Merrick Parnell Returns to Funhouse Commons as Teen Night Supervisor

Merrick Parnell and Pete Moe outside the Funhouse Commons plan to engage more teens and their parents

Updated March 5 at 2 p.m.

Merrick Parnell, who became Teen Night Supervisor last month, is young enough to relate to the kids at Teen Night and experienced enough to bring new activities, contracts and responsibilities to the Funhouse Commons.

Merrick, who grew up on Orcas Island (graduate Orcas Christian School 2008), continued his studies at the University of Walla Walla and at Whatcom Community College, where he took  courses in communication and journalism and played ice hockey.

He now divides his time between downtown Bellingham, where he works covering news and sports  for radio station KZEK and Orcas Island. Viking  sports fans have heard him as the public announcer for sports events.

He’d looked for a job for a long time, and is thankful for the opportunity to use his skills at organizing programs, and take them farther at the Funhouse Commons. He says, “It’s not like a fast food job.”

His first week on the job,  he organized the first Poker Night with about seven teenagers. There were deli trays of food and prizes from Teezer’s.  He followed that with an Open Mic night, where teenagers could hone their spoken and sung talents. Merrick plans to hold Poker Night and Open Mic night at least once each month. He also plans to make use of the large seating capacity on the second floor of the Funhouse Commons to bring in the crowds for Movie Nights. (Update: on Friday, March 9, the Funhouse Commons will show “Moneyball” starring Brad Pitt).

His own love of sports propels him to bring in Kinnect and Wii tournaments for golf, boxing and baseball. And he plans to figure out how to hook the TV screens into the computers to stream live broadcast sports with the Huskies, Sounders and Mariners.

Building on the success of a dance held last year to raise funds for the softball team, Merrick will work with local clubs to host events.

He is committed to promoting a positive reputation for Teen Nights, which, he says, has run into some problems over the years.  As a high school student, he helped supervise Teen Nights; even then he saw that some of the kids would benefit from some providing some direction.

“There’s a new climate of Orcas youth, they’re distant, even more technology based than we were. We’d invest more time with friends; that’s why I came to the Funhouse  — to spend time with my friends. ”

Funhouse Commons will try to encourage face-to-face rather than Facebook interactions, he says. Kids need positive direction and positive participation. Teen Nights will include at least an hour of structured time.

Dealing with discipline is a new challenge, one that he’s addressed head-on by developing a conduct contract for Funhouse Commons Teen Night attendees. “Now it’s in black and white,” he says.

Helping him supervise, with monitors scheduled every 15 minutes, are Armanda Nenes, Carley Morris, and Maura Pellettieri. Merrick is also starting “Bring a Parent to Teen Night,” encouraging parents to come and check out Teen Night for themselves.

The Funhouse Commons Teen Night hours are the same, from 6 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, although Merrick says the sessions could run over or under, depending on the featured event.

The challenge in the job is responding to everyone’s different interests and concerns, he says.  He is keen to meet the “opportunity to invest in kids’ interests and form mutual respect – and have a good time.”