PILOT MOUNTAIN — After two years with a director, the Armfield Civic and Recreation Center has selected Scott Cato to fill the position.

“Scott is a great fit for the center,” Armfield Board of Directors President Larry Hudson said. “We had several good applications but his experience and enthusiasm stood out. He had the things we were looking for in a director. His experience with kids and adults, along with his business experience, gives him the total package we were looking for.”

A 1985 graduate of Beaver Creek High School in Ashe County, Cato went on to attend Appalachian State University. There he received an undergraduate degree in business and went on to attain a masters degree in educational leadership.

After graduation Cato stayed in Boone to work in Appalachian State’s admissions department. It was while in admissions that Cato first came to Pilot Mountain, making a brief visit while recruiting for the college.

After about a year Cato advanced to the position of assistant director over operations of the Plemmons Student Union. He remained in the position for 12 years until, at the beginning of this year, he accepted a similar opportunity at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg.

Cato’s transition to Pilot Mountain began when he and his fiancée, Whitney Wooten, began looking for a home midway between their jobs. A Duke University graduate, Wooten is employed as a pathologist at North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. That search eventually led the couple to Pilot Mountain

“We fell in love with the area,” Cato remembers. “We were familiar with the Mayberry small town image and Pilot Mountain reflected that. While we were looking, we kept coming back here. Everyone was so nice and it just felt right. We decided we wanted to make Pilot Mountain our home.”

They found a house and Cato relocated to Pilot Mountain by the end of June, where he continued to commute to Virginia Tech. As about 80 percent of the student staff was lost to budget cuts, his work began to require much longer hours.

It was during a break from work before a weekend Halloween event at the school that Cato became aware of the Armfield Center’s need for a director. He had seen the position advertised on a sign outside the center and considered it as a potential career move.

“I saw it and it got into my head,” he recalled with a smile. “I began to do some research and decided I wanted to apply. The commute had been a challenge and this was a perfect scenario.

“I felt it would be a good career fit,” he continued. “I felt it was time for me to move into a director’s role where I had a lot to offer. This was an opportunity to bring my experience to the Armfield team. I was called in for an interview and the rest is history.”

After becoming more familiar with the facility, Cato is convinced of its importance to surrounding communities and its potential to do more.

“I’ve been very impressed,” he said. “It’s well-kept and offers the things you would look for. It offers a good place to work out but also offers things like a senior center and a nursery. It’s a place where the community gets together.”

“We’ve been two years without a director,” Hudson noted, “and it’s been hard. I don’t see us going where we need to go without a director on hand. Now, our staff will be able to come to Scott and get answers immediately rather than waiting on the board. I see him coming in and making the changes we need and being out there in the public, pushing the center forward.”

Cato will assume the director’s position Jan. 1. He is eager to get that process started and looks forward to employing techniques learned from his Appalachian State director, who he calls “my role model.”

“I want to be all about talking to our members and the community,” he explained. “I look forward to asking questions and then working with the staff to come up with a game plan. We need to gather ideas and use that input to make decisions on new things. I want to explore our opportunities and see how far we can reach out.”

Naturally creative, Cato looks forward to the challenges he faces. He is bringing several ideas to his new role, including the addition of a “virtual tour” of the center to be added to its Web site.

“That’s one of my charges,” he explained. “I want to get the word out and find ways to get people who aren’t familiar with the center to come in the door. I’m excited about having the opportunity to take the center to a new level.”