(FREE) Where Are They Now: Jane Edwards Sutter - Hope for a New Generation
Story by Marlys Cervantes | Staff Writer
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“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul
than the way in which it treats its children.“
~ Nelson Mandela
Jane Edwards Sutter gives credit to her parents and growing up in Ponca City for her successful “first summer job at the Ponca City News, a 30-year career with local governments at the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) and then the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County.” As with many people, many of Sutter’s earlier adventures and achievements led to later successes in life. Her educational work in communication led her to solid positions with ACOG, and interests and volunteerism while working for ACOG led her to her career with youth in later years. All paths in her journey worked together for good in the community around her in ways that are beautiful to behold. Life lived on her own terms, but terms that have helped many in the community she loves.
After leaving her position with ACOG, Sutter knew she wanted to make a difference in an area where she had volunteered, to really help the community, and the area that stood out was the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County. As a result, she served as CEO of the organization for nine years and four months, a time which showed growth from one clubhouse in Oklahoma City to six clubs, including five in schools (moving clubs into schools was an important project of Sutter’s).
Sutter had contacts within ACOG that assisted in the mapping needed to show educators, leaders in OKC and police officers this expansion would serve the areas where they were most needed, so her previous work helped significantly in what she was now doing to help youth. The organization was then able to proceed with writing grants for different expansions in the various areas of need.
As far as expansion is concerned, Sutter most expresses her delight at how the team still in leadership has carried on even after her retirement from the organization. There are now 18 clubs (two clubhouses and 16 school sites). She says, “There will be four new fabulous clubhouses in the city when OKC completes its MAPS4 youth center projects (which will be managed by Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County).” She is very proud of the continued success of the leadership continuing to serve the vision she helped put in place.
It is easy to see where Jane Edwards Sutter gets this desire to leave her current community to be better for others. She remembers Ponca City as just such a place and loved growing up here, having graduated from Po-Hi in 1971. She lived on South 8th Street in a house built by her granddad, Ira Edwards, in 1911, and went to Garfield Elementary, East Junior High and
Po-Hi, just as her siblings and parents all did. Her family was very involved with First Presbyterian Church, and because of family-owned Bert & Ben’s Service Station, they knew everyone in town. Sutter says, “That continuity made me feel very grounded and secure.” It is easy to see how she came to desire helping other youth feel grounded in their own paths toward success in life.
Sutter had mentors early on, remembering her high school journalism teacher Mrs. Faulkner, as she says, “I was co-editor of the Poncan high school newspaper, and because of that received a scholarship from Gareth Muchmore, then editor of the Ponca City News, to go to a journalism camp at the University of Kansas between my junior and senior year.” Although Sutter wrote for the newspaper for three summers following high school graduation, the communication skills provided by her BS in Journalism and MS in Education from OSU opened the doors to her position at ACOG, a company that needed “writers who could make complicated subjects understandable.” These communication and writing skills led nicely to her work with the Club.
Besides her firsthand time with the youth and the expansion of the organization, Sutter says one of her most exciting projects while at the organization was when they worked collaboratively to write the book O is for Oklahoma and how it was one of the most fun things she did with the club members. Kids from each age group helped with the project. The publisher that worked with them generally gives the group the words to be used as the topics for the alphabet, but they declined that and said they would come up with the words, too. The publisher said they’d see if that would work. The group of youth worked with Bob Blackburn, Ph.D., with the Oklahoma Historical Society, who made coming up with words for each letter educational, challenging and fun. Then, the youth wrote the descriptions for each word in couplets. In the end, the publishers used all words the youth had chosen, with words such as Chickasaw and Vortex, and enjoyed working with the group through the editing process. They had meetings via Skype to edit the wording and such, and the editors expressed their enjoyment of the heavy involvement of the group. For a group of youth to have this experience of brainstorming with a professional, writing and going through the revision process with a team of editors is so uncommon it is remarkable and unforgettable for all involved. Giving such uncommon experiences to the youth of Oklahoma County is something Sutter cherishes, and the fact that it led to even more was priceless.
The organization searches for grants to expand to different schools and areas. At that time, they still had a sizable debt and many foundations would not provide grants to those in debt, so they were working to clear theirs, which generally takes time even with solid contributors. One of their interested parties who came to tour a facility in 2013 was Governor Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation, who happened to come when they had received their books, O is for Oklahoma. They were able to show him their book and the diversity expressed in it. He later, without letting them even know it was coming, had a $400,000 check that paid off their building mortgage debt hand delivered. What a great surprise that was and a day of tremendous gratitude for the beginning of new phases of expansion.
After years leading the organization to successful expansion and stability, Sutter was already planning to retire as President/CEO in May 2020 long before COVID-19, and the group had a strong team in place to continue the work. When asked if she felt closure, she says, “I don’t think I will ever feel ‘closure’ until I see our community, state and nation start making kids a priority, including outstanding schools for ALL kids.” This sentiment is precisely what led Sutter to feel compelled to write her book, Hope for America’s Youth: Beyond the Blue Doors of a Boys & Girls Club. She knew she needed to bring forth the sentiment expressed in the Mandela quote she includes in the book: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.“ She has a passion for the “underserved and at-risk children and teens” she served for nearly 10 years with the organization, and she knows the need is critical to our communities.
When writing her book and getting in touch with former youth who were members, one of the beautiful surprises was just how much she discovered that entire families had been impacted by the experience of the youth being engaged with the Club. When visiting with one of the young men whose story is in the book, he talked about how the experience had helped his mother cope, his sisters become successful and how a younger brother is now on staff there. Many told stories of having a place they belonged during times of trauma, of having mentors and a place to be. In her book, Sutter says, “I thought about the hundreds of young people I had seen creating better futures for themselves as they worked with adult role models. I reflected on the talented staff members and generous volunteers who had helped guide so many of these talented young people out of poverty onto paths toward higher education and self-sufficiency” (ix). The stories are many, and you can read a few wonderful ones if you pick up the book Hope for America’s Youth.
What does Jane Edwards Sutter really hope comes from her life and her book? She hopes to inspire more adults to engage with the children and youth around them. She believes that each interaction a person has with another affects change in some way, whether minuscule or dramatic — it all matters. In the introduction of her book, Sutter says she considers her book “an exploration, an honest attempt to demonstrate how caring adults can ignite the bright potential of America’s youth, creating effervescent constellations of hope” (xi).
Sutter says, “All kids matter and deserve the opportunity to thrive, regardless of what ZIP code they are born in, what nationality they are or what their gender identity is. Kids matter, and public schools matter! Our democratic society depends on educated people who are accepted and positively involved in their communities.” She witnesses these individuals forging a better future and brightening life like stars brightening a dark sky, reaching out among the world around them. Then, they scatter and connect to others. This is real success, when the light reaches out even further. Let’s be the light with Sutter, shall we, and scatter our hope for America’s youth by engaging with them in bright and positive ways?
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