Children's home exec sees work not as job, but calling

Carl W. Willis is East Tennessee Regional Vice President for the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes Inc. Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press

Name: Carl Willis

Position: East Tennessee regional vice president

Location: Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes

First job: Mowing grass

Favorite part of the job: "Having daily contact with the kids we care for here and having our work impact their lives for, hopefully, generations to come," Willis said. He feels rewarded by helping children who are in crisis or having a difficult time. "We talk with them, work through the problems and try to put a plan in place to solve those problems." He recalled an incident at another facility, when he stopped a boy from attacking others with a lead pipe. He told the boy: "You can make your own choices but you can't choose your consequences." Years later, the young man came back and told Willis he had never forgotten the remark.

Worst part of the job: "Failing. Kids you can't reach. Kids who, for some reason, won't listen to advice or to guidance. Knowing they're on a bad path and seeing them choose it anyway. That's the worst part."

What he's learned: "It's not about me." Working with children, Willis said, is a calling, and he considers his work not a job, but a ministry. "It's about the Lord and how he has given me gifts to work with kids and to shape kids' lives, and to work with staff who does that also." The gifts, he said, are something he has not received but achieved. "It's not something I decided to start doing. ... I couldn't do anything else. I've had opportunities to do other jobs and I've always come back to working with kids."

How to make a career of it: While a background in child development or ministry helps, Willis said the most important thing is to make sure your heart is really in it. "Make sure you're in for the long haul," he said. "You won't stay in it for the money, or the prestige, or the thanks you get from kids - because most of the time they aren't thankful. You have to know for sure you can do nothing else in your life but work with kids."