Funds for Club: Boys and Girls to honor a former employee
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Ground is expected to be broken this year on a teen center honoring a dedicated and missed employee of the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County.
A $1 million federal earmark secured by the office of Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was announced during the club's annual dinner and auction Saturday evening by board member Angie Scott, whose son Garrett served as the teen coordinator for the club before he passed away in 2021.
"Garrett and I worked side by side for seven years" at the club, Scott said during the dinner at Marietta College's Dyson Baudo Recreation Center. "His job was teen coordinator, and he took his job very seriously."
When the club was constructing its new gymnasium at its Lancaster Street facility, Garrett was happy to see it but also wanted a space for the kids like him "who aren't athletes," his mother recalled. His dream, she said, was to have a standalone teen center where students could, among other things, learn to read, produce and record music.
After he passed away in 2021, club Executive Director Rebecca Johnson "came to me and she said, 'Let's build Garrett's dream,'" Angie Scott said.
The club demolished a building at 302 Lancaster St. in 2022 to make room for the new center, which is planned to have a music studio, lounge for hanging out, kitchenette and homework stations, in addition to an outdoor playground featuring musical instruments for younger members. The club's been holding various fundraisers and recently learned they would be receiving $1 million for the project through Brown's office.
"That earmark gets us to where we can break ground by the end of the year," Johnson said.
Scott said it's bittersweet to see her son's dream realized without him but she appreciates the effort to honor his legacy.
Kaelyn Antill, a youth development professional with the club, was a member when Garrett Scott was teen coordinator. She remembers him incorporating music into many activities.
"I think it's really cool, because he always wanted it," she said.
The annual dinner featured a variety of silent and live auction items, raffles and other fundraising activities. Johnson said it helps the club serve about 650 kids throughout the year and between 250 and 300 at summer camps. Hamer Hooper, who is a member at the club's Belpre site, was recognized as the Teen Youth of the Year. Staff members said he is kind and good-hearted, always trying to make sure other members are having a positive experience and not feel alone.
Named as Youth of the Year at the club's sites Saturday were:
≤ Belpre: Hailey Hickman; runner-up, Nikolai Moore
≤Beverly: Emily Tornes
≤ Frontier (New Matamoras and Newport): Calvin Stevens
≤ Marietta: Hailyn Ash; runner-up, Michael Taylor
≤ Shenandoah: Bethany Gelley
Also honored at the event were:
≤ Outstanding Team Member: Janice Bellanca
≤ Outstanding Board Member: Kim Nohe
≤ Outstanding Volunteer: United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley
≤ Outstanding Corporate Partner: Marietta Welfare League, The League Shop
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.