Johnson’s love affair with the game of pool is a long one. The minister at First Presbyterian Church in Plymouth until 2000, Johnson is now a chaplain at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center.
“I really enjoy playing pool and I used to play with some older gentlemen from the church. I have to admit I felt kind of guilty about taking a few hours off on Wednesday morning to play pool,” he said. “When I went into chaplain work, I had to take a hiatus from playing for about a year and a half. When I went into my residency for a year in South Bend, I sounded out my supervisor about taking the time off but he was really concerned about staying with a set schedule.”
The love of the game made his volunteer work with the Boys & Girls Club a natural fit.
“I’ve been volunteering here for the last four or five years,” he said. “I started out helping Chop Mayer and Frank Polletta. I know Chop had been here since they opened so I guess I just sort of inherited the volunteer position.
“I really love spending time with the kids – learning their stories. I’m able to make connections with some of them later sometimes at the hospital.”
Johnson feels good about being a part of the Club experience.
“The number one thing is that they provide a positive place with a positive role models but also positive attitudes that they instill in the kids,” he said. “It gives them a place to mature in a positive setting. They give them something to do after school. The staff here really give of themselves. The reward there is providing that for the kids. Those relationships are important.
He also enjoys being part of helping teach another “Pool Guy” to follow in his footsteps.
“A lot of the kids learned how to knit in the spring and the project was to make bonnets for newborn babies at the hospital,” he said. “I saw them when they came out to deliver them, and they were so proud of that accomplishment. It gave them a way to volunteer their time to give to somebody else and that’s an enriching part of it. They probably didn’t think too much about it that way, but we should.”