Former Staff Perspective - Ty Gallenbeck

Club is Magic to the Kids it Serves

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!”

We always tell the kids at Club they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up; a doctor, a plumber, a novelist, even a magician! In this week’s article interview, although he was not a Club kid, he did lead the Club for several years and now has a quite an entertaining career.

Ty Gallenbeck started his tenure at the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) in February 2006. In his four years at the BCBGC, Ty worked as a Program Manager, Site Director, and Teen Director. When asked what his favorite part of Club was he stated: “the students were always my favorite part. Seeing a kid have a breakthrough, overcoming an obstacle, having a success in life; those are my favorite moments. With that, even knowing that you played even a minuscule role in any of those things is an incredible feeling. BCBGC helps facilitate opportunities for kids to be successful”.

Ty did note an area of improvement for the future of Club: “I think for, our local Club, one of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to serve the middle and high school students well. Largely due to the fact the BCBGC does not have its own space, it limits what can be done with that group”. I completely agree with Ty. That has been one of the Club’s biggest challenges is to not only attract older students to Club, but to find ways to retain them and keep them interested in Club. Club serves school-aged kids from 6-18 but the majority of those we serve are 12 and younger. As we lease our current locations, there is limited space for teens to hang out and do their own programming without the impact of younger kids around. The goal with the new permanent facility Club is building in Montrose is to have an area dedicated to teens. With that, we will have an expanded tech lab with a recording studio which will interest older kids. Our goal is to keep the kids at Club from ages 6-18, in order to have the utmost impact we can.

If Ty had some word of wisdom for the Club kids of the future it was to “stay plugged in and give back.” Both of which Ty are very good at; Ty is currently working as a full-time magician! While he has a residency at the Madeline in Telluride, he does lots of local shows and fundraisers to give back to the community. He is also the part-time Area Director for Young Life. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his family and spend time in the outdoors. Thanks Ty for letting us pick your brain on your experience at Club!

You can find out more about the new Club facility and its capital campaign at www.bcbgc.org/imin. You can find more about the magic of Ty Gallenbeck at https://www.facebook.com/MagicianTyGallenbeck/.

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.