On Friday nights, you can find Coach Joseph Kilby on the sidelines coaching the football team, getting his offensive linemen in tip-top shape. But on Wednesdays, he’s ready to call together a meeting to make a difference off the field.
As the lead advisor for the Athens Drive InterACT club, Kilby is proving that leadership isn’t restricted to the football field. With his goal to bridge the gap between athletics, academics and altruism.
Under his guidance, the club is a part of the youth branch of Rotary International. With one of the biggest projects being the Sneaker Drive, where old donated sneakers are sent to those in need, Kilby and the InterACT club were able to collect just over 2000 pairs of sneakers.
Originally, Kilby was looking for money for the weight room to support the football program and those who participate in weightlifting. While contacting clubs, he came across the West Raleigh Rotary Club. Interestingly enough, the person he contacted was a former Athens Drive graduate.
The Alumni zoomed in on him, trying to raise money for the school, mentioned that they have sponsorships each year, and asked him to help each other out.
“She said she would like to start an interactive club. At Athens, Interact is affiliated with Rotary, and she said, ‘You know if we do that, then we’ll work on doing the sponsorship deal.’ So it was kind of like a ‘you help me I’ll help you’ type of deal,” said Kilby.
The InterACT club was formed last year, but was very small, with this school year being the first year the club was acknowledged as an official school club. With the InterACT club growing, so has Coach Kilby’s appreciation for the club. Originally, not knowing if he would be able to run the club due to football, he has done a great job with keeping an open mind.
“I thought, ‘man, there’s no way I can do this, especially during football season’; I just thought there’s too much going on, but I’m proud of where it’s led to today; we’ve got a good group”, said Kilby.
The InterACT club regularly meets every Wednesday during SMART Lunch. With every other Wednesday being the members’ favorite, PotLuck Wednesday. This is a tradition started by Coach Kilby, where he brings in some of his famous Canadian pulled-pork BBQ in hopes of attracting members to the club and building up his community.
“My favorite thing about the InterACT Club is probably the potluck lunches once a month, because we get to eat food and we get to talk about the upcoming events. I say it’s a great time to have social interactions with other members”, said Keegan Ebert, junior.
