Boys & Girls Club Board President Brentan Vivian, once a club kid, helps secure new facility

JANESVILLE — The Gazette’s Local Volunteer of the Month is Brentan Vivian, the chief financial officer at Ceroni Piping in Cherry Valley, Illinois, who’s been a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Janesville since 2019.

This year, Vivian became board president, which is a two-year term.

After joining, he became the board’s treasurer in 2020 and then vice president in 2022, which are both two-year terms. Vivian met the immediate past president of the board, Tyler Mosley, through the Leadership Development Academy, who encouraged him to join the board.

“He told me they were always looking for new members and I said, ‘You know, I’m actually actively looking to join a not-for-profit board.’ I was a club kid growing up down in Beloit, so it’s near and dear to my heart. It was an easy yes,” Vivian said.

“We didn’t have all the after-school programs that they have now. For me, it was a spot to get out of the house with your bike and hang out with friends, play games and do sports. It’s a nice place for kids to go and interact with children their age and not worry about the chaos in the world. It’s nice to see the programs. It provides more of a place to learn, grow up and be successful members of our community, which is fantastic.”

Vivian’s been a part of the Boys and Girls Club of Janesville’s capital campaign from the beginning, as he’s also on the finance committee.

“As a board we talked about how we’re at max capacity in our current space and we were looking to grow. Which would mean finding a different location. That was a little seed that was planted many years ago,” Vivian said.

As of June, the club was halfway through its $12 million capital campaign. It will be able to break ground this year with the date still to be determined.

“We’re very excited for it and looking forward to it,” Vivian said.

“My story is full circle. I was a club kid and now I’m able to help provide those resources to the next generation and watch them flourish in preparing themselves for adulthood. It would be amazing if a club kid grows up and says, ‘Hey, the club impacted me so much that I want to give back to my community’ wherever they live. It’s awesome seeing the joy in the kids eyes when they just get to be a kid,” Vivian added.

He encourages folks to find their passion and focus their volunteering around that to make it easy to do and fulfilling.