If you are curious about the beautiful new building tucked away behind the City-County gym on Venturacci Lane, you will be happy to learn that it is the newly completed Fallon Youth Club (FYC) facility. Officially christened as the William H. Pennington Fallon Youth Club, the highly anticipated project is now complete.
The new gem of the community is awash with vibrant colors, floor to ceiling windows, and striking contemporary décor. High ceilings create an open-air feel with large glass garage-style roll-up doors transforming the recreation room into an indoor/outdoor space - perfect for fair weather days and large events. In short, the new building exceeds the wildest dreams of the FYC.
Shannon Goodrick, Fallon Youth Club executive director, received the keys to the new building this week. Still in awe of the finished product, she proudly offered The Fallon Post a tour and showed-off every detail of the 15,500 square foot space - from the oversized recreation center to the perfectly apportioned custodial closet. Every common area of the building maximizes space, light, and potential. Even the offices and boardroom will be the envy of the town. Overall, the new building will easily rival the most swanky of private youth centers – and most likely surpass them in aesthetics and functionality. Designed by Van Woert Bigotti Architects in Reno, the building's exterior may appear relatively generic, but it completely belies its utterly striking interior.
A fully-fenced outdoor play space includes a sizable playground structure and basketball court. Both are accessible through the roll-top glass door. Inside lies an oversized recreation room decked out with modern style geometric tables and chairs along with built-in furniture pieces that can accommodate both staff and a growing youth club.
FYC teens will be excited to learn that there is a room dedicated to them. The vast, open area allows students to participate in activities completely separate from their younger (and quite possibly annoying) counterparts. There is a large art room with plenty of space for the Club’s young Picassos to create their next masterpiece with built-in sinks for managing the inevitable mess.
The northeast corner of the building is home to a multipurpose room. Students can play indoor dodge ball in bad weather, have snacks, play games, and gather for any number of activities and events. Designed in a smaller – yet similar fashion, to Numa Elementary's school cafeteria, the space is perfect for the ever-changing needs of Fallon’s youth.
Tucked away toward the rear of the facility lies a stainless-steel wonder; a top-notch professional kitchen. Yes, a professional kitchen with all the amenities and appliances. While Goodrick and her staff envisioned something that would accommodate the needs and number of children they serve, they never imagined they would have a cooking facility that would turn any top chef Greenwave-green with envy.
Another favored area is what Goodrick and her team have nicknamed the balcony. Even though it is a floor level area inside the building, a pergola style adornment hangs overhead with decorative Edison lights. The small cove invites creativity and collaboration, as one wall is nothing but blackboard. Next to the balcony lies one of the more unique spaces in the building. Situated within the recreation area is a small project room enclosed almost entirely in glass.
According to Goodrick, it was created specifically for the Positive Actions social learning program. “It is a grade-specific program based on the idea that positive thoughts can lead to positive actions,” says Goodrick, “It’s kind of a special room for us.” Eventually, she also hopes to bring in a robotics program which would also be well suited for the space.
The project, which has encountered a fair share of setbacks, was certainly worth the wait. According to Goodrick, the Fallon Youth Club, in partnership with the City of Fallon Churchill County and the Churchill County was approved for a $6.3 million building grant in 2016. Groundbreaking did not start until May of 2019, however. Between surveys, engineering, structural design, road engineering and construction, the project seemed interminably delayed. Not only were things progressing more slowly than anticipated, but building costs rose nearly 42% from the time the grant was approved and when construction began. Fortunately, the William N. Pennington Foundation stepped up to cover the shortfall. And the result is stunning.
With expanded space at their fingertips, the Youth Club will be able to expand its services. Goodrick is gearing up to add more staff to help facilitate program needs. “We need more people as the numbers go up,” Goodrick explained. “We work to keep the staff to student ratio at about 12:1, a bit below the industry standard of 15:1 for after-school programs.” Presently, FYC is scouting for a teen program coordinator. According to Goodrick, they do not just want someone willing to work with teenagers, but someone who works well with – and loves teenagers.
The new William N. Pennington Fallon Youth Club will quickly be full to the brim with local youth. Fallon has done well in providing children in the community with a top-notch after-school program that offers academic and social-emotional support fostering life skills that will serve them well into adulthood. Now, Fallon has a facility worthy of the amazing FYC program it offers.
* Please accept our sincerest apologies. The initial article (online and in print) inadvertently omitted Fallon Youth Club's partnership with the City of Fallon, who was the lead agency on the project. They also partner with the school district for 21st Century Learning Center programming.
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