Concord Boys & Girls Club Breaks Ground On New Penacook Community Center: Watch

CONCORD, NH — As with many things in Concord, the merger of the Penacook Community Center and the Concord Boys & Girls Club of Central NH and the unveiling of a new facility on Monday started with an email.

In November 2021, Cathy Furlong, the president of the Penacook Community Center, realized the organization was going to have a tough time continuing to offer childcare and other services to the residents of the village. The coronavirus had made things difficult, there were fewer in-person activities and functions, and its building had become dilapidated and needed repair or overhaul. While the organization had been around for more than 70 years, assisting village residents, they did not see a way forward — the org would be out of business by Christmas, Furlong said.

“That was just not going to happen,” she said.

After speaking with employees and board members and trying to figure out what to do, Furlong sent an email to Chris Emond, the CEO of the Concord Boys & Girls Club, urgently requesting a meeting the next day.

Emond, who was going through emails that evening before reading Furlong's, likened it to getting hauled into the principal’s office. At the time, the org was considering another project in a different part of the city and thought it might have to do with that.

“Golfing was over at that time of the year,” he said, jokingly, “so I had time.”

However, when Furlong and Emond met the next day and he heard her pitch, his first instinct was, while there were going to be issues, a merger was doable. He was, however, surprised, by the idea, but considering previous mergers, Emond knew it could be done. Although it was a bit rough, at first, including with staffers. But he commended them for “hanging in there” and “having faith in an organization they knew nothing about.”

After audits, financials, payroll, speaking with the staff and the board, and charting a future, which was not always smooth sailing, it brought the two organizations to the point where they were on Monday — breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art facility on Community Drive in Penacook.

The project will be close to $5.4 million to $5.7 million, with nearly all the funds lined up. Emond said the orgs would be going to the city council to request a bit of money on Monday, too.

While it was going to be sad to see the buildings torn down, in the end, it would be worth it, Furlong.

“They really do need to come down,” she said.

The building will be energy-efficient, have its own playground, and, as Furlong said, it will be “accessible to all.” She said the center had always evolved to be whatever the public needed. So, this, in many ways, was just another change during its 75 years.

Furlong also commended the Boys & Girls Club staff for helping the center get through the process and bringing everyone together.

“I know it will go well,” she said. “It was well worth it.”

Along the way, Emond said, he was amazed at how many people did not say “No” when asked to help. While he had been lucky with previous projects, including the new facility on Bradley Street, that was not always the situation in Concord, even though many people were quite generous. But coming up with close to $6 million was not an easy task.

Emond said it helped, when putting together capital campaigns, that “someone needs to go first.” And that is when Rachel and Marshall Rowe became those someones — making a $1 million commitment to the effort, which helped considerably.

“I think I started to cry when they told me what they were going to do,” he said. “And I’m not that emotional, as many of you know. That meant a lot to me, and we mean a lot to them.”

Emond said the donation gave the Penacook community the chance to understand that the project would occur.

Rachel Rowe said Penacook residents would know that childcare would be affordable, and parents would know their children would be safe, learn, and enjoy outdoor activities. She said it allowed parents, especially moms, who wanted to expand their work opportunities. Marshall Rowe said they were both appreciative, too, of the partnerships everyone had built together for the community.

The Community Development Finance Authority also assisted with a $500,000 block grant. In August, through the New Hampshire Development Finance Authority and Merrimack County Savings Bank, $50,000 in tax credits were aligned.

Capital campaign donation donors also included the Boucher Family Fund; Cleveland Waters and Bass; Cold Springs RV; Grappone Automotive Group; Hannaford Foundation; Irish Electric Corp.; Lois Roy Dickerman Foundation; Mariner Foundation; Nathan Wechsler & Co Pro Assoc.; Rotary Club of Concord; Sanel NAPA; Shay and Don Welch; Strive Indoor Cycling; the Rowley Agency; and numerous anonymous donations.

Others thanked included Frank Lemay of Milestone Construction, Erin Lambert of Wilcox and Barton, Romy Mauer of Terrain Planning, and John Turner from My Team Engineering.

Got a news tip? Please send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.