POINT PLEASANT — The Mason County Family Resource Network works hard to provide opportunities for local youth and their families.

Greg Fowler, director of the FRN, said he became involved with the organization because he wanted to make a difference in the community.

“I worked for Goodyear Shell Chemical for 30 years, took an early retirement and found I needed something to do. I didn’t feel like I was being productive,” Fowler said. “I saw an ad (for the director job) in the paper and thought it would be a way to give back to the community.”

Fowler has worked as the FRN director for seven years and described the job as a very good experience.

“I hope that the Family Resource Network has changed the lives of children and families in Mason County. I’ve found (the job) very satisfying,” he said.

Fowler also described the youth as being very talented and said it was interesting to watch them progress.

“Meeting a lot of different people of different talents, working with the youth of our county and recognizing their abilities that they have is very interesting,” Fowler said. “I also find it really interesting of how supportive businesses and organizations are of the development of youth in Mason County.”

In addition, Fowler praised the efforts of Mason County Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Parsons and said he has offered tremendous support to the FRN. In fact, Fowler described the community’s support of the FRN as being one of his favorite aspects of the job.

He also described watching events come together and be successful as another favorite aspect of his job. In addition, Fowler attributed the job’s variety as making it enjoyable.

“I am never in one place at the same time. I usually say my office is in my truck,” he said, adding that he also enjoys meeting people along with planning and coordinating events.

Although he enjoys organizing events, Fowler described time management as being the most difficult part of his job.

“It’s a never-ending day — definitely not a 9-5 job ... when working with a lot of different groups and people you just have to cope because everyone is busy,” he said, adding that most of his duties include planning events, updating the Mason County Resource Directory, maintaining financial aspects and traveling around the county.

“I may start at 7 a.m. in the lower part of the county and be in the upper part in the afternoon and on the computer at midnight — it ends up being a busy day,” Fowler said.

According to Fowler, each county FRN focuses on what the county needs, and Mason County primarily caters programs toward the development of youth. In Mason County the FRN involves a variety of things, including increasing community awareness of local and state issues that affect children and families, assisting community groups to work together to identify and address local issues using relevant information, supporting local partners in working together to maximize community investments, promoting the coordination of existing community services to maximize benefits to families, assuring that local services are provided in a way that respects and supports families and promoting opportunities for families to impact decisions that affect them.

“The youth are our next generation and we want their future to be in Mason County — they will hopefully occupy and run Mason County in the future,” Fowler said. “How we develop them will hopefully have an impact on how they run their lives and support Mason County in the future.”

Fowler noted that Teen Institute, which begins Thursday, along with the Annual Parent/Child Fishing Rodeo in June and the Mason County Family Christmas in December are the organization’s largest events.

“The Mason County Family Christmas is by far the most sentimental thing I do ... it makes the meaning of Christmas apparent to (youth),” Fowler said.

Fowler encouraged others to make youth in the area a priority.

“Everybody needs to take time to recognize and invest in youth. They are our future and they are very talented. Keep our youth in mind, take an opportunity to invest in them whether volunteering or financial support. Anything you can do benefits the future,” he said.

This is certainly one piece of advice Fowler has applied to his own life as he continues to work toward creating more programs and events to benefit local youth and their families.

(If you know someone who could be a potential candidate for an upcoming “Day in the Life” feature, e-mail his or her contact information to mdrnews@mydailyregister.com or call 304-675-1333.)