Pastor Dough Carlson and his wife, Judy, are surprised with flowers and a plaque for their support of the Boys & Girls Club.

McKinney has a heart
for Boys & Girls Club

The bitter cold and icy conditions of Feb. 10 didn’t stop the biggest crowd ever from attending the fifth annual Have a Heart dinner for the Boys and Girls Club of Lake County-Zion-Benton Unit at Illinois Beach Resort. Perhaps it was, in part, because people realize the importance of the club, but more likely, it had a lot to do with the keynote speaker, Zion basketball icon, Billy McKinney, currently the scouting director for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Over a 30 year period, McKinney has established himself as one of the most experienced and versatile executives in the NBA. McKinney has served as a player, scout, assistant coach, administrator and consultant, as well as an on-air analyst for several teams’ television and radio broadcasts.

High school star
McKinney, a 1973 Z-BTHS graduate, excelled in three sports as a high school athlete: basketball, baseball and football. His name is still legendary in Zion. His basketball scoring record remains unchallenged. His basketball jersey was retired and still hangs proudly in the Zion-Benton high school gym as an inspiration.

McKinney was also an outstanding high school baseball player; a sport in which he could also easily have gone pro. In double headers, he always played both games, rather than sitting one game out. When other players asked why he was so privileged, the varsity coach said, “Taking Billy out of a game is like taking a spark plug out of a car.”

NBA calls
In the late 1970s, when McKinney was just starting in the National Basketball Association, coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said McKinney was the quickest guard he’d ever coached.

After attending Northwestern University in Evanston, he played for the Denver Nuggets. In the mid-to-late 80s, he was voted most popular Nugget before becoming Assistant General Manager to the Chicago Bulls. Following that, he was invited to Minneapolis to serve as the General Manager of that new ball club.

Zion played a role
Despite his illustrious career, he still has a soft spot for his boyhood days in Zion because of the sense of community, which he still recalls fondly and holds dear.
He cited Zion mentors and friends from his high school days, many of whom were in the dinner’s attendance, saying he holds these mentors like John Samuelian and Loren Sparks in especially high esteem for taking time and showing they had good faith in him.

Jack Senter, class of 1974, who co-emceed the event with John January, was a devoted fan, attending all his games, while January was always someone he looked up to as an example of the kind of person he wanted to be.

Coincidentally, Loren Sparks won the raffle for a basketball signed by all the Milwaukee Bucks, and a personal autograph from Billy McKinney.

Value of Boys & Girls Clubs
Among his favorite memories are his days in the Waukegan Boys and Girls Club. The Zion unit wasn’t formed until 2008. When McKinney was told there would one day be a Boys & Girls Club in Zion and they wanted him to speak, he replied, “Just tell me when and I’ll be there.”

Keeping his word, McKinney happily joined the dinner group last Friday night.
He recognized the importance of Boys & Girls Clubs, saying kids need a place to fill their time in a positive manner. Boys & Girls Clubs supply that with great role models and mentors. Several students and parents expressed their gratitude, saying what a difference it has made in the students’ lives.

“With more than 1.3 million young people dropping out of high school yearly, there is a need to provide programs to teach students academic success, building good character and citizenship, daily guidance in behavior and attitude as well as healthy living style.”
The statistics are staggering for need of change. “At North Chicago high school, less than 60 percent of the freshman will graduate. In Waukegan, 30 percent will drop out before reaching sophomore year and less than 30 percent of the high school seniors will meet state standard for reading and math,” McKinney said.

“They’re our future leaders, so we are investing in our future when we support them. While we’re guiding the ship now, we will be passing the torch. The more we can spend time with these kids and get involved with their lives and share personal and professional experiences with them, mentor them how to be good young men and women, good students, children, teammates and pillars of the community, the better off we are all going to be.”

Couple honored
Pastor Doug Carlson and wife Judy were honored with flowers and an appreciation plaque for stepping up and offering Grace Missionary Church as the Boys & Girls meeting place. The church board and members approved and the Boys & Girls Club thanks them heartily for making the difference in the lives of these young kids.

Donate
Donations to the Boys & Girls Club are always welcome to help with ongoing operating expenses. You will be making an investment in our community by investing in our kids.