Newhouse gets (and gives) hugs at the Boys and Girls Club
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 4 months AGO
Everybody got together for a group hug when Congressman Dan Newhouse visited the Boys and Girls Club Wednesday.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 29, 2016 6:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — It isn’t often that a real congressman visit the Boys and Girls Club.
So when the kids learned that a real congressman – in this case Fourth District Representative Dan Newhouse – was stopping by on Wednesday morning, the kids made a welcome poster. And they made beach globes – like a snow globe but with colored water and sand – to show off. They had other stuff planned too.
All the kids in the morning program gathered out front, and when Newhouse drove up they got in two lines, so they could shake hands. And get hugs. A lot of kids thought a hug from a very important visitor would be fun. It was so much fun that in the end almost everybody gathered around for a group hug.
Boys and Girls Club director Brant Mayo gave Newhouse a tour of the facility, saying it’s a public-private partnership, built with a state grant and local fundraising efforts. “Awesome, generous people.” Mayo said.
The club works with the Moses Lake School District, sharing space and facilities. The club is located next to Park Orchard Elementary, and Park Orchard students use the club’s computer lab, Mayo said. After school, the kids at the club can use the gym and cafeteria.
The club’s meeting room is available free of charge to community groups, Mayo said, and is used by the school district as well.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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