served on a variety of community Boards, was instrumental in the formation of the Elizabethton Soccer Association, served on City Council and as Mayor, and has been dedicated to helping the region through economic development and workforce development. Sam is certainly known as a compassionate community leader. Sam is married to Marlo LaPorte and has a daughter, Katie, and a son, Drew.