The irony of turning a bar into a gathering place for 12-step recovery programs is not lost on the leaders of the nonprofit Alano Club of Kalispell.

Some of the people attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the former Paddy’s Bar remember frequenting the watering hole when it was Paddy’s and The Finish Line before that.

Now it’s a safe, restorative haven where people are putting their lives back together again, said Tim Harmon, vice president of the local Alano Club.

“This club and these organizations give people back their lives,” Harmon said. “They give children back their parents.”

Alano Clubs across the country provide meeting rooms for 12-step organizations. The Alano Club of Kalispell is a nonprofit group that maintains the facility where a variety of 12-step programs meet, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and Al-Anon.

How the local Alano Club was able to purchase the former bar on North Meridian Road is a story with many players, according to club President Cork Andrews.

The club incorporated in 2001, led by five local leaders who recognized the need for a gathering place for recovery programs. For more than a decade, the club rented a brick building owned by Dallas and Sue Herron on First Avenue West North near Kalispell Center Mall.

Several years ago Andrews approached Dallas Herron and asked him if he would consider donating the building to Alano Club. In December 2012 the Herrons did just that, generously giving the nonprofit group an asset that would catapult them into the larger facility they now own.

The Alano Club was challenged by a lack of parking at the First Avenue West North location and had outgrown the facility. When WSPGB Land II LLC expressed interest in purchasing the brick building and property, Alano Club members gave their blessing to sell.

The building and property sold for $300,000.

As the Alano Club looked around for a new facility, the club leadership zeroed in on Paddy’s, which had been for sale for a couple of years. That building on 1.1 acres has ample parking and room to grow. The club purchased the former bar building from Michael Boylan and Kari Lincoln for $425,000. Andrews’ son, Zac Andrews of Montana West Realty, handled both transactions without taking a commission.

“Parking was No. 1,” Andrews said, noting about 200 people use the new meeting space daily. “This facility is about six times bigger than the old one.”

Once the purchase was finalized, a number of local contractors and volunteers rolled up their sleeves and transformed the building into a comfortable facility with four large meeting rooms. Patrick Plevel of Plevel Construction was an integral part of the makeover. Other assistance with materials and services came from Excel Electric, Western Building Center, BMC, Comfort Systems, Lilienthal and Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Bill Lincoln donated the contents and equipment of the former bar as well.

Other professionals who have contributed their services are Kalispell attorney Dan Johns and accountant Ron Lambrecht.

Several volunteers, including painter Paul Smith, have helped with the finish work. Some show up daily to do whatever needs to be done, Andrews said.

The club has two sizable loose ends to tie up, though. A club coordinator needs to be hired. The coordinator will earn $500 a month, can set his or her own hours and doesn’t need to be in a recovery program to get the job, Andrews said.

The other need is raising $150,000, both to pay off the $125,000 note the Lincolns are carrying for the club and also provide money to wrap up the building and parking lot renovation.

“We have two years to pay it,” he said about the commitment to the Lincolns.

Donations may be sent to Alano Club of Kalispell, P.O. Box 9762, Kalispell, MT 59904. Donors should include their return address to receive a receipt for the tax-deductible donation.

Each group using the facility donates monthly rent, and club membership fees help keep the club afloat.

“Those who help [financially] often don’t have ties to any 12-step group,” Andrews said. “Members don’t need to be in recovery to join the Alano Club.”

The facility already has been a lifeline for those in recovery, Harmon said. He told how one recovering alcoholic in a bad way a couple of Saturday nights ago sought refuge at the Alano Club.

“His choice was here or a bar, and luckily we were here,” Harmon said. “If you’re having a red-alert day, chances are there are two or three members of the club here. You come in and you find somebody.”

Andrews pointed out the progression of the recovery work that goes on within the Alano Club.

“The family is helped, fewer people end up in the hospital and the jails are not so full of drug- and alcohol-related arrestees,” Andrews said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.