Congratulations to Carlsbad resident Ekta Patel, who has been announced as the new CEO for the Boys and Girls Club of Carlsbad. Ekta has been highly involved in numerous Carlsbad efforts, especially the Chamber Ambassadors. She and Candlewood Suites have always also been tremendous help with community activities such as our annual energy summit. Ekta’s focus will be to develop a plan for the Club’s re-opening as COVID numbers hopefully continue to decline.
The Boys and Girls Club of Carlsbad has been one of Carlsbad’s best organizations for decades and is widely considered to be one of the state’s best clubs. Thanks especially to former CEO Kelli Barta and interim CEO Amy Calderon for doing an excellent job over the past year. Of course, thanks again to Anthony Foreman for making a very generous donation to the club last year that allowed the organization to provide students unable to attend in person with games and snacks. The United Way of Eddy County has always been one of the biggest supporters of the club as well.
We also recently received an update from the Carlsbad Community Anti-Drug/Gang Coalition. The Coalition has recently welcomed four new Board of Directors members- Kelli Barta (now the principal of JMA), City Councilor JJ Chavez, CIS Principal Andrea Edmonson and Albertson’s Assistant Manager Jacob Puckett. The organization has also introduced Erin Williams as its Office of Substance Abuse Prevention Program Manager, Samantha Smith as Program Assistant for multiple grants, Sarah Bowman as Media Specialist and Hannah Kim as Youth Representative. The Coalition’s plans includes the development of a youth council to lead community education and media messages. For a list of the organization’s accomplishments over the past year, please visit https://www.carlsbadcoalition.com/
The Cavern City Child Advocacy Center is a nonprofit dedicated to fact finding interviews for children and adolescents when there is suspected abuse, neglect or if they witness a crime. The Advocacy Center will soon be opening Foundry Home, a temporary shelter for runaway and homeless youth, ages 12 to 17 years. The program will primarily serve youth of Eddy and Lea Counties, with each stay lasting 21 days. Each child will have his or her own room, with a capacity of 12 children at one time. We understand that Foundry Home is very close to opening its doors. If you have any questions about Foundry Home or would like to assist, please contact Programs Supervisor Brandy Ackland at Brandy@senmcac.com.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway
