A board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Alabama has received a national award.
Maggie Brooke of Redmont was presented with the W. Clement Stone Outstanding Achievement Award for an Individual May 2 in San Francisco at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national conference.
The award recognizes the exceptional performance and service of a local Area Council Committee member who has particularly distinguished himself or herself through areas including promotion of the area council network, service on area council committees and service to his or her local club.
Brooke, who said she was pleased to receive the award, was honored for several of her efforts, including implementing her idea to establish an annual Legislative Day at the local clubhouses.
“It has become a wonderful event, and the area politicians appreciate the opportunity to learn more about our programs and the effect we’re having on the lives of the youth who come to our clubs. That is one thing that I did that got national attention,” she said.
Brooke’s significant role in fundraising for the nine clubs in the Greater Birmingham area has also gained her national attention.
In 2012, the BGCCA board of directors worked together to raise $2.3 million to build the Tom & Gean Cleckler Teen Center. The more than 15,000-square-foot facility opened its doors in May 2013, she said.
“I work hard for (the children served by BGCCA) and give so much of my time and resources because some of these children have nowhere to go, and some just come and have fun,” she said. “Without Boys and Girls Clubs, a whole lot of kids would be falling through the cracks. Without a place to go after school, a lot of kids get in trouble. They need to have a place to go where they can make a good choice.”
Brooke said some kids start the afterschool program when they’re 6 and stay until they’re 18.
“For some it’s their home away from home, and for some it’s all they have. They form a bond with staff, and it changes the course of their lives,” she said.
Brooke was elected chairman of the BGCCA Board in 2006.
She is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in design.
