PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Boys & Girls Club facility in Southeast Portland’s Lents neighborhood will soon sport a new name in honor of a local teacher.
The Wattles Club at 9330 SE Harold Street has been the subject of an ongoing naming rights campaign in partnership with PCC Structurals.
On Wednesday, the organization announced that the club will change its name in honor of Lionel Clegg — who also won the OnPoint Credit Union’s Teacher of the Year award in 2021.
Clegg is described as a “dedicated teacher, fierce advocate, and community liaison.” Born and raised in Portland, he attended Woodlawn Elementary and later chose to give back to his community by earning his Masters degree in education and teaching at Woodlawn for 24 years.
The renaming campaign, which launched in May, requested the names of several people of color to nominate a potential honoree.
Officials with the Boys & Girls Club of Portland and PCC composed a committee to review the nominations and narrow them down to five finalists. From there, the club then selected a winner.
“This is a uniquely significant moment for us because the Wattles Club is our flagship location where we established our very first stand-alone club in 1954 by converting the old Lents Elementary school into a Club after we were initially founded in 1946,” BGCP CEO Terry Johnson said.
The name of the selected honoree will be revealed on Wednesday.
