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To meet Shannon O'Kelley is to witness the true benefit of The Boys & Girls Club in action. For eight years, Shannon and his six siblings lived right across the street from the local Boys & Girls Club in Clarkston, Washington. Almost every night, the O’Kelley boys would head over to the Club to jump on the trampoline, play-ping pong, and participate on the basketball and football teams. As Shannon recalls, "The Club was a magical place. I have countless stories I could share."
Shannon acknowledges that he was a handful as a young boy, to the point where his mom "would have strangled me if she didn’t have the club across the street to send me to—I was always moving." He still is always moving, full of energy and vibrancy. It is that energy and positive attitude that later would propel him in his life to launch a highly successful career as owner of IRG Physical & Hand Therapy, 39 physical therapy clinics that extend from Anacortes to Olympia.
While two of his brothers were selected as Boys of the Year at the Club, Shannon admits that "I got kicked out so many times" from the Club that he probably was disqualified from ever being selected for that honor. The Club Director, though, took a personal interest in young Shannon, and that was a key to his gaining confidence in himself.
When asked about his experience at the Boys & Girls Club in his younger days, Shannon is quick to point out that he developed a number of key skills from the hours he spent at the Club, among them the concept of teamwork and acceptance of others with an emphasis on compassion. Those skills and Shannon’s athleticism would help him to excel in school and athletics eventually earning his Masters in Physical Therapy degree. Those formative years were critical in young Shannon’s development, and he gives much of the credit to the patient, understanding, wonderful staff at the local Boys & Girls’ Club.
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