With 77 years of familiar faces from his time with Baker Youth Club, Bob “Coach” Lichtenwalter could be forgiven for not being able to put a name with each one. The former director of the after-school activity and learning club saw a lot of those faces, young and old, during an open house at the main Warsaw location Tuesday night. He had a challenge for each one as they walked in the door: he could beat them at tic-tac-toe, as long as they let him make the first move. He enjoyed a near-unbroken winning streak against some of the 90 kids and more than 100 visitors who dropped by. “I lost one game,” he said later in the evening. “I was thinking about something else.” Mike Klondaris, a former member who decided to stop in after getting an invitation, was one of his competitors. He lost graciously and shared a fist bump with Coach. Members of the Warsaw varsity basketball team also came late in the night, each with a letter and a handshake for Lichtenwalter. “I told him I appreciate everything he’s done for us and the community,” said team member Jordan Stookey. “And I’m not just speaking for myself, but for a lot of people.” “I told him thank you for taking time to change the lives of others,” said teammate Rashaan Jackson. “He made a great impact on the community.” Though not a fundraiser – BYC’s main fundraising event is March 8 at the Wagon Wheel Playhouse – the aim of the night was to show people ways they could be involved with club activities, noted Program Director Tamara Drake. Lichtenwalter is still involved with BYC every week, checking kids in and out of the building. It meant having to learn to use a computer, he remarked. He added that BYC is “serving a purpose that’s needed in the community, having kids come in, learn to interact with each other, and be fair and honest.”
