Integrity
by Rocky Noe

The Right Man for the Job

Websters Dictionary defines Integrity as Honest; uprightness; Moral Soundness; Wholeness; Completeness. That is a lot to live to up to. However, when I think of the word "Integrity" I am always reminded of a good friend of mine. Jerry Cantrell personifies the word "Integrity". Not only is Jerry a great business leader, champion of children and families, business consultant, superior therapist and a great teacher, he is also my mentor. Jerry is who I want to be when I grow up. Not only is he a great mentor, but he is also a great friend. I have had the pleasure of knowing him for several years. I worked for him for about 4 years. In that time I learned a lifetime of valuable lessons on helping less fortunate people, therapy approaches, and some of the best leadership skills available. In addition, I learned some valuable lessons on how people should be treated in a business environment and as colleagues and friends.

The following is a short Biography of Jerry and some of his accomplishments:

A native of West Liberty, Kentucky, Jerry graduated from Morehead State University with a BA in University Studies in 1978. He began his career in services to families and children as a cottage parent at Woodsbend Boys’ Camp in 1971. Mr. Cantrell worked as a Child Protective Service Worker with the Department of Social Services in Morehead from 1977-78. He earned his Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social in 1980. After graduation Jerry was appointed to serve as Superintendent of Morehead Treatment Center and remained in that position until May 1983. In 1983 Jerry was hired as Chief Operating Officer for the Presbyterian Child Welfare Agency in Buckhorn, Kentucky. He served in that position for 19 years. During Jerry’s tenure as COO the agency grew from serving 40 families and children to serving over 400 clients with an $18,000,000 annual budget.

Jerry was hired as the Executive Director of Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children September 30, 2002. Since becoming Bellewood’s Executive Director the quality of the programs have improved which has lead to recognition as a leading agency in Kentucky working with severely emotional and behaviorally disturbed adolescents. When Jerry assumed the Executive Director position Bellewood was experiencing serious financial problems. During the first year of his tenure Jerry implemented improved financial management processes and help establish revenue and income goals for each program cost center. As a result the budget deficit was reduced by 438% and Bellewood expects to have a balanced budget by the end of FY 2005.

Jerry was elected as Buckhorn City Commissioner in 1996 serving 3 terms and was a member of the Buckhorn School Site Based Counsel. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. and has served as Sunday school teacher, Deacon, Elder and Clerk of Session.  He is currently a member of the Anchorage Presbyterian Church Session in Anchorage KY.

Jerry is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Certified Social Worker. He is a Senior Trainer for the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute in Hagerstown, Maryland. Jerry was s graduate of the Leadership Kentucky Class of 2001.

Jerry has been married for 26 years and has 2 children. His wife Mary is a social worker and certified Montessori teacher. She was instrumental in the start up and development of several Montessori preschools for at risk children in Eastern Kentucky. His daughter Ami is a senior in Social Work at Morehead State University. Jeremy is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky’s Mechanical Engineering Department. 

Jerry is committed to providing quality services to families and children in need. He works diligently to design programs that are individualized, that empower families/children to solve their own problems, and that are non-coercive in nature.

Jerry has helped many children and families through the years. It is amazing how many people come back to see Jerry many years after having been served as clients in the programs he works with. They all seem to have a strong attachment to him. They care for him due to the fact that he cared for them at a time when others would not. The following excerpts are comments made by a national surveying agency that recently toured and accreditted Jerry's Program at Bellewood:

 

We finished our COA Accreditation June 16, 2004 with the exit interview. We had a very successful survey. The COA Surveyors Rodney Bass and Dale Perterson had several positives things to say about Bellewood in the exit interview. The following are some of their comments:

"I am impressed with how well the agency is organized and the positive attitudes of the staff. They are dedicated to the mission. Bellewood is one of the best-organized agencies I have visited."

"The personnel records are very well organized and in order."

"You have some of the best residential facilities that I have seen. The facilities are certainly the upper end of residential facilities."

"The format and content of the records are outstanding. They are the best client records that I have had the opportunity to view. The format is awesome!"

"The consistency of the incident reports is excellent. It’s obvious that the staff have been well trained. Staff usually writes their interpretation of what happened. Your staff consistently writes down an objective description and the facts of the event like they are supposed to do."

"The training Bellewood offers is to be commended. You have one of the most comprehensive plans that I have seen. I really enjoyed my conversation with Mr.(Charley)Cheek, he must be a wonderful teacher. I felt like I had been in a training session when we were finished."

"It’s clear to us that Bellewood’s staff are fully engaged and dedicated to the mission and values of the agency. The organizational culture created around values is outstanding."

