New Thunderbird Clubhouse opens to serve Normanites with mental illness

By Andy Rieger

Blake Owens worried about his family, his neighbors, their pets, his golf game and his fellow members of Norman's Thunderbird Clubhouse.

"He worried about everybody else. He never worried about himself," his mother, Barbara Owens, said Tuesday.

Now, his portrait will look out over those club members as they, like Blake, seek to recover from mental illness. The portrait's unveiling came during the grand opening celebration at the 6,700-square-foot clubhouse on Triad Village Drive Tuesday afternoon.

"This will hang in the clubhouse and Blake will always be looking out for you," Barbara Owens said.

Dozens of clubhouse members, donors, board members and Norman Chamber of Commerce ambassadors toured the $1.2 million facility. It is the organization's fifth location and replaces a former grocery store on East Main Street.

Barbara Owens, and her husband, Steve, talked of Blake's life and how they found a personal mission in supporting the clubhouse.

"Twelve years ago I didn't think I could ever smile again," Barbara Owens said. "I think we became involved because Blake wanted us to and God wanted us to."

The portrait, done by nationally known sports artist Ted Watts, was unveiled by the Owens family at the conclusion of Tuesday's ceremony. Watts, a former neighbor of the Owens family in Miami, was unable to attend the ceremony.

Steve Owens described his late son as smart, compassionate, plainspoken like his mother and honest, even at golf.

"The thing about Blake is he was honest. He didn't cheat. What fun is it to play golf if you can't cheat?" Steve Owens joked.

He also told his father, a former OU great and 1969 Heisman Trophy winner, that the two best football players were Billy Sims and Owens' brother Tinker Owens. Steve Owens, Blake said, was "maybe in the top 10."

"He knew how important this place was. He said we needed to help them and at the time I didn't know exactly what he meant. But after we lost Blake the clubhouse became a big part of our life. It became a big part of our healing," Steve Owens said.

The building opened without a mortgage but board members are building an endowment fund to maintain the facility built by Tim Grissom with Precision Builders of Norman.

Clubhouse member Marcus Lamb said he will always remember hearing children's laughter when exiting his home after the May 3, 1999 tornado. He hopes the new building will be filled with the same kind of healing laughter.

"Let the Thunderbird Clubhouse be a beacon of light and hope after the storm," he said. "That's the true gift of Thunderbird Clubhouse."

Longtime executive director Pam Sanford thanked the members for their inspiration. "You guys are the ones that inspire me every day and throughout your lives. You overcome things that I can only imagine," she said.

Sanford said she didn't realize what a treasure the Owens family is to Oklahoma. She also didn't know Sooner football.

"Now I know," she said. "I even know what the I-formation is and the triple option is."

Steve Owens thanked Sanford and the project's donors, saying he if he had time he would "stand out there in the sun and read all the names." He joked he was most proud the clubhouse had upgraded its plumbing and had separate facilities for men and women.

"In the old clubhouse we had one bathroom for all of the members. I'm proud to say we have four bathrooms now."