Staff Perspective- Megan Shreeves

Staff Perspective

The Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) became the big 2-0 in 2019. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the Club has partnered with the Montrose Daily Press on a special project; to bring to the readers of the Press an article each week to highlight various aspects of the Club and show the impact it has had in Montrose & Olathe. The readers will get insight from current parents, former Club kids, current Club kids, past Club staff, and more. So join us each week as we show why “Great Futures Start Here!”

For today’s article I sat down and chatted with the Megan Shreeves, the Montrose Unit Site Director. Megan has been with the Club for the past two and a half years and started as the Montrose Unit’s Program Manager before quickly getting promoted to Site Director. The quick promotion was an easy choice as Megan has around 10 years of experience in the youth development field. In fact it was her friend, Ty Gallenbeck (yes, that Ty Gallenbeck from last week’ article!) who knew of an opening at Club and recommended Megan apply those few years ago.

When asked what Megan liked most about Club she noted the relationships that are formed between the kids and staff. She loves to see how kids connect with certain staff members and see them as confidants and mentors. There is no better feeling in the world than having a kid coming into Club and yell your name, excited to show you a great grade on a paper they got in school or tell a story about how they made a goal in soccer. This relationship is key because if a Club kid attends both the summer and school sessions, the Club interacts with them overall more than their teacher. It is also vital as we want longevity with the Club. We want the kids to stay as a long as possible and have that feeling they are part of a family of sorts. With that, we also want longevity with our staff and knowing the impact you have on a kid’s life is one of those benefits you can’t include with payroll or insurance.

Megan stated her favorite program is the STEM program the kids do everyone morning of the summer session. It stemmed (pun intended) from a general science program started a few years ago and progressed into what it is today. Megan noted the kids loved making bottle rockets using baking soda and launching them in the parking lot. To be honest, that sounds fun to me too.

With all that Megan loves about Club, she did mention one thing she is excited to see change, which is actually in process now; the Montrose Unit getting its own, expanded facility. Right now, with the space we lease, we are limited in the amount of kids we can serve and there is a waiting list which no one wants. Furthermore, and I can speak to this as well, administration spaces are limited. While we have two rooms designated to just staff, that has to house not only the main administrators, which include me and our Business Manager, but also space for Megan and all her staff which, between junior and adult staff, is about six people. Not only that, it needs to include desks, a copier, shelving for programming materials, general supplies, etc. So, while we are managing and keeping as organized as possible, it is a tight fit.

Megan concluded the interview with some stories about the kids, new ones I had not heard before (as Megan and I do talk daily, this was a special chat for the article). On Friday’s the kids play dodge ball. She mentioned one kid in particular decided it was his mission to make Megan his target, following her around and telling her he had his eye on her. As they were cleaning up, after a fun-filled program hour, he even tried follow her into her office to get one last chance which is not allowed. When Megan told him that, he mentioned he still had his eye on her and quickly closed the door which made her chuckle. She also loves it when the kids use slang to say how much they like her which is much different than the slang of our youth…often making for a funny conversation about what the kids mean until getting to the bottom of they are calling staff cool. You learn something new every day at this job.

Thank you Megan for letting me pick your brain for this interview. All the work you do at the Montrose Unit is greatly appreciated and we could not do it without you.

Bud Taylor is the Executive Director for the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) and has been for the past three years. Prior to that, he was a BCBGC kid, junior staff member, and board director. Feel free to contact Bud Taylor by e-mail at btaylor@bcbgc.org or visit the Club’s website, www.bcbgc.org for more information.