A Grand Affair

Even though I mistakenly posted the incorrect date on Facebook close to 200 people attended Wednesday’s Great Futures free breakfast at the new Boys and Girls building.

The yearly affair takes on added significance this winter after the Lake County non-profit purchased the former family furniture store, The Total Home, at the north Highway 93 entrance to Ronan.

All the non-weight bearing walls have been removed inside the 19,000-square-foot building leaving an area resembling an empty artist’s pallet.

That is exactly those associated with the Club envision for the expansive facility which will replace the current facility which in 2019 will be razed as the highway through town will be split.

A building five times the size of the former location won’t just make it easier to serve youngsters already in attendance but also will allow considerable expansion of additional programs.

Purchased recently for $1.4 million the club also has dreams for facilities that could be located elsewhere on the 2.4-acre site.

The purpose of the yearly get-together is to allow some of the youngsters using the club extensively to both perform and talk about not just their experiences but what having a place to go means to them.

There was a heavy tribal influence in the program punctuated by Ya Mun Suit drumming of the Honor Song and first grader Lou Lee Ana Brown dancing.

Rainn Brisbin, was quite composed as she read a letter she had written – My Club My Future -with the skills the Club taught her.

Christian Weaver, director of operational development for Native Services of the Boys and Girls Club shared his perspective coming from a New York tribe.

What is it they always say since Field of Dreams – If you build it, they will come. In this case they are already coming as clubs in Ronan and Polson are operating at close to capacity.

One of the higher costs of renovation is the commercial kitchen which with the yearly serving of some 25,000 meals and snacks is required.

Keynote speaker star record setting University of Montana running back Chase Reynolds said coming from such a tiny town as Drummond – population about 300 – would have played an important role in his upbringing.

Reynolds toured the old facility a couple of days earlier and couldn’t believe what was getting accomplished in such a confined space.

Well what about price, you ask. Well parents pay just $5 a month during the school year and $25 a month during the summer which in many cases enables parents to maybe build a nest egg without having to pay for child care. Just sayin’

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