Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Boys and Girls Club

What a grand, grand opening it was! Three years ago, a fire destroyed the old building that housed the Ferndale Boys and Girls Club. Leaving the community scrambling to find temporary space, raise funds and rebuild a permanent clubhouse, fast forward to today, and the $4.8 million project is finished.Celebrating with over 400 others at the grand opening of this new 21,134 square foot building built near the ballfields at Ferndale's Pioneer Park with champagne, cider, chocolate covered strawberries and fancy little sandwiches, community members were welcomed in for tours after the grand ceremony.
Everything is brand new, all equipment is state of the art, bright and cheerful and includes a full-sized gymnasium along with games room, activities center, teen center, arts lab, teen tech room, technology center, music room, a commercial grade kitchen and much more. Here is a look at some of the recording studio equipment in the new music room.
Open to the public, the grand opening was emcee’d by State Senator Dale Brandland with an honored guest list that included State Representatives Kelli Linville and Doug Ericksen, Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen, Ferndale Mayor Gary Jensen, past Mayor Jerry Landcastle, and members of the Ferndale City Council. Featured speakers included Branch Director Josh Wilund, Executive Director/CEO Lynn templeton, Branch Board President Steve Oliver, Doug Thomas of the Rotary Club of Whatcom County North, Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County Corporate Board members Bill Gorman and Ward Fridrich and members of the Lummi Nation.

Built on original tribal lands, James "Smitty" Hillaire, the Cultural Director of the Lummi Nation, delivered a blessing from the Lummi's for the new facility, and with drum in hand, accompanied by his wife, Lutie, shared a song that he explained has been passed down through their Coast Salish Tribe for over 250 years.Summer programs at the Ferndale Boys and Girls Club run from June 28th through August 18th with themed activities and fieldtrips. Check out their Summer Flyer and Field Trip List for more information.

If I were still a kid, I'd certainly want to spend some of my summer there.

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