The Community Foundation of St. Clair County has been a significant part of the community for nearly 80 years. As we lead up to our 80th Anniversary celebration on May 16, 2024, we will be sharing past stories of remarkable role models and leaders who have made a difference and provided momentum for future generations.

One of the role models previously featured, Cliff Thomason, is still going full tilt for the youth of our region.  Cliff is unstoppable in his drive to provide positive direction for local kids. His inspiration came from his own childhood, where the James R. Leonard Community Center was his safe haven – a positive and structured place to go be with other kids.

Cliff was a constant presence at the Leonard Center during his youth since it was located at the Cleveland Elementary School gym near his childhood home. Established in 1982, it was named in honor of the late James R. Leonard who was a community-driven educator with a passion for recreation. The center thrived for many years and offered a range of programs focused on education and recreation.

After becoming a father himself, Cliff realized that helping kids was something he was put here to do, and he left the corporate world to do it full time. He and Marion Stewart created The Athletic Factory with the purpose of helping local student-athletes reach their potential and become successful with top-level athletic competition and training, while maintaining high academic achievement in the classroom.

“We want kids to know they’re students that happen to be athletes, not athletes that happen to be students,” he said.

Through The Athletic Factory, local youth have access to an after-school tutoring program for student athletes, information about the NCAA/NAIA Eligibility Center core class requirements, seven-week SAT and ACT prep courses, FAFSA and Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) workshops, basketball skills training, Vertimax training, a travel basketball program, developmental recreational basketball leagues for girls and boy in third through 12^th grade, biddy ball basketball leagues for younger kids, developmental recreational volleyball leagues for girls and boys in 6^th through 12^th grade, and a golf simulator program.

The programs are expanding, too, said Cliff. They have added video gaming, expressive dance, and arts and crafts; launched an eight-week auto body internship program in partnership with Cawood Honda of Port Huron as well as a wood shop program; they’re creating coding and cybersecurity curricula; and they are working on an Esports component to facilitate creative thinking, problem solving, and more.

Esports, said Cliff, is something that more and more colleges are recognizing – some as a varsity sport, which means students can get scholarships. He’s in contact with Esports coaches at Michigan State University and Kettering University as The Athletic Factory begins their program.

“We want kids to understand that video gaming can be a segue to doing something professionally,” he said. “We’re hoping to launch that the first of next year.”

The Leonard Center closed for several years before it was reopened in 2021 with Cliff’s support, and now the focus has turned to Trinity Lutheran Church on 10^th Street. There was a school there that closed about a decade ago, and Cliff said The Athletic Factory has been there nearly four years – with their eyes on a long-term relationship.

“We love being here and we just recently signed our 10-year lease here because we want to make some improvements and some things that are going to help us have more sustainability and growth,” he said.

One big project has been taking out the old, tiled gym floor and replacing it with a rubberized floor using the latest technology to best serve the athletes as they train.

The number of youth served by The Athletic Factory has grown quickly, with 348 kids served in 2021, 727 in 2022, and more than 1,200 in 2023, and Cliff said he is looking forward to continuing that trend to reach the kids in the community and prepare them for successful futures.

“We see them. We hear them. We value them and we want to be there as a support system for them,” he said. “We have a heart for the community, and we want to be there for a long time.”

Cliff is following in the footsteps of several men who helped shape his future, just as he’s doing for local youth now.

One of his earliest role models was his father James “Jim” Thomason Sr. who was also affectionately known as Cowboy due to his love of westerns and predilection as a youth for roleplaying as a cowboy in the children’s game Cowboys and Indians. Cowboy was a pastor for over 20 years at Love Outreach Church and had a heart for the community always helping those in need. He also set a good example for his son, teaching him the importance of integrity, community, and giving back, from an early age.

Another impactful mentor for Cliff was James Jones — commonly referred to as Mr. Jones or Jonesy around the community — who taught full-time from 1975 to 2008 in the Port Huron Area School District and spent much of his summer as a youth leader for the Port Huron Recreation Department. Between 1982 and 2002, he worked in several leadership roles at the Leonard Center and was heavily involved with its extensive basketball program, of which Cliff was an avid participant.

As we approach our 80^th anniversary at the Community Foundation, we want to remind the community of the impact individuals like Cliff, Cowboy, and Mr. Jones have, and how that impact reaches beyond the current generation to strengthen the community far into the future. These men of vision have done a great service to Port Huron’s youth, which has helped shape successful adults who thrive and give back – and that’s what we’re all about here.

Please plan to join us for our anniversary celebration in May at the Blue Water Convention Center. Tickets will be available in early 2024.