Tioga County Boys & Girls Club pursues renovations

OWEGO — The Tioga County Boys & Girls Club is renovating its nearly 70-year-old, 15,000-square-foot facility in Owego. 

Knowing it needed to replace the 30-year-old leaky roof, the club and its board of directors collaborated to identify what repairs the facility might need starting in November 2012. The thought was, “if we’re going to do this [replace the roof], then we should outline all that needs to be done and do that too,” says Luke Henson, executive director of the Tioga County Boys & Girls Club. 

The club, which provides after-school and summer programs for children in the Tioga County community, has been located at 201 Erie St. in Owego since the building was constructed in 1946.

After determining that the facility repairs should include replacing the roof, repaving the parking lot and updating the outside lighting, and renovating the game room, the club kicked off the “Raise the Roof” campaign in January 2013 to finance the project.

Improvements to the 3,500-square-foot game room consist of new lighting, furniture, floors, fixtures, and windows to provide natural lighting, as well as renovations to bathrooms. 

With these renovations to the game room, the club will meet New York state school-age daycare requirements. Currently, the club operates its daycare program from local schools. Henson says this causes a problem when schools are closed because of snow days or holidays for instance, as the club is unable to run the daycare program on those days.

By September 2013, the Tioga County Boys & Girls Club had raised $265,000, which was enough to complete the first stage — repairing the roof. On May 28 of this year, the club received a $300,000 grant from the Floyd Hooker Foundation, a private foundation in Owego that supports the children of Tioga County. These funds allowed the club to complete the final two stages of the campaign, the game room and parking lot.

Additionally, receiving the Hooker grant helped the club reach its five-year campaign goal in less than two years. With just under $550,000 raised and the final renovation work started, Henson says the process has “been pretty amazing.” 

On Aug. 25, Owego–based PJF Enterprises began construction on the game room. PJ Electric of Apalachin is installing the parking-lot lights, and Lynch Paving of Endicott is handling the parking-lot paving. 

Henson says the work is on track to be completed by Nov. 1, the deadline the club set so the space is available to meet the demand of ramped-up programming.

Amid the renovations, Henson says the staff of four full-time and 10 part-time employees has had to be “creative” in its programming and utilize the space that is available. He says the club uses the gym for a lot of team games, while arts and crafts activities take place in the lobby area.

“It’s important for us not to stop services [during the renovations] because the kids really need us,” says Henson.

The Tioga County Boys & Girls Club serves 1,300 local youth members and visitors on an annual basis. A year membership for a child is $25.

“We keep programming costs as low as possible and never turn a kid away,” says Henson. 

Operating on a $440,000 budget, the club receives just over 3 percent ($15,000) of its funding from the government. Donations from individuals, businesses, foundations, and other fundraising efforts, what Henson calls the “life blood” of the organization, make up the remaining 97 percent of the budget.

“We rely heavily on our community who generously supports us,” says Henson. “We work hard to ensure our youth have a safe place to learn and have fun.”

Henson began his career at the club as a counselor in 2007, but his history with the club dates back to when he was a member as a kid.

Henson earned his associate degree at Broome Community College, then transferred to SUNY Cortland for his bachelor’s degree. After graduating in 2009, he became the athletic director. This past May, he earned his MBA from Binghamton University.

“I’ve been around the club pretty much my whole life, and have seen the life-changing impact it can have,” says Henson.              

Contact Collins at ncollins@cnybj.com

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Tioga County Boys & Girls Club 
201 Erie St.
Owego, NY 13827
Phone: (607) 687-0690
tiogabgca.org

Key Staff
Executive Director: Luke Henson
Athletic Director: Andy Cobb
Social Programs Director: Amanda Williams
Club Positive Site Director: Debbie Taft
Membership Clerk: Pat Whittemore

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (Officers)
President
Junie Williams: Lockheed Martin 
1st vice President
Nicholas Ruiz: First Niagara Bank
2nd vice President
Paul Bartlow: retired 
Treasurer
Robert Zendarski: Lockheed Martin
Secretary
Betsy Knapp: Tioga County Real Property 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Arbes: TCMF Corp.
Betsey Bacelli: retired
Paul & Tina Bartlow: retired
Allan Bishop: Cornell University
Jim Crossgrove: IBM Software Development
Louis DeSantis: LJD Consulting
Mark Felice: Lockheed Martin
Peter Giliberti: Lockheed Martin
Bryan Hathaway: physical therapist
Spencer Hunt, Jr.: retired
Betsy Knapp: Tioga County Real Property
James Lavo: M&T Bank
Tim Linehan: EIT (i3 Electronics)
Steve May: Owego Harford Railway
Mike Maynard: DeTekion Security
Tom Morrissey: retired
Bill Motsko: retired, Edward Jones
Lou Neira: Lockheed Martin
Randy Pryor: OACSD Finance
Christian Root: Tioga County District Attorney office
Nicholas Ruiz: First Niagara Bank
Junie Williams: Lockheed Martin
Robert Zendarski: Lockheed Martin

Mission
“To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring responsible citizens.”

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Athletics, social programs, fitness center, and “Club Positive,” a school-age child care program that offers before- and after-school care, holiday care, and a full-day summer camp.