A Day in the Life (Montrose)

A Day in the Life

I joke with my husband that our first child is our dog, Betsy, but that Club is our second. Bud grew up in the Club but I did not. In fact, I did not know much about the Club until we got married. Bud was on the Club’s Board of Directors before his turn as Executive Director which means the Club has been our second child for about four-years. I have helped with fundraising, setting up and cleaning up events, and advocating for the Club. But it did not dawn on me until recently that I have no clue what it actually means to be a Club kid. So I decided I wanted to know. This is my day in the life as a Club kid at the Montrose Unit of the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club.

My day as a Club kid started at 2:30 p.m. I was introduced to my kid liaison, Alana, by Site Director, Megan. Alana would show me the ropes, the do’s and don’ts of Club kid-dom, and keep me from embarrassing my adult self. I joined Alana during the Club’s snack time. She was joined by two of her pals and her two younger sisters, Elizabeth and Averie. Alana goes to Cottonwood, one of my elementary school alma matters from back in the day. While talking with Alana, I soon realized I was in the same third grade class as her mom at Morgan Elementary school (which is now Colorado Mesa University campus)! After taking a trip down memory lane, snack time ended and it was time for the first of two activities. On Wednesdays, Alana explained to me, there are two activities as school gets out an hour early. She informed me we would first get to go build Legos followed by junior chef. I was tickled! I literally had asked Bud the night before if I could do junior chef and you add Legos on top of that – score!

We were in the blue group which is for fourth and fifth graders. Reign, one of Alana’s friends, mentioned she wished kindergarten kids could attend Club because then her little brother could come (Club is for kids aged 6 – 18 which means most Club kids usually start at first grade). We settled into the Spruce room where Program Manager, River, told us the rules of the Lego building festivities. We had 40 minutes to build either the tallest or the strongest Lego tower. Alana and crew quickly decided they would go for structure over flash telling me the last time they built bridges, theirs was almost strong enough to hold a gallon of glue but it broke right at crunch time. They wanted to avenge themselves today. We got started hunting for the best pieces building a solid base and then working our way slowly, but securely up. By the end, the girls were boasting their structure could hold anything or anyone…even River! By the end it was confirmed – we won strongest structure. We then hurried to pick up Legos before the next activity, junior chef.

Alana then lead me to junior chef where I found out we were getting to make French toast. Junior staffer, Brooke, let the kids crack the eggs, whisk them up and add in the cinnamon and sugar. She then had them line up and she guided them through dipping the bread in the egg concoction and showed them how to put the toast in the pan and determine the right time to flip it over. Alana was a sweetheart making sure I did not get left out and that I got a piece of French toast. It was near the end of junior chef that Alana’s mom came to pick up her and her sisters. As Alana finished her French toast, I asked what she would do after this if her mom was not here yet. She said power hour (which Bud talked about a few weeks ago in an article). I asked Alana if she enjoyed Club which she said she did and that one day she would like to be a junior staffer herself.

And that is how my afternoon as a Club kid ended. It was a fun! Alana was an excellent host and I appreciate her patience with me as I was figuring stuff out. I definitely think being a Club kid is a fun gig and am glad to help be a part of such a great organization.

Amy Taylor is the wife of the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) Executive Director, Bud Taylor. She is the Executive Assistant at the Delta-Montrose Electric Association and moonlights as the Club’s Crab Crack fundraiser mascot, Camy Crab. For more information on the Club, please visit www.bcbgc.org.