A ‘father figure’ for 40 years, Willie Cooper retires from Manatee Boys & Girls Club
Willie Cooper retired from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County after 40 years of service, having touched the lives of over 40,000 local children and families.
Mr. Cooper, or just Coop, as many around town know him, has had a long relationship with the nonprofit organization, which dates back to his childhood when he was one of the first Black kids to join the Boys Club of Manatee County Bradenton branch in the 1960s.
Cooper told the Bradenton Herald in an interview that his time at the Club flew by because it never seemed like work to him, and that establishing a genuine relationship with the kids and their families led to his longevity.
“It’s all about relationships. You have to have relationships with the kids and show them you really care,” Cooper said.
On Feb. 18, Cooper celebrated his retirement in style. Driven in a vintage Rolls Royce sent for him by one of his former Club kids, he was greeted by nearly 250 people at his retirement party held at King Family Farm & Market.
Trinity D., 17, a Club kid and also Mr. Cooper’s niece, said she attended his retirement party, and hearing all of the stories about him gave her goosebumps and a warm feeling.
Community celebrates Cooper’s impact
“They were like extraordinary. My cheeks started to hurt from smiling so much after hearing all the stories, like, wow, he’s really made an impact on all of these people,” Trinity said.
She said growing up she never knew how many lives he’s changed but hopes that the local community will continue to speak of his work for generations to come.
Trinity said, “Generations of people in the county have shared stories of what he’s done for them. He’s more than a legacy at the Boys & Girls Clubs. He’s a community leader.”
Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown, a former Club child, spoke at Cooper’s retirement celebration and declared February 18, Willie Cooper Day. In addition, he presented a proclamation from Manatee County Government establishing Feb. 13-18 as Willie Cooper Week, praising Cooper as “the gold standard in empathy, leadership, and compassion for any person belonging to the Manatee County Boys & Girls Club.”
“The Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County wishes to honor Willie Cooper for the 40 years of serving over 40,000 Manatee County youth and their families; and WHEREAS, the week of Feb. 13, 2023, shall be known as Willie Cooper Week for defining what a service leader looks like with a history of excellent leadership,” the proclamation from the county stated.
A father figure for generations of local kids
Cooper, who has taken on the role of community leader and father figure, has devoted most of his life to helping local children, many of whom were scholars, troubled youth, or orphaned by their families and placed in foster care.
“You have to show love, companionship and concern because a lot didn’t have that at home,” Cooper said. “They might be in the foster care program, and they come to the Boys & Girls Club, and you give them the opportunity to do things they might not get to do at home.”
Some of those kids would go on to become cancer research specialists at Moffitt, military vets, professional athletes and ESPN personnel, and even return to the Clubs to work.
Kareem White, 47, a Bradenton native and director of talent for ESPN, said Cooper was a father figure to him.
“Coop was like a second father figure to a lot of us, or in some cases, a first father figure to many of us,” White said. “He always stayed in contact with all of us, and I appreciated his guidance and everything through the years.”
White said Cooper gave him and his friends an opportunity to get their first paying jobs through a leader’s training program at the Club.
“We went from being Club kids to leaders in training to actually being staff members,” White said. “It gave us a sense of responsibility, and we were in a safe space. We were working for somebody we admired and respected.”
Cooper has long been an avid fisherman and photographer, but he is unsure of what he will do with his time now that he is retired.
CEO and President of the Boys & Girls Club Dawn Stanhope said the organization will always be there for Cooper, especially as he enters the next chapter of his life.
“It’s really about how he wants to stay connected because nobody wants to say goodbye, and it’s not like he’s moving away,” Stanhope said. “He’s still here in the community.”
Willie Cooper has also been inducted into the Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County’s Alumni Hall of Fame, joining the like of former Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown.
A Legacy of Service
Throughout his 40-year tenure, Cooper has served the club from top to bottom. He has served as a program specialist, the director of physical education, the program director, the Club director, the community director, and the alumni and community relations director.
Cooper was key in the planning, development and construction of the Palmetto Club.
He served as a three-year national training associate for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in the early 2000s. In that role, he would travel to train Club associates at various Clubs throughout the U.S.
Outside of his obligations to the Club, Cooper also found time to give back to his community.
Cooper’s an active member of Sertoma, an international service club, and served several years on the board of Keep Manatee Beautiful, where he also served as chairman of the education committee. Cooper is a founding member of Brothers 2 Brothers, a group that feeds the homeless and assists grieving families.
Cooper has also won countless awards and honors, including the Royal Sara-Mana Club, Inc. community service award in 2007, the magnificent man of Manatee County award in 2014, the Palmetto Club’s game room being named after him in 2017, the Teamsters National Black Caucus awarding him the outstanding community leadership and youth advocate award in 2018, and the Boys & Girls Club of America’s national service youth award.
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