Boys and Girls Club honors donors, shares growth plans
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POLSON — Braydeon Noel stood in front of the crowd at the Great Futures breakfast.
“June 30, 2013, was the worst day of my life,” Braydeon said.
He had just moved from Butte; his mom had two jobs, and he only got to see his dad every two months or so.
Then he found the Boys and Girls Club, where there were things to do such as robotics, outdoor activities, drama and 4-H photography.
“I got a hot meal and a snack. For a growing boy, that’s huge,” he said.
The staff and volunteers were great, he said. “Grandma Yvonne is very special to me. I am living proof that you can have a second home,” he said, finishing his speech.
Braydeon joined other speakers at the fundraising breakfast, including Boys and Girls Club board members and parents whose children have spent time at the club, and club leaders.
It’s the 16th year the Boys and Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation and Lake County has been open. Aric Cooksley, director of the Boys and Girls Club thanked Jason Adams and staff at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Housing Department who are instrumental in leasing the Ronan building to them for $1 a year and the KwaTaqNuk Resort and Casino for hosting the breakfast.
He recognized gifts from community members before he presented Penny and Chuck Jarecki with the Jeremiah Milbank Society award.
The Jareckis have donated to and supported the Boys and Girls Club “to a lifetime extent,” Cooksley said. “They’ve helped keep the doors open.”
Cooksley has big plans for the club during the next five years. He wants the club to be serving kids reservation-wide, settling into a new location in Ronan in cooperation with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Cooksley plans to find a new location with more room in Polson while growing and expanding the activity clubs for the children — not just through middle school, but empowering kids at the high school level as well — and seeking sustainable revenue sources.
To donate or to ask about club needs, call the Ronan club at (406) 676-5437, the Polson club at (406) 883-0521 or email hope@ronan.net.
