Virtual event showcases new Polson Boys and Girls Club

Across the street from Polson Middle School, a brand new facility for the Polson Boys and Girls Club is nearing completion for an October grand opening.

This project, combined with the Ronan clubhouse remodel and gymnasium addition, had an estimated cost of $8.3 million. Out of that total, less than $200,000 of fundraising dollars remain for the organization to open the clubhouse completely debt free. Recently the organization put together a live virtual event to offer community members a preview of the construction progress.

In the club’s virtual showing, the Boys and Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation director Aric Cooksley shows Howie Long, a retired NFL player and friend of the club, around the 23,000 square foot facility. The new club features many flex classrooms and multi use spaces, also including an attached full court gymnasium.

To the left of the main entrance is the youth-focused side, featuring a large youth center that leads out to a patio and yard area. There will be a STEM computer lab as well as classrooms for the younger students.

To the right of the entry is a separate space for teens, including a teen center complete with a kitchenette and outdoor area. In between the youth and teen sections is a classroom, music room with two private practice alcoves and a stunning art area that features a wall of windows; these spaces were designed to be used by all students attending the club.

“I would put this art room view up against any art room in any club in the country,” Cooksley said during the event. “You can see the lake, you can see the mountains all the way up to Glacier. Really you think about any time of the year, being inspired to do art…”

Cooksley then showed the cafeteria and full commercial kitchen, which will also include a space for kids to learn cooking skills. Lastly the full size gymnasium steals the show, with its prominence dominating the building. The gym is designed for a full size court lengthwise and two smaller courts sideways, which will accommodate several club and community needs.

“There’s a lot of possibilities that (the new facilities) open up that we just only dreamed about in the past,” Cooksley said.

The virtual event also spotlighted the Montana Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year Jesse Richey, who is a member of the local Flathead Reservation club. Richey told a story of how the club has supported him through the toughest time in his life when he was diagnosed with a heart condition.

Richey shared his story in hopes to bring awareness to the positive difference that the organization makes in the lives of local youth.

Even during the current global pandemic, the Boys and Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation found a way to continue serving children and teens despite closures of their physical locations. After the club’s doors closed to the public in March, they quickly put their heads together to discover a new way to support the community.

According to a press release, in just a week Cooksley and his crew began serving grab-and-go evening meals with a handful of pickup locations at first that soon expanded to delivering meals in every community across the reservation. During these uncertain times, making food accessible to kids in Lake County was the organization’s top priority from March through June; over that time period the club made and distributed over 50,000 dinners.

As the Boys and Girls Club found a need and filled it with the evening sack meal program, it also discovered alternative ways to serve the community introducing its brand new “Club in a Van.”

This idea was inspired by the club’s ability to expand the outreach across the reservation for the evening meal distribution. Now the Club in a Van will bring many of the inspiring and socially inclusive aspects of attending a clubhouse, as well as continue serving meals, to the more remote communities who may not have the means to travel to either Polson or Ronan.

In June the Polson, which currently meets at Cherry Valley School, and Ronan clubs opened their doors again to a limited number of kids due to COVID-19 restrictions. But this new program will continue to bring grab-and-go meals as well as offer some activities for children in various locations throughout the reservation.

All of these efforts further show the Boys and Girls Club’s dedication to improving the lives of local community families. Cooksley said at the event that as the club adapted to various circumstances this year, it gives a small glimpse into what is possible for the organization.

“As I look around at the world and our immediate community, I am struck by just how much things have changed,” Cooksley said during the event. “And yet at the same time I’m also struck by how we as a Boys and Girls Club have continued to engage in every way possible to fill those gaps, to meet the needs that the community has.”

In addition, as the community faces the challenge of returning to in-person schooling as the pandemic lingers on, he expressed the new buildings and programs will continue to be a valuable resource for families locally.

“We also prepare for a school year with a lot of uncertainty, but also with the knowledge that we are going to continue to be part of the solution,” Cooksley stated. “Part of that solution is this new club and the amazing opportunities that it will provide this community...”

To watch the full replay of the preview event and for more fundraising information, visit flatheadbgc.org.

Reporter Whitney England may be reached at wengland@dailyinterlake.com