Tulsa Boys Home Director Wins State-Wide Honor

NewsOn6.com

SAND SPRINGS, OK -- Russell Gillette, Tulsa Boys’ Home Drug Treatment Program Director, has received the Dennis Huld Professional of the Year Award for 2009 from the Oklahoma Drug and Alcohol Professional Counselor’s Association (ODAPCA).

One of the highest honors in his field, the award is given for “continuous and unselfish devotion to Oklahoma and national drug and alcohol services for individuals, families, and communities”. It was presented by ODAPCA at their annual meeting in Norman.

Gillette is the program director for the Substance Abuse Program at Tulsa Boys’ Home, a residential treatment facility for troubled Oklahoma boys located in Sand Springs.

“Since getting sober in November, 1983,” said Gillette, “I have attempted to give back to others what so freely has been given to me. Receiving the award is really not about me as a person; it’s about what can happen for a human being when their life becomes spiritually motivated.

“All that I have been attempting to do is share with others what I have learned over the past 26 years. The plaque that hangs at the entryway of my office reads: ‘Children are living messages we send to a time we will not see,'" he said.

"I and the staff in the Substance Abuse Program enthusiastically adhere to that philosophy when working with our boys at Tulsa Boys’ Home.”

The mission of the Substance Abuse Program that Gillette oversees is to provide the best practices in alcohol, drug, and co-occurring disorder treatment services, promoting sobriety and a healthy lifestyle. He has been with the staff since 1997.

Tulsa Boys’ Home was founded in 1918 as the first boys home in Oklahoma. The residential treatment facility helps 11- to 18-year-old boys with emotional and behavioral problems, and serves about 174 boys each year. It is a United Way agency located in West Tulsa County on 158 acres at 2727 S. 137th W. Avenue in Sand Springs.

For more information, go to http://www.tulsaboyshome.org/tulsaboys/Default.asp.