With construction always ongoing, and the next new idea consistently being hatched, the Hopkinsville-Christian County Boys & Girls Club finds itself ever busy going into its 20th anniversary.
During Tuesday’s meeting there on Walnut Street with the Hopkinsville Rotary Club, Executive Director Terrence Davis could only show appreciation to founding members like Dan Kemp and Bill Munday, who two decades ago joined with so many others to bring this hope to harbor.
Now, Davis said elementary, middle and high school kids from all across Christian County cram the halls after school and during the summer — a lengthy waiting list well drafted with families hoping their children can soon join.
Davis also said the club’s three biggest challenges are space, funding and the conveyance of the club’s importance.
Running from June 2 until the third week of August, Davis said students of all ages will still be working on academic success and fun activities for 10 long, but successful, weeks.
Workforce development, however, has come into full focus at the club — especially after the Fall 2024 completion of the FabLab Teen Center, where students have access to 3-D printing, screen printing, laser cutting, podcasting and other major art and business mediums.
Part of this workforce development, Davis noted, will come through a partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority. By implementing something called “Transfer VR,” kids will be allowed to surf the basics of certain careers through virtual reality.
Campus expansion, Davis added, is also on the way — beginning with a “Tween Center” to continue the separation of middle schoolers and high schoolers.
In a partnership with Christian County’s emergency services and the City of Hopkinsville, the Boys & Girls campus will also be home to one of the many storm shelters being installed — fit for up to 300 residents.
And, finally, a new main club building is expected to be constructed where old Walnut Street Stadium once stood — and Davis said this means all the current campus footprint will be used for teens and ‘tweens only, with administration and elementary-aged children eventually moving to a new facility.
Davis, along with several other board members in the room, also confirmed that a potential partnership with the up-and-coming Clarksville Boys & Girls Club “no longer exists.”
In 2022, the News Edge reported that VIP Clarksville Magazine held a Black Tie Ball — which promoted fundraising for the Boys & Girls Club in Clarksville, and eventually raised around $60,000.
However, as a parent club trying to foster growth in northwest Tennessee, Hopkinsville’s organization never received the said funding.
In November of that year, those monies were frozen by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office.
Then, in Summer 2024, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee announced its plans to expand operations into the Clarksville community — with hopes of opening this summer. Last July, Clarksville students aged 8-to-18 visited Kenwood Middle School for a “Code Academy,” as the first steps for the group.
Davis did say that other communities in the area are “exploring” creating their own clubs, under the guidance and shepherding of Hopkinsville-Christian County.
