On Oct. 4, Boys & Girls Clubs of East County celebrated the opening of its Brady Family Clubhouse and Bill Walton Gymnasium with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local representatives, as well as the gymnasium\u2019s namesake.<\/p>\n The new 26,000-square-foot building, located at 7600 Junior High Drive, holds offices, a first-aid center, a learning academy, a game room, an art center and a 10,000-square-foot basketball court-style gym.<\/p>\n \u201cA big \u2026 audacious project like this does not take place without volunteers who dream big, mixed in with equal amounts of crazy passion for youth and local community,\u201d said Boys & Girls Club of East County (BGCEC) CEO Forrest Higgens.<\/p>\n Major partners in the effort to build the new facility included the city of La Mesa, which facilitated the necessary extension of Junior High Drive to allow access to the clubhouse and La Mesa Spring Valley School District (LMSVSD), which provided the land \u2014 part of the La Mesa Arts Academy (LMAC) property \u2014 through a $1-a-year lease for 100 years. Major donors included the clubhouse\u2019s namesakes Ron and Mary Alice Brady, who donated $3 million and Eleni and Wolfgang Gagon, who also donated $3 million (and whose name adorns the clubhouse learning center). A donation by La Mesa City Councilmember Kristine Alessio, in honor her mother Dona Christensen, helped fund the building\u2019s game room. In total, $9.4 million was raised to build the clubhouse and fund an endowment to operate it.<\/p>\n EDCO CEO Steve South, who chaired the capital campaign for the new clubhouse, thanked the many donors \u2014 \u201csome large, some small\u201d \u2014 who made the new building possible.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of all, we had a barn raising \u2014 a barn raising in the village of La Mesa, a good old- fashioned barn raising where a lot of people came together,\u201d he said. \u201cSome gave money, some gave time, some gave hope, some pushed, some pulled, but we all came together and we made a facility that could last at least the next hundred years.\u201d<\/p>\n LMSVSD board president David Chong thanked outgoing superintendent Brian Marshall for helping facilitate the lease agreement and also thanked The Hill Church for donating part of its land to the city for the Junior High Drive extension.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an amazing example of the tremendous good that can be accomplished when government partners with private service organizations for the benefit of the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis, who also teaches at LMAC, shared that the first meeting to discuss the possibility of building the clubhouse was held in 2012. He said the major obstacle at the time was organizing the efforts of the city, school district, BGCEC and The Hill Church \u2014 two private and two public organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cBut instead of being an indictment of how possible bureaucracy can prevent progress, it was an example of how an accomplishment can be reached when we have a shared vision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Arapostathis also shared that he would share pictures of the planned clubhouse and gym, even to LMAC students who would graduate the school before it was built.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we\u2019d say, \u2018someday the Boys & Girls Club will be there,\u2019 and that someday is going to be today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bill Walton introduced himself as \u201cBilly from La Mesa\u201d and shared many fun and humorous stories of his time growing up and playing basketball at Helix High; the coaches, teammates and teachers he had; and his life \u201cdream about being part of something special.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the luckiest guy in the world because I got to grow up right here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Walton shared that he was reluctant when first approached about helping raise funds for a gym named after him.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not one of those guys who wants credit, who wants accolades, who wants awards,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to go to work. I said, \u2018I\u2019ll do this if you think it will help.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Walton said he sees the purpose of the new clubhouse as a place \u201cto provide opportunity for other young people coming up, chasing their dreams\u201d and a place to learn the principles of \u201chonor, sacrifice and discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n Walton concluded his comments with a nod to the honor bestowed on him.<\/p>\n \u201cI was 6-foot-11-inches when I was 15 years old,\u201d he said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m 65, I\u2019ve finally made it to 7-feet tall.\u201d<\/p>\n Ron Brady said he and his wife, Mary Alice Brady, were \u201chonored and humbled\u201d to see their namesake clubhouse finished.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow starts today and the future of this place lies ahead of us,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kids that are coming here next month will have grandkids\u2019 grandkids\u2019 grandkids come in through here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a really big deal. This is the biggest thing we\u2019ll ever do in our lives,\u201d Mary Brady said. \u201cNow we\u2019re going to give this building to the children of the community we hold dear; a safe environment where they can learn to share, work as a team, become leaders, be a positive part of the community. Now it\u2019s all about the kids, our boys and girls.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of East County and available programming at the new La Mesa facility, visit bgcec.org<\/a> or call 619-440-1600.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/cover.jpg\")
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Councilmember Kristine Alessio in honor of her mother. (Photo by Jeff<\/em>
Clemetson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
the ribbon cutting ceremony for the
Boys & Girls Club building named for
them. (Photo by Jeff<\/em>
Clemetson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n