"Its obvious Bellewood is dealing with challenging youth at a psychiatric rehab level; it’s more than typical residential care."

"The staff reports there is an open, transparent approach from senior management. Senior management is approachable all the way to the Executive Director. When concerns are identified by staff, senior management takes them seriously and works toward resolving them."

It's pretty clear that Jerry is a great leader. I really value his Integrity and what he stands for. I think everthing can be summed up in his example of how he provides leadership. It is simply this. if there is a problem in his agency, he stands up and takes ownership of the problem. If good things are being said and given attention, he lets subordinates handle it. He takes the punches and gives the glory to others. Jerry is a fine example of Integrity. Jerry Cantrell is a TERRIFIC PERSON!

To find out more about Bellewood Childrens Home visit www.bellewood.org

 

JERRY CANTRELL'S Resume'

SENIOR EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Results-driven Senior Manager with over 15 years demonstrated experience.  Strong qualifications in Leadership Development, Not-for Profit, Operating Budgets, Training and Development, Performance Improvement, Customer Development, Participative Management Decision-Making Authority, Public Relations, and Consensus Building.  MSSW.

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Goal-oriented with a proven track record of achievement, my objective is to utilize
management expertise, advanced knowledge and leadership abilities toward
development of quality services for families.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Bellewood Presbyterian Home       2002 to Present
 Anchorage, KY

 Executive Director       2002 to Present

Management all operations functions including treatment and services, financial, fundraising, HR and more.

Improved quality of program leading to recognition as a leading agency in Kentucky working with severely emotional and behaviorally disturbed adolescents. 

Reduced operating deficit form $3,500,000 in FY 2002 to $800,000 by FY 2003. 

Expect to reduce deficit by another 50% in FY 2004 and cut it to zero in FY 2005.

Presbyterian Child Welfare Agency             1983 to 2002
 Buckhorn, KY

 Vice President for Clinical Services/Chief Operating Officer         2002

Provided leadership/management of clinical systems for multi-service children’s and family services agency.  Managed two vice presidents, three program directors, one maintenance coordinator, two executive assistants, one director of government relations, one Ph.D. psychologist, one director for professional development, one performance improvement director as direct reports.  Oversaw $18,000,000 budget. 

Created eight new products that increased annual revenues from $650,000 to $18,000,000.

Successfully monitored all program activities to ensure safe, secure, non-punitive environment was maintained for clients.

Developed mission/vision for agency programs and ensured implementation of agency philosophy.

Ensured compliance with all regulatory agencies, i.e. Licensing and Regulation, Children’s Review Program, Joint Commission for HealthCare Organizations.

Cooperated with board of directors to design/implement new programs, communicate issues and work with Program Planning Committee to assess needs of those served by organization.

Created environment to attract, retain and motivate quality personnel.  Ensured development and training, of sufficient quality available for all personnel, through Buckhorn Training Institute.
JERRY CANTRELL

Successfully developed positive public/community relations by participating in community activities (civic groups, schools, etc.) while developing and maintaining relationships with clients (including Department of Juvenile Justice, Cabinet for Families and Children).

Monitored and coordinated development of annual budget while ensuring appropriate funding streams to balance revenue and expenses. 

Negotiated fees for services with referral agencies in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.  Achieved significant increases critical to organization growth.

Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer            1989 to 2002

Led and managed all aspects of program operations for large, multi-service, complex family and children’s service agency including, among others, program development and monitoring, participation in policy development and implementation, performance improvement activities and compliance assurance.

Personally led and directed effort through three successful surveys in 1993, 1996 and 1999 culminating in accreditation by Joint Commission on Accreditation for Health Care Organizations.

Created and developed Buckhorn Training Institute (BTI) in cooperation with Director of Professional Development.  BTI earned revenue in excess of $100,000 per year for five years.  Established BTI as national training site for Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute (LSCI), one of only fourteen in U.S.

Recruited for first group of 25 professionals to become LSCI Senior Trainer and later worked with Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice offering LSCI in its Training Academy.  LSCI model substantially improved quality of services in DJJ facilities.

Implemented management training program involving Lead Management principles resulting in 100% of managers directly reporting increases in effectiveness and decreases in stress.

CERTIFICATION/LICENSURE

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Licensed Certified Social Worker

Graduate: Kentucky Leadership Class, 2001

EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Masters of Science
Social Work
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY

Bachelor of University Studies
Morehead State University
Morehead, KY

 

 

 

Prepared to provide immediate as well as long term contributions

 
    






Rocky Noe is a founding member of Rattle The Cage