LONG BEACH – For the past two weeks, the Boys and Girls Club of the Long Beach Peninsula has been preparing to move from its current location at Long Beach Elementary to more appropriate facilities at the old Ilwaco High School.

Combine that chaos with the responsibilities of leading an organization that hosts 80 to 100 local school kids on the average day. It will take motivation, patience and organization to be able to pull it all off before Jan. 3. But the club’s new executive director, Cinnamon Falley, possesses all those attributes and she is elated to be part of the process.

Falley, who started her job here as interim director on Sept. 1 and was officially hired on Nov. 1, says she was a “club kid” growing up in Tacoma. When she was living in Burns, Ore., the town was having trouble with youth suicides, which prompted her to start up a Boys and Girls Club there.

Most recently, she was a parks and recreation director in Ocean Shores when her position was cut. Having visited our local Boys and Girls Club months before, Falley was invited to come to the Peninsula to help straighten out some of the club’s kinks.

“I’m really passionate about Boys and Girls Club. I love it, it’s what I was born to do,” says Falley, who is also working toward a degree in human services.

As the executive director, Falley is in charge of training, budgeting, purchasing supplies, board development and grant writing. She says all of her duties are made possible through the help provided by program director MaryAnn Sinar and administrative assistant, DeEtta Lorente, who Falley describes as an essential pillar of support for Boys and Girls Club.

Originally from Bad Axe, Mich., Sinar was hired in November. She comes to Boys and Girls Club with a background in non-profit organizations, specifically with the American Heart Association. Falley says Sinar is building good relationships with the kids and staff.

Falley says her Boys and Girls Club policy is different in that she encourages staff to spend more time on rewarding the kids who exhibit good behavior instead of focusing their time on punishing kids who aren’t following the rules.

Also new to club this year is Girls’ Circle, a girls’ development tool that helps them deal with changes in their lives, cliques and other concerns.

School district supportOcean Beach School District Superintendent Boyd Keyser says that ever since the Black Lake campus was vacated two years ago, he has been considering the building’s potential and what the future holds for the facility.

With enrollment numbers down from what they have been in the past, the school district couldn’t afford to operate four school buildings and so the middle and high school was moved into the renovated Hilltop building. With old high school’s utility bills ranging from $5,000 to $8,000 per month, Keyser began to brainstorm ideas to utilize the lakefront property.

One idea that seemed to stick was turning the 1971 building into a space that would act as a community center, so Keyser began brainstorming potential tenant options. He knew the Boys and Girls Club was in need of a permanent location, and suggested that they utilize the old high school library since it has its own heating and cooling system, is in close proximity to the front doors, and can be secured from other wings of the building that are still used, such as the shop class and the gymnasium.

“We don’t want to be landlords or make money,” Keyser clarifies. “But we want to alleviate the costs we’re incurring on the building … It can’t be re-inhabited by the school district. We just don’t have the funding to operate four buildings.”

Moving inSo a little over two weeks ago, Falley, her staff, and numerous volunteers began deep cleaning and painting at the old school and moving bookshelves out of the library to make room for club fixtures.

The largest space, where book shelves and study tables once stood, will now serve as a game room with foosball, ping-pong and pool tables, and rows of tables and chairs to play board games with friends.

With about 96 kids using Power Hour, a homework assistance program on a regular basis, one room is set up with tables and chairs and a quiet area.

The row of computer kiosks against the wall will soon serve as cubbies for coats, backpacks and other personal items.

The media/entertainment room will feature a couch, Xbox and Wii systems, video games, and a big screen TV. There will be a kitchen space for kids who would like to learn how to cook and bake. And the arts and crafts room has plenty of storage and shelves so that the kids can leave their masterpieces to dry.

Teenagers now welcome Though Boys and Girls Club is geared toward kids from age 6 to 18, 2011 will be the first year that the local club will have the facilities to accept teenage members. One area has been designated to please teenage members and will be sort of a “hang out spot” complete with beanbag chairs.

What used to be referred to as the senior lobby is now a wide open activity room that will be used like a gymnasium.

The administrative office will also move to Ilwaco from their current location at 2nd Street NE in Long Beach.

Club members from Long Beach Elementary will ride the school bus to the new location; Ocean Park kids will be transported on the white Boys and Girls Club bus. Currently, only 17 to 20 kids attend from the Ocean Park area, but Falley says transportation accommodations will be made even if more kids attend from the north end.

According to Falley, the Boys and Girls Club’s operating costs are about $20,000 each month, and the program received a huge boost this fall when the board of directors made calls to past donors in hopes of gathering additional funds. Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 19, the “Be Great” campaign had raised $26,000. Boys and Girls Club of America offered a match totaling $15,000.

The goal is for the club to be entirely moved out of Long Beach Elementary and into their Ilwaco location by Jan. 3. An open house date will be announced in the near future so that the community can get reacquainted with the Boys and Girls Club and appreciate the new space.

For more information about Boys and Girls Club of the Long Beach Peninsula, call 642-8668.