Page 13 - Flathead Beacon // 3.5.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS MARCH 5, 2014 | 13

Bledsoe Rallying Support for Boys and Girls Club

With
Father of NFL star

campaigning for youth

group and upcoming

EVERY
fundraiser

By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon

Even though most parents want to
believe otherwise, Mac Bledsoe regu-
larly reminds them of a simple fact of

STEP
life: their kids will make big decisions on
their own.
The role of parenting — “the most
important career anyone will ever have
in life” — should be devoted to empower-
ing children to make good choices based
on family values, morals and ethics, he
says.

Bledsoe has made it his life’s work
enlightening parents about how to posi-
tively shape their children into respon- Mac Bledsoe, author of Parenting With Dignity. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
you make
sible men and women. He and his wife
Barbara, both former teachers, devel- life when he was growing up in Wash-
oped a program called “Parenting with Boys & Girls Club of ington, but he also saw the repercus-
Dignity” and more than 20 years later sions after they vanished. He was in the
Glacier Country
the curriculum has gained a national Cub Scouts and excited to advance to
following and engaged more than 5.5 15th Annual Dinner and Auction Fundraiser
Boy Scouts when he was old enough. But
million people. Bledsoe’s famous son, then the local troop disbanded.
Drew, who played quarterback in the WHEN: 5 p.m., March 8
“I was really crushed by that because
NFL for 13 seasons, helped spearhead WHERE: Gardner Auction House, U.S. 93 S. I had always dreamed of being an eagle
his parents’ eforts and remains a strong scout,” he says. “That had been an excit-
public advocate for the family’s cause.
MORE INFO: 752-5440
ing thing to look forward to accomplish-
Young people constantly arrive at ing in my life.”

challenging crossroads, away from their He became involved in the town’s
parent’s supervision. The potential pit- 160 kids a day combined, according to other opportunity for young men, the
falls have only expanded for today’s gen- the group’s executive director.
YMCA. It was there that he met a youth
erations, which exist in a new frontier of A national organization comprised leader named Alden Esping who in-
unfolding perils involving cell phones.
of local groups, Boys and Girls Clubs pro- spired Bledsoe to set goals and work to
Active parents are key, Bledsoe says, vide kids a community gathering place achieve them.
but also community organizations, such for after-school programs and events “He just had such a profound efect
as the Boys and Girls Club, that play piv- like birthday parties. The average cost on me and all of our community of young

otal roles in children’s lives and have per child in the after-school group is less men,” Bledsoe says.
profound impacts on communities.
than $20 per month and ofers a suite But during his eighth grade year the
“I think it’s at the very core of what of opportunities and resources, includ- YMCA closed due to a lack of funding
made America great, that we’ve had ing homework help, exercise, nutrition and community support even though
community programs and those activi- and health education, a healthy snack, the programs were illed with kids.
ties that are more than just babysitting,” games, computer science and technol- “Within a year we started having a
he says, pointing to the YMCA, Boy ogy programs. Since there isn’t a busing drug problem and a juvenile delinquen-

Scouts of America and other nonproit system in Evergreen, the club picks up cy problem,” Bledsoe says. “It was so
groups that provide opportunities and an average of 70 to 80 kids after school profound the change in our community
resources for young people.
every day and drops them of at the club that happened. When that community
Yet youth organizations are increas- on Shady Lane.
decided the Boy Scouts were too expen-
ingly becoming a thing of the past, ac- The recession dealt a signiicant sive and the YMCA was too expensive, I
cording to Bledsoe.
blow to the organization, leading to felt like in a lot of ways my town went in
“I see these programs dying all budget cuts and reduced supplies even the tank.”
across the country,” he says. “They lack though the number of kids showing up For the past 17 years, Mac and Barba-

adult support. They lack community for programs has doubled since 2012, ra have called the Flathead Valley home.
support.”
according to executive director Alan While he remains an active champion
Hoping to promote the local cause, Sempf, who has worked at the club since of “Parenting with Dignity” and is even
the renowned speaker and longtime Ka- it opened in 1999.
working on a new book, called “Coach-
lispell resident is serving as the master “Alan Sempf is on the battle lines. He ing with Dignity,” he is staying busy pro-
of ceremonies at the upcoming 15th an- is guiding kids and providing a positive moting community groups like the Boys
niversary celebration for Boys and Girls inluence in their lives,” Bledsoe says. “It and Girls Club.

Club of Glacier Country, based in Ever- never ceases to amaze me to see people He hopes today’s generation of kids
green. The organization is holding its like Alan make a commitment to do the in the Flathead have the same life-
annual dinner and auction March 8 at work that our country so sorely needs, changing experiences and inspirations
Gardner Auction House, 3100 U.S. 93 teaching kids to believe in themselves, he once did.
South in Kalispell. Doors open at 5 p.m.
to stand on their own two feet, to accom- “You never know where the next
The event is the Boys and Girls Club’s plish in school and in sports and to be word of encouragement may be the thing
main fundraiser. All proceeds go toward good citizens. It’s almost immeasurable that guides a kid toward accomplish-
the nonproit group, which operates two the impact that has on our culture.”
ment,” he says.

www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
clubs in the valley. The Evergreen and Community groups like the Boys [email protected]
Columbia Falls sites serve an average of
and Girls Club greatly shaped Bledsoe’s