The Sierra Vista Junior High School Clubhouse will now be known as the Thomas E. Dierckman Clubhouse — Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley after the William S. Hart Union High School District board approved a resolution at last week’s meeting.
Dierckman has been serving on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club since 1997 and served as board president from 2001 to 2004, according to Jim Ventress, who served as executive director for the organization for 29 years and spoke at the meeting. He added that the Hart district and the organization have partnered together since 1981, when the original clubhouse was built, before it was expanded into a $6.2 million, 27,000-square-foot building.
“Tom’s leadership and his energy played a major part in our success with partnering (with the district),” Ventress said.
Gloria Mercado-Fortine, who previously served as president of the organization and served for four terms on the Hart district governing board, spoke about Dierckman’s vision for the clubhouse and his efforts to fund it.
“The innovative collaborative effort was a partnership that allowed the Boys & Girls Club and the Hart district to pool resources,” Mercado-Fortine said. “Tom was pivotal in securing funding for the Sierra Vista clubhouse. It was a momentous occasion when we were able to open the doors to the clubhouse in 2003 to a full-service clubhouse.”
Hart district governing board President Bob Jensen thanked those who spoke in favor of the renaming.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the district community,” Jensen said. “Thank you, all five of you, for speaking and for everyone else who came to support this.”
The resolution was passed unanimously by the board.
