Last night the Ballard Boys & Girls club opened its new facilities and honored the donors that made it possible with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"We are a team here at the Ballard Boys & Girls club and today we're celebrating an accomplishment of our team," announced Jenny Boucek, assistant coach of the Seattle Storm and MC for the evening.

"We're celebrating the expansion of our building and the expansion of our family."

The $2.1 million remodel adds an additional 5,000 square feet of classroom space, almost doubling the space of the club, and will allow for approximately 50 kids to come off the waiting list and join the club.

The remodeling process started in September of 2008 when Hendricks asked for funding. Construction started in September of last year and finished in time for the club's 60th anniversary.

Prior to the ribbon cutting, Boucek called student Olivia Vellotti to the stage to share her Ballard Boys & Girls club experience. Velotti is a long-time member of the Ballard Boys & Girls Club and was named the Ballard and King County Youth of the Year for her community involvement and straight-A academic record.

Velotti said credited the club for giving her confidence and she's "blessed to be a Ballard Boys & Girls Club member".

When Boucek invited "leader and patriarch", Executive Director Mark Hendricks to the stage, he received a standing ovation.

Hendricks has been with the club since 1986 and is credited for the club's success in the last twenty years.

"The best leaders that have ever walked this earth, are the ones motivated by compassion," Boucek said. "Mark [Hendricks] is one of them."

Hendricks honored the many donations he has received over the years to keep the club running and make the expansion happen, including John and Shawn Goodman who gave $1 million.

John Goodman joined the Ballard Boys & Girls club in 1959 when he was six years old.

"These kids are the future of our country and I'm so proud to be part of this," he said. "Mark is the most amazing human being I've ever seen."

Hendricks gave Shawn Goodman the honor of cutting the red ribbon, which was held by three club members, who had asked their parents to donate money to the expansion of the club instead of giving them birthday presents this year.

After the ceremony, guests were invited to stay and tour the new facilities while enjoying Veracci's pizza, Dante's hot dogs or fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"I think the expansion is great," Boucek said. "For them to do what they do better is tremendous."

Boucek is a board member of the Ballard Boys & Girls Club and has been involved since 2004.

"I played basketball with Mark and the guys and I got to know the club and the difference they were making. In addition to the community service we do with The Storm, I was looking for something deeper than broad and to invest in one community, one organization. This is the one I choose."

Herself a product of the YMCA, Boucek said organizations like the Ballard Boys & Girls Club provide an environment where kids can come, be nurtured and grow.

"This is what community is about. This is a place they can come together, play and grow," she said.

John Goodman said the best thing about the expansion is that more kids can join.

"This is a place where kids learn about team work and develop confidence,' he said. "It helps them be focused and keeps them out of trouble."