MOSES LAKE - The Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia Basin's board of directors thanked Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, for her help in securing a state grant for approximately $648,000 during their board meeting Monday.

The grant goes toward construction costs of a new clubhouse to be built at Park Orchard Elementary School in Moses Lake, said executive director Brant Mayo. The club will be able to start drawing money from it after the new clubhouse breaks ground, he said.

Knowing there were good people like the staff of the Boys and Girls Club helping kids in Moses Lake made it easy to fight for the grant money, Warnick told the board, adding the club pursued matching funds and other sources of funding which helped.

"It shows the community is needing and wanting this facility," she said.

In appreciation, the board presented Warnick with a painting painted by Debra Polito, administrative assistant.

"I really appreciate it," said Warnick. "This is going to go on my wall in my office in Olympia."

Warnick has been a champion of kids in the community for a long time, said Mayo, and the board wanted to thank her for all the support she's given not just to the Boys and Girls club, but to the community.

The organization is hoping to break ground on the new clubhouse sometime this fall, but is waiting to hear back on other grants applications, said Mayo.