Do not let club fail

Dear editor:

Sunday’s guest editorial on the possible closure of our local Boys & Girls Club was disheartening and hopefully not a eulogy.

My family has a personal three-decade relationship with what we simply knew as “The Boys Club,” first on Carson Street, then Belding. Born in the neighborhood, my father practically grew up there. Later, even after moving to Lake Hamilton, I played multiple sports, was coached by the likes of Tommy Holt, Junior Nichols and Mike Washington Sr. Not household names, but Boys Club legends.

My uncle was at one time assistant director, under Bob Kissire, who, more than anything, was the heart and soul of our local chapter. Upon entering, the smell of popcorn and the echoes of bouncing basketballs let you know you were in a special place. Equally enjoyable were the occasions regional wrestling came to town.

Later, I coached baseball and basketball teams, for Sammy Furo Sr., against the likes of Don Gigerich and Mike Muldoon, all of whom carried the next generation of the club’s minnows into manhood.

So while I don’t have the right answers to Sunday’s questions, I can say with absolute certainty that the wrong answer is to do nothing and allow the club to fail and close. We cannot do it; it has positively affected too many lives here in Hot Springs.

What can be done? Sunday’s writers said they had approached city management as a possible partner, only to be rebuffed. This is a city leadership and board who will pay $137,500 to pave a mile of road, and triple our tax rates, yet they were not receptive to helping maintain a lifelong institution that has had such a positive impact. To that I say shame on them.

The merger with Saline County was also apparently rejected, due to a possible lack of local control. Perhaps understandable, but without the club, there will be nothing to control.

Finally, apparently supporters had issues with donating based on past fiscal issues and spending. I don’t know the ins and outs of that, but again, I know closure is not the solution.

Let’s do something immediately — if only to float the club forward for another year — I am going to go down and make a small donation. If you’re reading this, give what you can — $10, $20, $50. If you’re a business and can do more, it’s tax deductible. Oaklawn Park, you’re the biggest and most profitable private enterprise in the city. Please lead the way.

Let’s find a way to buy the Boys & Girls Club of Hot Springs a year. In the interim, perhaps a sustainable plan can be enacted, and I would suggest bringing on board someone with fundraising and grant writing experience in.

Too many lives have been enriched, too many childhoods improved and too many young adults have been steered toward a more positive life path to let this institution go quietly into the night.