The Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center stands at the intersection of heart-wrenching and heartwarming. The forces that brought it here are equal and powerful parts good and bad.
There is no denying the benefit to teenagers who will come to the structure in Montbello. It is a learning and activity center for kids ages 13-18 and is outfitted with everything from computers to pool tables to plasma TVs.
“Now that it’s here, it’s really exciting,” said Passion Lyons, 17, upon seeing the center for the first time at Thursday’s grand opening. “I thought it was really cool.”
There is no denying the legacy that brought it here. And no one will.
“What do I expect from it?” asked 19-year old Teandra Conley, who, for the better part of the past two years played a large role in getting the center from thought to reality. “I expect teens to take full advantage of it; for them to respect it, because it’s for Darrent Williams.”
Williams was the wide-smiled, energetic Broncos cornerback for whom this building is named. In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2007, he was murdered in a drive-by shooting while riding in a Hummer limousine. He was 24. A sculpture of the man now sits between the teen center and the adjacent Broncos Boys & Girls Club.
Club becomes focus
Williams had a great appreciation for the Boys & Girls Club. He said it helped keep him on a straight path while growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, and led him to athletic stardom at Oklahoma State. The Broncos drafted him in 2005. He kept his relationship with the clubs by working with some of the branches in the metro area.
It was about that time some enterprising youngsters at the Broncos Boys & Girls Club were outgrowing their surroundings and wanted to remedy the problem. The club, which will mark its 5-year anniversary in August, brimmed with kids ages 5-12. The summer months were especially busy, Conley said, with as many as 200-300 kids around.
American Express provided an outlet for growth. The company held a Boys & Girls Clubs “My Club’s Future” video contest, with the winners in each of five regions of the country awarded $5,000 to go toward making the improvements they desired. Rich Barrows, the Broncos Boys & Girls Club director, urged his kids to think big.
“Other kids asked for a sound system or pool table for their club,” Barrows said. “Our kids asked for a teen center that’s costing half a million dollars.”
Barrows’ kids, led by Conley, won the Southwest Region contest in the spring of 2006. That got the attention of board members at the main office of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. They asked for a personal presentation that resulted in the project being added.
Still, major funding was needed.
Carrying on legacy
That fall, Williams had worked his way up to being a starter on the Broncos’ defense. Williams made 88 tackles, recorded four interceptions and knocked down 16 passes thrown his way. His charm was infectious in the locker room. Gathering friends was never a problem.
It is why so many were in a state of shock when the news filtered out about his death. Teammate Domonique Foxworth was one of those most impacted. He has immersed himself in work at the Broncos Boys & Girls Club. It’s his way of easing the pain.
“Darrent was a club kid growing up, and I see him in a lot of the kids that I’ve gotten to know, gotten close to,” Foxworth said. “It’s really helped me deal with it.”
Foxworth also wanted another way to pay tribute to Williams, and Cindy Kellogg, the Broncos’ vice president for community development, had an idea. Because she worked closely with the Broncos Boys & Girls Club, she was aware of the teens’ wishes for a center of their own.
She had lunch with Barrows to discuss the logistics of making it happen.
No one knew the road ahead would be so well-paved almost every step of the way.
“When Darrent’s tragedy occurred, it was about the time the discussions from the teens were really heating up about the need for their own place,” Kellogg said. “At the same time, we were having the very fortuitous problem of being over capacity at our club, the way it was running. So I really believe in this whole process, and from a place of such tragedy, some very positive stars started aligning themselves.”
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan provided the lead grant of $125,000, proceeds from his summer golf classic. A community improvement project grant through the City and County of Denver netted $155,600 more.
Lowe’s was among corporate sponsors that wanted to help, and the do-it-yourself hardware company contributed $150,000. In September, the Broncos held a live remote at the site of the facility and raised $84,000 more.
“It just kind of snowballed,” Kellogg said. “The more we got into it, the more we realized and were sure that this was the right direction. It was meant to be.”
Proceeds from the Broncos’ license plate sales program were earmarked for the teen center. Broncos assistant coaches pooled together a $25,000 contribution. Foxworth gave $11,000, and Javon Walker, who was in the car with Williams that fateful night, gave $30,000.
“I would tell you that in all of the years in my career, spanning 16 years, this is the first time I’ve had such a truly spiritual journey involved in what started out being part of one’s work,” Kellogg said. “I would tell you that in talking to people that have had any affiliation with this at all, that’s been the common theme.”
Foxworth on board
Tragedy and good have become dance partners here. They are intertwined with the feeling that the good will endure.
“Honestly, I hope I’m not overstating it, but I feel like we lost Darrent’s life, but the teen center is going to save lives. I really think that,” Foxworth said.
“Obviously the teen center itself is not going to dive in front of any bullets or knock any drugs from anybody’s hands, but having that safe place, in my eyes, is the same thing. The effect that this is going to have is probably larger than anything I’ve ever done in my life and anything I ever will do.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Darrent Williams’ legacy
The Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center celebrated its grand opening Thursday. There, teens will be able to do homework, play games, participate in additional-interest learning, take college prep courses and even get dinner. Some of the features include:
• Learning center featuring five computers with Internet access
• Pool table
• Game systems
• Flat-screen televisions
