By Tom Moen
East Madison Community Center

It’s hard for many of us to believe, but it’s been 10 years since the East Madison Community Center (EMCC) hosted the grand opening for our Wellness and Multipurpose expansion. Following years of planning and raising funds, the doors were finally opened for business in 2008. And what was once just a pipe dream was ready to serve thousands of additional youth and families on Madison’s northeast side with dozens of new and expanded programs.

The 13,000–square-foot expansion included a full-size gym, a large multipurpose room with a stage, a commercial-style kitchen, two locker rooms, a fitness room, two meeting rooms, an office, three outdoor handball courts and a beautiful neighborhood courtyard. And all this space was ours for the “blue-light-special” price of under $2,000,000.

Thanks to that expansion, EMCC now serves more than 2,000 additional participants each year with a wide array of activities ranging from a toddler prom to Alzheimer’s screening, a food pantry and break dancing. The purpose of the addition was to reach out further into the community for program participants and to offer a wider range of program options that reflect the interests of families living in the EMCC service area. We are proud to say that all the effort staff and volunteers put into planning and fundraising for the 2008 expansion has more than fulfilled our expectations.

Thank you to Jim Glueck, who was our architect for all three building additions (1991, 1997 and 2008) and to Roberts Construction (now NCI-Roberts Construction), who built our initial building in 1981 as well as the three building additions. Both Glueck and Roberts were professional, supportive and cordial, and did excellent work in meeting and exceeding our expectations. Thank you also to the 400 donors who made our long-needed expansion a reality.