Annual youth center events will be held Sunday

It has been a tradition for the McGennis Youth Center to host a barbecue and an auction on the first Sunday of August. This will be the 37th year for the barbecue to be held and the craft auction, in conjunction with the event, started in 1980.

This youth center will be the place to be this Sunday and is usually well attended and supported. Besides having good food, it is a good social event and an opportunity to show off the center. The center will be groomed and ready for visitors.

Neil Steiner of the Flaming Lantern in Butler will be preparing the food. Those going will enjoy the barbecue pork and beef and other food.

Board members and friends of the center will be providing cake and what is not eaten will be auctioned during the evening. Randy Bell is serving as chairman for the barbecue.

The auction has been a major fund-raising event for the center. Donors and buyers have been generous. Bob Schlyer started the auction and has headed it up each year it has been held. This year he decided to take a "breather" from the auction and turn over the chair position to someone else. Heading up the auction this year are Robert and Gretchen Wills.

Collectables, plants, antiques, handmade wooden items, baked goods, home canned items, artwork, jewelry, gift baskets, quilts and hand sewn items are but a few of the quality and unique items that have been offered for sale in the past and will be again this year.

These are all donated and that means that the profit from the auction goes 100 percent to MYC. These funds are needed and are put to good use for the maintenance and development of the center. If you have any items that are suitable, take them to the center or contact a board member to take them for you.

Last year's auction took in $4,000 for the center. Larry Hacker will be the auctioneer again this year.

One of the main attractions for youth at the center is swimming -- with qualified life guards. Swimming will be free this Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m.

A major addition to the center this year is a new floating dock for swimming, replacing the old wooden one that was built when the lake was built. This is something that you will want to see and is a great addition to the center.

The new dock is expensive. Virginia Habjan, board president, said that it should last for many many years. The center depends on donations and with a grant from the Finis Moss Foundation of $13,000 the new dock became a reality. Another $2,500 grant was received from the York Children's Foundation of Houston, Texas. This grant will be used to provide railing for the new dock.

Late winter, early spring, the water level was low in the lake. This aided in removing the old wooden dock attached to wooden poles. Through the years there have been a large number of people involved with the center.

This involvement continues. Virginia said the removal of the old dock, replacing it with the new dock, took a lot of people. She especially gave credit to Dale Headley and his bulldozer.

She commented that putting the new dock together was a piece of cake. The new deck will not have to be painted. As funds become available, additional parts can be added. Virginia said, "It is a remarkable thing."

The goal is to get more parts to add to the dock, including a permanent lifeguard chair and umbrella. The long time goal is to make it handicap accessible.

The Department of Conservation is working with the center to improve the lake, including the stocking more fish. In the fiscal year of 2007 funds will be available to replace the overflow pipes.

Virginia said that the board hopes to improve the facilities at the center. It appears that the usage has increased this year at the center. The McGennis Youth Camp was recently held and was successful.

The MYC is important to our area. The importance will increase in the future as places of this type become needed even more. The value of the land has increased tremendously since Mary McGennis contributed the land for the youth in this area.

The auction will start at 5 with a children's auction, featuring special items just for the kids. This is a fun event to observe the kids bidding. The auction will stop at 5:30 for the barbecue. During the barbecue there will be a musical entertainment by a local group, the Rounders. At 6:30 the auction will continue.

The cost for the barbecue is $8 for those over 12, $4 for those ages 5-12 and those under 5 are free with parents. Tickets are for the meal, not the auction.The center is located one mile west of Metz and then go north on the highway to the center. Take advantage of this event and have an enjoyable Sunday.

If you have any questions about the event or the MYC, call any board member or call the center at (417) 484-3286.