The Boys & Girls Club of Glasgow-Barren County broke ground Monday on the Guilfoil Recreation Center, a new facility at 801 Columbia Avenue that organizers say could let the club welcome 60 to 100 more children than it serves today. The groundbreaking ceremony drew club leadership, construction representatives and current members to the Glasgow site where the new building will rise.
According to WNKY, the center is being built thanks to a gift from the Craft family and will be named in honor of Kelly Craft's parents, recognizing the Guilfoil family's longtime ties to the Glasgow community. Club CEO Mallie Boston told those gathered that the project exceeds what she once thought possible for the organization, saying, “This is more than I could ever imagine.”
Boston described the new facility as spaces where children can compete, learn and build confidence speaking in front of a crowd. She said the center will include basketball courts, batting cages, classrooms and a stage, giving members room to grow beyond what the club's current space allows, per the same account.
A Family Legacy Built Into the Walls
Kelly Craft spoke at the ceremony about her parents, telling the crowd her father was a farmer and town veterinarian who helped neighbors at all hours, while her mother taught home economics at Glasgow High School. “Mom and dad believed that every child had something special in them,” Craft said, adding, “Someone just had to notice.”
The Crafts' involvement traces back to a charitable bid of $10 million, below their record solo bid of $10.5 million in 2024, earlier this year. At the 2026 Country Ham Breakfast, Kelly and Joe Craft joined Central Bank for a combined $10 million winning bid, with the proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Club of Glasgow-Barren County and the Barren County Glasgow FFA, according to Kentucky.com. Central Bank said the bid reflected funds the bank and the Crafts had already pledged to charity in 2026, rather than new spending tied to the ham itself. Of that total, the Crafts' $5 million donation was designated for the Guilfoil Recreation Center and FFA chapters in Barren and Glasgow counties, as reported by The Advocate-Messenger.
What's Planned for the New Site
Design details reported ahead of the groundbreaking point to a facility built for both sports and performance. The gymnasium will include a stage where children can sing, dance and act, and plans call for about 2.5 additional acres of green space to support a larger playground and garden, the station's report notes.
Earlier reporting from Glasgow News 1 described the facility as featuring two middle school-size courts, restrooms, showers, concessions and ticketing space, with a pull-out stage option. That same coverage noted the club was preparing the site for construction over the summer, with Boston saying the groundwork phase would likely take the most time.
Branscum Construction is handling the build, and the club hopes to open the new center in August or September 2027 if the weather cooperates and the project stays on schedule, per WNKY. The club currently serves about 180 children each day, up from roughly 100 when Boston joined the organization 15 years ago, and serves children ages 5 to 18 through after-school and summer programs.
Kids Weigh In on What the Center Means
A sixth-grade club member who spoke at the ceremony thanked Kelly Craft directly and described hopes for more teams, more games and practices, and more children having a safe place to go after school. The student said the project means more to members than just a new building.
Boston urged the children in attendance to play, study and practice kindness at the new center, and to return someday and help another child the way the club has helped them. The Boys & Girls Club of Glasgow-Barren County has spent 20 years giving children a safe place, supportive adults and encouragement to dream bigger, and organizers framed Monday's groundbreaking as the next chapter in that mission.
The Guilfoil Recreation Center project follows years of incremental expansion for the club. Back in 2022, the organization was awarded $1 million from the state to fund projects expanding its services, according to WBKO, money meant to support the club's Great Futures Campaign, with half earmarked for a new facility in Cave City and the rest for improving existing Glasgow services.
More recently, the club has moved forward with its expansion at the Columbia Avenue site, where the Guilfoil Recreation Center is being built.
