Riley to retire as Two Hearts board chair after 25 years

Dec. 27—Johnny Riley, of Bellefonte, has spent more than two decades guiding women to alternatives to abortions at Two Hearts Pregnancy Care Center in Ashland.

After serving 25 years as chairman of the board at Two Hearts on 29th Street, the 75-year-old Riley said it's time to pass the torch. His last day is Dec. 31. Looking back on the number of years spent dedicated to pursuing a passion of saving the lives of babies and mothers has been a blessing, he said.

"We saw a need in this area for girls that had unwanted pregnancies," Riley said. "We believe everyone has a purpose in life. I stayed because I had a desire and it's been a great ministry for this area. There have been thousands of young ladies helped."

Two Hearts, which started as a committee in the late 1990s, has since transformed through time. Since the creation, Riley said he has witnessed first hand how the pregnancy care center has touched the lives of women.

He said there have been a number of letters sent to the building thanking them for their care and commitment of helping them keep their babies.

"We've had a lot of stories like that about how they have been helped and it's good when you see it come back like that," Riley said. "I feel glad for the person, I feel glad that a child gets to live out the purpose that God intended for he or she to have in the first place.

"The great thing is that we are here; the sad thing is that we need to be here. It's going to be needed for a long long time, the situation is not getting better. These girls need support, and they need somebody to love them — someone to show them that Christ loves them."

The pro-life center was founded on a mission of steering women away from choosing to have an abortion and instead providing alternatives like resources, counseling and referrals to help women keep their baby.

Riley said there have been great accomplishments over the years. He said stepping down is sort of a way to help transform the center and keep it moving on a track of success.

"Hopefully they think I was a good chairman," he laughed. "It's time to step down — a chairman needs to have good connection with the community. and I don't have that connection like I used to. They haven't asked me to step down, I just feel like I need to do it for the good of the ministry. If I had it my way I would do it forever."

He added, "We had volunteers that have been there for years and years. The staff has been wonderful, we have been blessed with a good faithful staff. It's because of them that it made it easy for me. Sandy Bellomy has been a wonderful executive director."

In a tearful phone call, Bellomy, Director of Two Hearts for the last 19 years, described Riley as a "big lovable goofball" who was "always making jokes." She said he will be remembered for his spiritual guidance of the ministry."

"When my first husband died he was right there, he's always been there for me. This is very hard," she said while crying. "This is very hard for me. I've never had somebody like that to depend on, to rely on, to know I could go to him at any time, day or night, and he would always listen.

Bellomy added, "Jesus is the head of this ministry, but Johnny was the one that God had directing it."

Bellomy said, "He would tell me if i was doing something wrong or if I needed to do something different, but that was the kind of relationship we had. He was my mentor. ... When he was around, there was always a feeling of comfort and peace."