by Roy Tooke--President of Alano Club Board of Directors. 

The Alano Club of Battle Creek was established in 1984.  In order to successfully operate, the then small group of board members decided to take the necessary action to become a non-profit organization  (501-c(3) and set about writing the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation.  Revealed in archives was the vision of the original Club board of directors to establish multiple groups reaching and helping more people in need.  Since 1984 the Club has had just two tenants, AA and Alanon with an occasional Ala-teen group from time to time.  Today the Club has 5 different groups recovering from alcohol, drugs, and eating disorders but there are also a young peoples group, women's groups, faith-based group.  We are currently seeking support for a group for troubled gamblers.  Our development is steady and undeniable.  As a board we have gone through a lot of development just to get ourselves in a position to handle a campaign and change the way we operate.  I am so proud of this club on so many levels I don't know where to start.  We have the best group of volunteers I have ever seen.  Being we have such a small operating budget it is imperative we have volunteers step-up and lend their skills in order to help the BOD help others.  This club provides a safe place for people to go between meetings to find a hot cup of coffee, conversation or a smiling face. 

Our efforts to raise money started in 2002 as the board realized they had to do something to preserve the property that was not code-compliant, handicap accessible, energy efficient, nor a pleasant, bright and cheery place to be.  Money was raised to make plans, acquire drawings for construction and survey the property with all the prep work required to establish feasibility for the campaign.  An actual campaign was established in 2007 and reached its conclusion at the end of March 2010.  As the campaign draws to a close, the results of our fundraising total over $700,000.  We have another $80,000 in pledges and pending donations and are trying to raise the remaining $70,000 to complete the total project.  The campaign itself has been exhausting and rewarding as all campaigns are--rather bitter sweet really.  Now that the campaign is coming to a conclusion we know what we are doing.  So much more than meets the eye goes into such an undertaking. 

The construction process was the most rewarding of it all I think.  Watching a vision come to life with this building going up made it all worth while.  And again our volunteers stepped up in such a big, big way.  Volunteer and in-kind contributions tally to more that $50,000 from the construction budget.  We doubled the size of the original building.  Some of the size increase is in the hallways that provide undisturbed privacy to meeting rooms and the new events room for social activities.  Every time we thought we were running out of money and in need of help somebody stepped up from the Club to get it done and the Battle Creek Community Foundation encouraged us the keep going that things will work out....and they were right, however, there is still work to do to complete the project. 

Currently we are in the process of so much as a club.  The board is still working hard to develop new operation budgets, develop new groups and  general business practices.  What was once a simple business has become so much more and so much responsibility is required to see it through.  We are probably a year away from learning how to best use the facility and have an established budget.  The ACE Committee is providing such a lift to the club with all the social activities to choose from.  The unique thing about an Alano Club is all it provides outside of meetings.  Many of us know how much an impact having somewhere different to go has on people trying to change their ways.  We have the general growing pains and problems we only dreamed of having just three years ago. Because so many care so much we will continue to grow and develop as an organization.  The results of growth and organization will allow us to do a better job of meeting our mission of providing a safe place for people to meet and recover through anonymous 12 step programs.