MONTEGO BAY, St James – There is now a push to return the iconic Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club to its glory days when it was a beacon of social development within the western city.

Located on River Bay Road, there is still activity on the grounds as the physical structure is still in fairly good condition and is the venue for a variety of sporting events. But the club itself has not reopened after being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, club stalwarts and other individuals are attempting to breathe new life into the landmark institution. Councillor Richard Vernon has been elected chairman of the new management team and he has given a commitment to play his part in taking the institution back to what it used to be: a vehicle to provide support for the city’s youth.

“Many persons have asked me to look at different areas in Montego Bay to establish community centres and clubs and I keep telling them that Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club is the club to be a part of,” Vernon told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

“It is the institution that can instil the right values and attitudes in our youngsters within the area, so that they themselves can become respectable and productive men and women of tomorrow,” he added.

Vernon also holds the office of deputy mayor of the city of Montego Bay and is the Jamaica Labour Party councillor for the Montego Bay South division.

He sought to explain the thinking behind the direction planned for the club.

“The mission is to get back to the glory days and to build on that glory foundation set by our predecessors,” Vernon told Observer West.

He anticipates that the club will soon be fully up and running as they formalise a number of initiatives to ensure that there are no shortcomings when the grand reopening takes place.

On the list of things to do is identifying individuals who can serve the club in key areas and assist in its growth and development.

“We want to give the structure value, in the sense that we bring in persons that bring value and also persons who can actively participate in the process,” said Vernon, adding that posts will include directors of sports, music, and youth development.

“Once we get those persons to populate the different positions that we are putting forward now we can move forward,” he said.

He noted that in addition to the need to determine the club’s current members, there will also be a focus on including at risk youth.

“I believe the Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club can save more youngsters as it has done in the past. It can get those youngster attached to an institution, re-socialised and instilled with the right values, norms and attitudes,” he explained.

Vernon believes that a revitalised club can have an even greater impact on the society.

“We can reduce crime, address the social development concerns and then we can have economically development flourishing,” he posited.

He explained that they will be relying on a plethora of activities and programmes as part of the way to attract youngsters back to the institution.

“We want to ensure that we can tap into the opportunities that are up for offering by the HEART/NSTA Trust and even the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. So that once you come to the Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club as a youngster, you can always get a skill in the NTVET area while getting a skill in music, football and netball,” he told Observer West.

“We’ll have lessons in the evenings and homework programmes as well. We already have a community access point there with the free Internet, computers and all of that. We are going to put those to full use,” he added.

Vernon predicted that efforts to give the club a new lease on life will succeed as there is a lot of support from various stakeholders and past members.

“We want to move forward with new energy, with a renewed spirit of development, and also robust accountability and transparency in how the club is operated. Because that, I would say, has been it’s Achilles heel and we want to address that,” he disclosed.