J.W. Rich Girls Club planning Community Jamboree

Event will introduce new directors, kick off fall sports season

ralphhardin@gmail.com Generations of local girls have passed through the doors of the J.W. Rich Girls Club. Many young female athletes in Crittenden County got their first sports experience on the club’s softball fields, basketball courts or volleyball nets.

In recent years, though, the numbers have been down. Whether it’s from expanded offerings at the Crittenden County Boys & Girls Club, more parents electing to place their girls on competitive traveling club teams, or just a general decline in the number of young ladies taking an interest in sports, memberships at the J.W. Rich Girls Club have dropped.

“But we’re not closing down,” said club board member Michelle Smith.

“We’re still here. Our summer program is going on right now, and we’re already holding sign-ups for fall volleyball.”

It’s volleyball that has become a lynch-pin for the club. They hold two season each year — one in the spring, which wrapped up last month, and one in the fall, which will begin in August or September.

While softball numbers have dwindled to the point that the club did not have spring softball for the first time in decades, and in order to have basketball, the club transitioned, at least for one season, to a 3-on-3 half-court game, volleyball numbers have remained strong at the club.

There’s no doubt that the Crittenden County Boys & Girls Club’s expanded sports offerings have had an impact. For years, it was the West Memphis Boys Club, catering exclusively to young male athletes with baseball, football, and basketball. But for several years now, after joining Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the club has added girls’ sports, with softball and volleyball, as well as the co-ed sport, soccer.

But even with the Crittenden County Boys & Girls Club offering volleyball, the Girls Club has maintained strong numbers in that program. In fact, last fall, they added a senior league, a league for ladies up to 24 years of age. This fall, they have raised the age to 30 in the hopes of attracting former players who still have a love for the game now that they are adults.

The club is going through some other changes as well. Long time sports director Ladean Aughenbaugh and club director Harriet Francis both recently retired from the club.

With new leadership, comes new opportunity, and the club is putting together a “Community Jamboree” to introduce their new directors and reintroduce the J.W. Rich Girls Club to the public.

“Join us for our very first jamboree to help kick off the fall sports season,” invited Smith. “Everyone is welcome to come out and enjoy a day of family fun and see what the Girls Club is all about.”

Visitors will also have a chance to meet with new club director Katherine Burns and sports director Terisha Bradley.

The jamboree is scheduled for Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s a free event, being put on with assistance from the West Memphis Police Department, the West Memphis Fire Department and the Arkansas Greyhound Kennel Association.

Volleyball, basketball, Corn Hole, Bouncey Houses, a photo booth, snowcones, popcorn, hot dogs, and more will be on hand for the celebration.

The J.W. Rich Girls Club is located at 519 Shoppingway Blvd., in West Memphis, just east of Walmart behind Calvary Baptist Church. For more information, check out the J.W. Rich Girls Club on Facebook, or call (870) 394-9426.