Leadership San Juan, Donors Open New Bloomfield Boys & Girls Club Playground

When the ribbon fell at the Bloomfield Boys & Girls Club on March 10, the loudest cheers came from the children who had watched the playground rise during construction.

Michelle Meyering, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of San Juan County, got things underway shortly after 4:30 p.m., opening a project that began nearly a year earlier with a simple conversation and $500 in seed money. Leadership San Juan's 2025 graduating class had chosen the Bloomfield club's deteriorating playground as their class project, and what followed was a fundraising effort that ultimately drew 23 donors and topped $50,000.

Calling her team to the front of the crowd, Meyering made clear where the credit belonged. "I need the team up here, because this was not me, not me at all," she said. Team members Herman "Punch" Buck, Jason Rounds, Julie McKeen, Karina Comancho, Cassandra Saiz, Kilian Carey and Loralea "Lori" Smith joined her as she told the gathered crowd: "This crew raised more than $50,000," drawing applause.

Meyering said she had first raised the issue with Bloomfield City Manager George Duncan after recognizing the playground was "a little bit in shambles." From there, she turned to Leadership San Juan for help. "From breaking ground to moving mulch, whatever the team needed, George was incredible," she said, adding the project would not have happened without him. Duncan credited the Bloomfield Public Works Department and the Parks Department, saying they worked about "four weeks solid getting it done."

Meyering also recognized Bloomfield Mayor Cynthia Atencio and Bloomfield Police Chief Phillip Francisco, both of whom sit on the Boys & Girls Club of San Juan County board, for their support of the club's mission.

For Carey, the finished playground carried a simple meaning. "It's awesome. These kids deserve it, and it's a beautiful thing for Bloomfield," he said.

Meyering reflected on what the project had given her beyond the playground itself, saying Leadership San Juan deepened her understanding of "our people, our businesses and groups in our community." Of the donors who made the transformation possible, she offered a straightforward assessment: "You can't put a cap on your investment."

"I am just so happy and proud of what we were able to accomplish," she said.