It’s always exciting to see someone come back home to the place where he or she was molded and then take a job that has the potential to mold many others.

That’s just what Lamarr Coles III has done. As the new unit director of the Boys and Girls Club in Suffolk, Coles has a unique opportunity to show youngsters the positive effect that organization can have on their lives.

The Boys and Girls Club provides a safe place for children to go after school until 8 p.m., and during the summer, as well. Children receive homework help, activities and meals, and they benefit from special programs, such as those focused on self-esteem or financial literacy.

Coles has been involved with the Boys and Girls Club since he was in the sixth grade at John F. Kennedy Middle School. As an adolescent, he attended the club and took part in its enriching activities. In the 10^th grade, he began working part-time there, and he continued to do so beyond his graduation from Lakeland High School, winning the organization’s Youth of the Year award in his senior year.

He continued working at the club throughout his college years at Old Dominion University, and when he graduated, he took a position as director of the organization’s unit in Portsmouth.

But recently he had the opportunity to come back home, taking the reigns as director of the Suffolk Unit. It’s a great story of a guy who recognized how much the club has meant in his life and is now eager to make it similarly meaningful in the lives of other young people.

Coles has big plans for the club in Suffolk, and he has high hopes for the youth that participate in it.

And we have high hopes for him, as well. We welcome him back home and hope he’ll stay here for a long time.