In 1988, Roy was a scrawny kid with an adventurous spirit and nervous knees knocking together as he stepped onto Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch for the first time.
His single mother struggled to feed her four children, so Roy went to Boys Ranch, and his sister, CC, went to Girlstown, USA.
“On the plane ride (our first plane ride) with my sister, while we were in the air going to an unknown place to live with persons we had never met, I asked her if she wanted to pray,” Roy remembered. “She said yes. So I prayed with her in our seats at ages 12 and 8, praying that God would take care of us watch over us and our next journey in life.”
Although he prayed for it, Roy didn’t know his arrival at Boys Ranch would be as lifechanging as it was.
“It was March 4, 1988,” Roy said. “And then I left May 12, 1994. By my junior year, I was president of five organizations there. And I did graduate with honors – National Honor Society. I also lettered eight times in football, track, rodeo and cross-country. I went to regionals in pole vault, placing fourth, and won state in cross-country. I also competed in basketball and wrestling.”
Every Experience Served a Purpose
The all-around over-achiever said his multitude of activities served a purpose.
“I’m 47 years old now,” Roy said. “I will say everything that I did at the ranch had purpose and meaning and touched my life after leaving the ranch. It gave skill sets; it gave experiences.”
Relationships at the ranch helped him learn what he needed for the future.
“Boys Ranch affected my entire life, but it gave me a lot to go on after leaving,” he said. “In my memory, my understanding of Boys Ranch is it’s a beautiful place.”
Houseparents were most influential in his life, he said, but other staff members made their mark as well.
Successful Adulthood Started With Skills
After graduating from Boys Ranch High School, Roy returned to the Houston area and enrolled in college while working as a meat cutter – a skill he had learned at Boys Ranch.
When Roy graduated from college, he obtained a job with a facility maintenance company, where he has worked for 18 years. He is currently the director of human resources. But that’s not the accomplishment he’s most proud of.
“I’m so excited and happy about being a father and a husband,” Roy said. “People ask me what I do for fun. And I say, ‘I play with my kids.’ I enjoy my family and my wife, Faith. Family is so important. I’ve been married for 14 years and then we have a 13-year-old, Asher; a 12-year-old, Ariella; an 11-year-old, Aidon; and a 5-year-old, Mercy.”
Looking at Donation Through Adult Eyes
Roy recently was named to the board of Deerfoot Youth Camp, a Read Youth Charities project that helps disadvantaged boys.
The service is Roy’s chance to give back. He was a camper himself as a child. As a board member, he now looks at generous people who share their wealth with children through new eyes.
“It doesn’t matter how small the donor is or how large the donor is,” Roy said. “Since leaving Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, I have had interactions with so many random people who are donors. One friend, when we were younger, always said, ‘My grandmother raised you because she used to give to Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch.’ There have been so many who have given so much to the ranch, and they don’t realize it. But they made it easy for the boys to live their lives and do what it is that they needed to do.”
Roy knows donors’ gifts are life-changing, because his was changed.
“I can’t say thank you enough. I was one of those children who needed Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, because I could not help myself. All that I did and learned from Cal Farley’s is still ingrained in what I do.”
The ranch is an anchor in his heart, he said.
“I want to say, from the depths of my heart, thank you for caring for those who could not care for themselves. Please stay on the course and continue to give water to those who need it and clothing to those who need it. Know that hearts and lives are being changed for good.”