Friday's Internet Edition, August 29, 2008.
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| BOYS AND GIRLS Club Director Guy Orr checks out the bingo board at PlayMor bingo this week. Thanks to a new state license, the Boys and Girls Club of Copperas Cove will be reaping dividends from some of the games at PlayMor. – Photo by KRISTAN HALL |
After a long and complex effort to receive a state license, the BGC has been approved and will now conduct official games each Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at PlayMor. The proceeds from these games will go directly to support the BGC of Coryell County.
“The proceeds and added funds from our Bingo will make a difference in both our quantity and quality of services for our membership,” said BGC Executive Director Guy N. Orr.
“It’s been a long awaited and planned for event and we owe a great deal of appreciation to the owners and managers of Playmor for charity bingo,” he said.
J.D. Pruitt, who oversees operations at PlayMor Bingo, said getting a license for charity bingo can be a long and difficult process. “A charity has to have been in existence for three years and donating or offering services for those three years,” he said.
The charity can then apply through the Texas Lottery Commission, Bingo Division, said Pruitt. He said the division has a staff that reviews applications to ensure the organization is viable.
Even after an application is approved and the license is granted, charities must proceed in a very regulated manner, he said. Spot check audits are performed and a representation from the charity must be present whenever Bingo is played to benefit that organization, Pruitt said.
“Since Bingo was the first form of gambling in Texas, it’s the most regulated in Texas,” he said.
Orr, who used to play Bingo in church and while in the military, said the game is nothing like it used to be. While bingo halls still use the standard card, they also have high tech computers with touch screens, he said.
“Bingo players can play 30-40 cards at one time,” he said. Even with the various advances in Bingo, Orr said, “Basically, it’s still the fun game it’s always been.”
Orr said it will be a couple of months before the club fully begins to benefit from the impact of the bingo funds. The added support is destined for the use and expansion of such programs as the arts, sports, field trips, music, club tech (computers) and newly planned teen programs.
The programs for teens are a rapidly growing item in our budget, said Susan Kinder, BGC program director. “Each age and gender have special interest and needs. However, teenagers educational and social activities are unique and thus there is always room for innovative and challenging activities for this group.”
The club began their summer program on June 2 and will continue until school begins in August. Weekly field trips are planned for movies, Putt-Putt, swimming, bowling, skating, fishing and special trips. In-club activities include the Teen Adventure Program;
Girl Power; Fit for a Lifetime, a health, fitness and nutrition program; karate; Enter Stage Write, a performance workshop in dramatic writing and theater; art; painting; singing fun; music; What’s Cooking?, Image Makers photography and sewing.
Membership is available to youth ages six to 18 and cost $20 per year. An additional fee is required to participate in field trip activities. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, with a special ‘Early Bird’ program beginning at 7 a.m. for those parents who need to go to work. The fee for this program is $3 daily.
Information and member applications are available at the BGC Office Facility, 1216 Phil Ave., and at the BGC Gym Facility, Ave. School, 306 Ave. E. For more information, call 547-5578/7052 or e-mail BGClub@seacove.net.|