When the Winston-Salem office of Big Brothers Big Sisters Inc. opened in 1977, all Bert Grisard had was an answering machine and a list of 30 children who needed adult mentors.
But in the more than 30 years that Grisard has been the group's president and chief executive, it has grown to serving more than 500 children.
Yesterday, Grisard announced that he will be leaving the group, telling more than 200 people at a noon luncheon that this would be the last time that they would see him in a tie.
"A shirt, maybe," he said, "but not a tie."
Grisard will leave in November, which is also when he will turn 65.
"I've done a good job, and I've probably done all I could do," he said after the luncheon.
Grisard has overseen a number of changes at the operation, which started out in a small office on Third Street. It has expanded, adding offices in Davie and Yadkin counties. In 1993, the group bought a building on Westdale Avenue for its new office.
Through its program, about 240 children are matched with adults. Volunteers get together at least once a week with the child they are matched with.
Also, more than 100 children take part in a program in which adult volunteers visit elementary schools, said Judi Saint Sing, the group's director of volunteer recruitment.
And under Grisard's leadership, activities were added for children on the waiting list. Those children are able to attend sporting activities, hike or visit SciWorks.
The group has already started a national search for Grisard's replacement. The salary for the post is $70,000 to $80,000 a year, said Brett W. Hoge, the chairman of the board of directors. Grisard is paid $73,520 a year, according to the nonprofit group's tax records.
Hoge said that Big Brothers Big Sisters wants to hire someone by August.
Grisard understands the plight of at-risk youth and the problems they face, said Benny Murrill, a former chairman of the group's board of directors. Murrill retired in November as the director of Forsyth County Youth Services.
"Kids don't have a lot of role models other than the parent," Murrill said.
"He has tried to be sensitive to the need of those at-risk kids in having someone else they can look up to and who will spend time with them…. He's pretty much a pioneer in this community in that one-on-one partnership of children," Murrill said.
"I'd say a lot of kids have benefited from his organization and his leadership," he said.
Mary Keenan, who teaches at the Arts Based Elementary School, said that the program has been a huge help to her and her 10-year-old son, Zachary, who has been matched with Darryl Lane for more than a year.
"As a parent, I was a little afraid I was going to get some wacko," Keenan said during the luncheon. But Lane has been wonderful to her son, she said.
And as a teacher, she said, she sees the ripple effects. Children who have big brothers and big sisters are happier, and that seeps its way into the classroom, she said.
"It's not just about Zachary," she said. "It's an impact to the whole community."
Hoge said that Grisard is known nationally for his leadership.
"He's been around a long time, and he's outspoken and a big advocate for Big Brothers," said Hoge, who has been on the board of directors for five years. "He's just committed to it and has a passion for it."
■ Michael Hewlett can be reached at 727-7326 or at mhewlett@wsjournal.com.
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