Ceremony Held To Mark New Boys And Girls Club In Rhea County

In less than six months after inception, the Rhea County Chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region held their ribbon cutting for the Dayton Chapter.

Britt Debusk, Area Director for Rhea and Bradley counties, started the program with praise for what has been done in Rhea County and the Dayton area in such a short time.

“We signed up our full roster during the Strawberry Festival and started a waiting list then. On May 28, our first day in the Chattanooga State Building, we had 42 kids show up. This was the greatest turnout of the first day of a club. The previous record was 33,” said Mr. Debusk.

He said the ground work was laid back in November of 2023 when he and Board member State Senator Adam Lowe, who also serves as Relations and Resource Development Ambassador for the Boys and Girls Club, met with Dustin Henderson, who serves as the Rhea Chapter’s Board president, to see if he was interested in doing the project.

Mr. Debusk praised Mr. Henderson and the board members of the Rhea County Chapter saying, “We would not have been able to do this project in such a short period of time without the board’s hard work.”

Mr. Debusk said it was a reminder of what a former chapter president of the Cleveland Chapter said, "Boots on the ground. They (staff) push the kids to achieve more."

Mr. Debusk recognized not only the board members, but also many of the organizations in Dayton and Rhea County.

The first to come to the stand was April Curtis, who serves as the current president of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Curtis said, “I would like to thank all of the people who have pitched in for this endeavor. Our children are our future and our future leaders. It is an honor and privilege on behalf of the Dayton Chamber to support this great cause.”

Derrick Kinsey, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of the Ocoee Region, thanked all of the group of people who have contributed and volunteered to the program.

“We get more out of it than we put in the program. It’s the difference you make when you make this a reality instead of a thought,” said Mr. Kinsey.

Chuck Swafford, president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region, told the group that the Boys and Girls club literally saved his life. “I grew up in the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland. My life was enhanced by working in the club. Mr. Swafford, even though he is from Cleveland, Tn., has many ties to the Dayton Community.

Mr. Debusk then introduced Rhea County Board president Dustin Henderson.

“He’s a ball of fire moving at100 miles an hour. He’s been the hardest working person I’ve seen with the Boys and Girls Club in a while,” said Mr. Debusk.

Mr. Henderson said he was not alone in doing this project.

“The board and other volunteers have been amazing in working on this. To be here six months from the state is amazing. “I give many thanks to everyone who has pitched in and helped,” said Mr. Henderson.

Mr. Henderson singled out the unit director, Nicky Bentley. "When we first started out, she asked what she could do to help. We had a Price is Right fundraiser coming up and I put her on it. It was a great success and did a lot of good for us. So, when it came down to picking a unit director, she was on top of the list,”

Ms. Bentley was emotional at times when she spoke to the crowd. “We wear many hats as the unit director. We meet with the families and the children coming in. I think of the hats I use most, meeting with the children and teens is one of the best.”

She added that currently there are 92 on the registry and of those 17 are teens, and they have another 20 children on the waiting list.

Two of the teens in the group, Brandon Miller and Logan Peak, spoke to the group to enlighten them on what it means to them.

Brandon, who is 13, spoke about his first meeting with Dustin Henderson and Jared Goins, Director of Teen Services, “I was a little worried about coming at first and was reluctant to come. But each day has gotten better and better. There are memories I will have for the rest of my life from this.”

Logan said she was very thankful for the donations to the club. She said that she was very nervous to begin with, but after talking with Miss Marah and Miss Nicky and making bonds with many people it gotten better. “I plan on sticking with this all the way through high school and becoming a teen leader one day.”

Mr. Debusk then introduced State Senator Lowe to the podium.

“Rhea County is what I love to take to Nashville and talk about what is going right in the state. There are such an amazing collection of Volunteers in this county,” said Senator Lowe. He added that this is "becoming such a nasty world lately and it is for our kids, our future is what we do this for." He pointed several things but said the most important is our “future is riding on this.”

He was joined by State Rep. Ron Travis, who said he and his wife Laura recently took a group of the Boys and Girls Club members to Nashville to learn about state government and tour the capital. “It was amazing how they acted and behaved, and most of all, they really enjoyed it,” said Rep. Travis.

He said many people have given time and money to this project. “Without you helping none of this would be happening today.”