Tri County Tech and Boys & Girls Club of Nowata open new facility
The Boys & Girls Club of Nowata and Tri County Tech cut the ribbon to open a 22,000-square-foot facility that houses shared classrooms, a commercial kitchen, a gym, a computer lab and community meeting rooms on Tuesday.
Tammie Strobe, superintendent and CEO of Tri County Tech, said they partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to provide a business development center that will support local businesses by providing training and inspiring youth and adults.
"We think it's just going to be the perfect match and give hope to businesses in the community," she said.
Strobel added there is no other partnership in Oklahoma, and maybe the nation, like the new Nowata facility.
"It's a safe, fun place to be that gives children hope and a place with opportunity for kids that don't have it," said Brynn Barron, executive director of the Nowata Boys & Girls Club.
Barron estimates the new facility will serve over 200 kids a day, more than double that of their former facility.
The Boys & Girls Club provides snacks, mentoring, homework help − and now something more.
With the joint effort between the two organizations, Barron says she is excited about Nowata's kids getting opportunities that Tri County Tech offers through trade and technical classes in the new building.
As vice president of the Oklahoma Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, state Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, knows firsthand the impact the Boys & Girls Clubs can have on a town.
"Any town is very blessed to have a Boys & Girls Club, especially with a magnificent facility as this," Daniels said. "It's a place where kids can have fun and make friends and are valued for the content of their character."
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Tri County Tech and Boys & Girls Club of Nowata open new facility
