Redding Boys & Girls Club Announces Name Change

(The following is a press release sent by Chris Hocker.)

Reflecting the fact that approximately one-third of the children participating in its sports and community programs reside in the neighboring town of Easton, the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Redding has announced that the name of the club has been officially changed to the Boys & Girls Club of Redding-Easton.

“The number of different programs and the number of participants has increased significantly over the past several years, so that we now have well over 1,000 kids registered each year,” said Greg Frierson, club president. “We have made a conscious effort to merge and coordinate our programs with those in Easton as a way to enhance opportunities for kids in both towns.”

“Since most of our participants will eventually be together at Joel Barlow High School, it simply makes sense to bring them together both on sports teams and in service programs as early as possible,” Frierson said. “We have developed an effective ‘feeder program’ for Barlow sports teams by expanding opportunities to compete and improve skills within a larger pool of kids and volunteer coaches.”

The club’s sports programs that formally incorporate participants from both towns include Redding-Easton Lacrosse (RELAX); Redding-Easton Softball (RESB); the field hockey program; and the Redding-Easton Basketball Association (REBA), which was recently formed to merge the travel basketball programs in both towns for players in 5th through 8th grades. The club’s other sports programs include baseball, wrestling, volleyball, and tennis. In addition, the club offers non-sports community programs for youth, primarily through its Keystone Club that serves high school age teens. All club programs are open to both Redding and Easton residents, regardless of whether or not a combined structure has been formally adopted.

Residents from both towns are represented on the Club’s board of directors as well as its governing committees for individual programs. Day-to-day administrative functions of the club are handled by an Executive Director, Carlos Collazo, and a Program Director, Matthew Johns, who are both full-time club employees. The club is known locally as the “Jesse P. Sanford Boys & Girls Club,” in honor of its founder, and the Sanford name will continue to be associated with the club.

“Bringing the kids of both towns together through the Boys and Girls Club can only be beneficial to all concerned, and I’m pleased to see Easton’s strong involvement in such a worthwhile organization,” Easton First Selectman Tom Herrmann said.

The club was originally founded in 1939 as the Boys Club of Redding by former Redding first selectman Jesse P. Sanford, and has served as a center for youth sports and community activities in Redding since then. The club acquired its eight-acre property on Cross Highway in the 1950s, when playing fields were built. A previous clubhouse was replaced in 2001 with the current “barn” structure that serves as offices, storage, and meeting space, and an open pavilion. The club is affiliated with the national Boys & Girls Club of America organization.

Further information about the Club and its programs can be found at www.rebgc.org.