Mason Massey has attended the Boys & Girls Clubs of Saline County since he was in diapers. Now, years later, Massey was nominated as the 2019 Jeff Mattingly Foundation Youth of the Year.
“It was a huge honor for me,” Massey said. “It let me know how much I am loved here. It is a great opportunity to be a part of the Boys & Girls Club for as long as I have been.”
Massey’s dad, Heath, has been the athletic director at the club for 20 years. Heath said his son was selected on a day when he was out of the office.
“They probably did that so I wouldn’t say no,” Heath said, joking.
Mason’s earliest club experience was when he was 2 years old, Heath said. As a volunteer, Mason started out as a soccer referee at 14 and became a part-time staff member at 16, when school allowed him to work.
“He started out as a referee, dealing with adults in intense situations, as adults can sometimes be in sports,” Heath said. “The way he has handled himself, he has matured at the ripe age of 17.
“He is growing into a solid young man.”
Jasen Kelly, Boys & Girls Clubs of Saline County chief executive officer, said he has known Mason since he was born.
“He has always been at the club; he is the fabric of the club,” Kelly said. “When we were choosing a nominee, we asked, ‘Who has been here from day 1? Who has reaped the benefits from this club, and who has given back to our organization?’ … It was an easy choice.
“Ever since Mason learned to crawl, he has been coming to the club. He has been a volunteer, a coach, a referee and a part-time staff member. Mason is an even-keeled kid and makes great decisions. It was a unanimous decision.”
“This is a second home to me, honestly,” Mason said. “They have always made me feel welcome, and it is really a blessing for me to come here.”
Mason said he started working at the club in the summers when he was in the ninth grade. He currently assists his dad by leading programs in the gym.
“I am mainly in the gym, working with the kids in sports,” Mason said.
“He does a really good job of giving the children respect, instead of demanding respect,” Heath said, “but the biggest way he has grown is probably outside of our home.
“He sees what other kids may go through. Whether they have bad parents, good parents or somewhere in between, he respects the kids and really listens to them and their stories.”
Mason is a senior at Harmony Grove High School, where he maintains a 3.68 grade-point average and is a varsity member of the Cardinal football program.
Richard Moore, the offensive line coach at Harmony Grove, said he has known Mason since he was in the first grade.
“He is a kid with a great work ethic and great character,” Moore said. “If you give him a task, he will do his best to complete it.
“He is a great kid.”
Mason played both offensive guard and defensive end his senior year for the Cardinals. Moore said Mason, who was selected all-conference in his junior and senior years, “battled through some tough situations, by staying on the field.”
“He gives it his all in everything he does,” Moore said. “He is a good leader for the team, and he has all the intangibles that make for a great teammate.”
Moore said Mason is not a vocal guy but tends to lead by example with his actions, on and off the field.
“He didn’t say much, but he didn’t have to,” Moore said. “I have seen him grow up and develop into a good young man, and he is a very proud product of Harmony Grove.”
Krystal Askew, the program administrator for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Saline County, said Mason was picked as Youth of the Year because “he embodies what it means to be a club kid.”
“The club is truly his second home,” Askew said. “He would sit on the sidelines in diapers while his dad would coach. Members of the staff here have been his mentors.
“Mason’s desire to play a vital role in the lives of younger children in our club and in the community is evident in the work he does daily as a current staff member.”
Mason plans to attend Arkansas Tech University in Russellville in the fall and major in civil engineering.
“They have engineering, which is what I want to do, and it seemed like a good fit for me,” Mason said.
When he found out he was nominated for Youth of the Year, at first, he was a little turned off by how much he’d have to do, Mason said.
“I had to write three essays, turn in an application, give a 15-minute interview and a three-minute speech,” Mason said. “The speech, that was real nerve-racking. It was real hard to get up in front of people. It becomes very scary standing alone by yourself in front of a panel of judges and just a bunch of crowd people.”
“That’s probably the hardest part for any of the contestants,” Heath said. “They are speaking in front of 200 people that they have never seen before and give a three- to five-minute speech without any cue cards.
“But I thought Mason knocked it out of the park. I was actually surprised at how well he did.”
Mason’s mom is Sammi Massey, the former head softball coach for the Harmony Grove Lady Cardinals. Sammi and Heath also have legal guardianship for their nephew, Tucker.
Mason is a member of the BETA Club and the National Honor Society. He is a member of Cross Roads Missionary Baptist Church.
“[This whole experience] has taught me to be grateful for everything I have been given — to always stay positive and be a good role model to the children here,” Mason said.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.