Boys & Girls Club Wins Awards for Marketing, Resource Development

Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Missouri was well represented during the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Missouri Area Council meeting, taking home two awards for outstanding marketing project and outstanding resource development project.

The Missouri Area Council is made up of the 14 Missouri Boys & Girls Clubs and meets annually for leadership training. Clubs also compete for awards in outstanding partnership, outstanding marketing and communications, outstanding resource development, outstanding program and board volunteer of the year.

“It was very exciting to be recognized by our professional peers with these awards,” said Executive Director Gary Beckman.

The marketing award was given for BGC’s video project titled “Oh, Hello There!” which was made up of six videos created by BGC staff and starring Beckman to promote the 2019 An Evening of Heart & Hope Auction. Posted to social media to highlight ticket sales, games and auction items, the videos were a hit with the public, racking up likes, comments and shares on the Club’s Facebook page.

“Sometimes you have to look a little silly to promote a great cause,” Beckman said about the videos, which often portrayed him as overly excited about auction items and in comical situations. “I think they also helped emphasize that this was a fun event and we wanted people to come out for a fun time, while also raising funds for a great cause.”

The resource development award was given for the Club’s 1960 Scholarship Fund project, which is currently ongoing. To celebrate BGC’s 60th anniversary, the 1960 Scholarship Fund was launched in August and will run through July 2020. Each month, a business or community leader has pledged to donate $1,960 toward Club member scholarships. To date, more than $21,000 has been pledged and staff are confident the fund will surpass its $23,520 goal.

“The entire BGC family, all our board members and staff, really had a hand in this award,” Beckman said. “The judges commented that the impact the 1960 Scholarship Fund will have on our members is tremendous and the investment from community leaders was admirable.

“I’m very proud of our team and all that they’ve done to show Boys & Girls Club is continuing to do whatever it takes to help start great futures for local children.”