Franklin BPW members win regional awards

Clay’s life tells a story of determination. Growing up in Franklin, she graduated from Franklin-Simpson High School and attended Brescia University in Owensboro, where she received a bachelor of arts degree with a major in political science. Following graduation, she was employed by the City of Bowling Green in the Recreation Department. After two years, she left that job to return to Western Kentucky University where she got a master’s degree in organizational leadership. “I resigned from the job in Bowling Green in 2015 so that I could go to school full-time,” Clay said. “I was pregnant with my daughter, so I decided to focus on my education and prepare for having a baby.”

Clay came to work at the Franklin-Simpson Boys and Girls Club (BGC) in August of 2016, right after giving birth to her daughter, Addison. Now seven years old, Addison attends Simpson Elementary School. “She used to go to Foundation Christian Academy in Bowling Green,” said Clay, “but she didn’t get to see her friends from dance and sports, and now she does. It’s been great.”

Clay started at BGC as a Youth Development Coordinator. “I knew I wasn’t the stay-at-home type, so as soon as I could, I started looking for a job. The Boys and Girls Club was perfect for my situation.”

Clay was promoted steadily, moving from Youth Development Coordinator to Director of Programming, to her current position as Director of Operations, where she oversees two BGC facilities, one in Franklin and the other in Scottsville.

Clay was intricately involved in competing for the $115 thousand grant the Franklin-Simpson Boys and Girls Club received from the national organization in January. “We make sure our club does a lot of community service and that’s what the national organization is looking for. So our kids stay involved in everything in Simpson County — the county’s history, celebrating MLK Day, the Human Rights Commission activities — they’re always doing projects to help the city.”

For instance, this spring the BGC will be preparing a garden located directly across the street from the facility. “Our kids are planting the garden right now, and learning about the different plants as they go. By the summer, we’ll have a full garden. It’s a teaching garden, so our kids will work in the garden every day, and the community will be invited to come and get what they need.”

The Franklin-Simpson BGC is open full-time in the summers, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Summer is our busy time of the year,” said Clay. “We employ a lot of teachers. Two for each age group, which comes to eight to ten staff, and there’s a unit director and a front desk person. And this is duplicated on both sites Franklin and Scottsville.”

Both branches of the Franklin-Simpson BGC participate in national BGC programs, which are numerous. “Four that come to mind are Positive Actions, Smart Moves, Passport to Manhood, and Smart Girls, programs designed to help our kids develop good habits and build character,” said Clay. “I implement all of these in our clubs.”

Clay joined the Franklin-Simpson Business and Professional Women during Covid and has high praise for the organization. “A lot of people think it’s only for women, but it’s not,” she said. “We have several male members. We do promote the interests of women. Equal pay day is very important to us, and we support professional development for women. We give out a traditional scholarship for high school seniors and non-traditional scholarships for women going back to school. I received that scholarship last year because I was headed back to Western to get my doctorate.”

Clay will be receiving her Doctor of Education (EDD) degree in May of 2024, with a concentration in non-profits and organizational leadership. She aspires to eventually work for the national BGC organization in Atlanta and is attracted to the idea of working in Washington, D.C., lobbying for good causes.

Clay attributes her ambition to her daughter. “When I had my daughter, I felt a need to hurry up and get going. By the time she was six months old, I had my master’s degree. Addison was born with a speech delay, so we attended Western together. She went to Western Speech Therapy while I was going to school. And she’s doing great! She’s on track to meet all of her first-grade targets this year.”

Clay is satisfied to stay where she is for the present, while her daughter enjoys growing up in the Franklin community. “I’m doing a lot of grant writing and there’s a ton of work getting ready for the summer. But I’m still fast-tracking it. I’ve finished all my course work and I’m writing my dissertation right now.”

Her dissertation is on the educational benefits of after-school programs. “We have a peer tutor program here at the BGC, which gives me the perfect way to collect data for my dissertation. I’ll also be looking at ways to improve this program and replicate it in Scottsville.”

Clay said that her mother, a single parent, pushed her to do well in school. “When I graduated, I knew I wasn’t ready for a big university, so I chose Brescia. My advisor was like a second mother to me. She got me ready to compete in the world.”

These are the exact words used by Angel Payne when she describes Ally Clay. “I’ve been coming to the Boys and Girls Club for a long time, and Ally Clay was my teen director. She’s like a second mother to me.”

Payne’s position as a Youth Development Professional has her teaching second and third graders. This will be her third summer as a full-time employee at the BCG. “Summers here are amazing — field trips and shows at the Goodnight Library, and of course, working in the garden. The kids have so much fun they almost forget how much they’re learning.”

Payne, 21, is a student at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKY) and will be graduating with her associate degree in 2024. “My goal is to be a child psychologist, so I’ll be going to a four-year university when I finish at Sky,” said Payne. “I work with kids at the Boys and Girls Club, of course, but I also work at the Head Start Program in Franklin.” She says her life goal is to work with children—finding ways to help them.

Payne heard about the BPW competition from Clay. “We’ll be going to the state competition in June,” said Payne. “And I’ll be joining BPW as a member as soon as I can.”

Angel Payne appears to be following in the footsteps of her mentor, Ally Clay, two young women of Franklin, dedicating their lives to improving their community even as they improve themselves.

The ten members of the Franklin-Simpson KFBPW who supported Clay and Payne by attending the regional meeting are Liz Stanley, Miguel Carrillo, Alice Bailey, Amber Huggins, Sharon Taylor-Carrillo, Chris McCoy, Laura Tyree, Amy Smith, Ally Clay, and Angel Payne.