Spence-Reese scholarship winner Kevin Ortiz has been selected for the U.S. Men's National Deaf Soccer team to play in the 2005 Deaf Olympic Games next January in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Kevin (pictured with scholarship selection committee member Barry Demchak) won the Spence-Reese Scholarship in 2003 in the engineering category.

The 22 U.S. team members were selected after a series of nationwide tryouts. Team members include several players who this year were starting players on Division I college soccer teams. Kevin, 19, who is a mechanical engineering student at UC San Diego, was born with nerve deafness, but that hasn't slowed him down academically or on the soccer field. Kevin graduated 14th in his Vista High class last spring with a 4.38 grade-point average.

Kevin and his proud parents, Anna and Ed Ortiz of Oceanside, have exactly one year to come up with the $7,200 it will take to get him "Down Under" for the Olympic games.

The Deaf Olympics are held every four years just like the regular Olympics and are run under the same format, including types of events, opening/closing ceremonies and awarding of medals. Teams from approximately 90 countries will be participating.

But, unlike the other games, the U.S. Olympic Committee does not contribute funds to help pay expenses for Deaf Olympics participants. Team members have to raise their own funds to cover food, lodging and travel expenses for a two-week training camp just prior to the Olympic competition, and for the two weeks of competition in Melbourne.

San Marcos-based "Signs of Silence" is helping to coordinate the fund-raising efforts for Kevin and his parents. Anybody wishing to make a donation should contact Roy Hensley, director of "Signs of Silence," at (760) 580-3562 or (760) 744-1325.

Long time club supporter Terry Hazard made a generous donation of $10,000 to support our holiday activities in both the Metro and Inland Regions.

Through her generosity and that of many board members and community supporters, 1,049 members participated in holiday parties. Parties featured games, arts & crafts, pizza, goodies, presents and, of course, a visit by Santa.

Thank you to all the board members who donated gifts, collected gifts and volunteered at the parties.

Bill Pollakov, president of the Pollakov Financial Group in San Diego, hosted a special Holiday Party at his home in Poway. He invited participants from youth programs from throughout the county for a day filled with pony rides, magicians, food, carnival games and much more.

The highlight of the party was when Bill opened his garage door to show over one hundred bikes. Each child present received a bike and a helmet. This was a complete surprise to the kids who thought they were just there for a party.

Fifty-four (54) members from our various branches participated in this event. Bill donated an additional 110 bikes to the Club. Eighty-four (84) were given to members prior to the holiday. The others will be used as prizes.

The $3-million Sulpizio Family Branch, named after local philanthropists Gaby and Richard Sulpizio, will accommodate more than 1,000 members, and other community organizations will be able to use the sports facilities for league activities.

The completed Club is equipped with a full-size gymnasium, sports courts, playground, childcare center, nutrition center and technology center. These facilities provide important fitness and education programs for youth ages six to 18 during after school hours and for day camps.

The highlight of the Sulpizio Family Branch Dedication event was the purchase of a $30,000 van for the club's transportation program. Attendees at the event made donations throughout the night. Although the generosity of the crowd amounted to almost $11,000, the agency was still short of its $30,000 goal--until the Sulpizio Family generously decided to donate the difference to allow the van to be purchased!

A big THANKS to the following donors who helped purchase the new van:
Gaby & Rich Sulpizio, Ron Sipiora, Tom Pancheri, Sharon Payne, Shelly Anguiano, Jerry Fazio, Larry Michel, Steve & Liz Gutschow, Joseph & Kethleen Scuito, Kevin Paulson, Susan Shea, Tom & Debbie Preece, Poway Senior Center, Harvey & Sheryl White, Karla Palter/Olhausen, Tom & Teresa Bernard, Jim & Donna Bowersox, Bob Sowa/Pump It Up, Gary Molino, Chris & Brenda Coseo, Steve & Lisa Altman, Delvecchio's, Steve & Gina Storr, Ron Warner, and Jim & Paula St. John.

In January 2004 more than 60 members had their art work on display at San Diego City Hall as part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Fine Arts Program

This year-round program encourages artistic expression among Club members aged 6-18 through drawing, painting, print making, collage, mixed media and sculpture displayed at local and regional exhibits. A panel of distinguished judges selects works for inclusion in the National Fine Arts Exhibit, which debuts at the Boys & Girls Club National Conference and is displayed throughout the ensuing year.

See some of this year's entries in our A R T   G A L L E R Y

For a young lady from Rancho Bernardo, refereeing for girls' basketball leagues gets her much more than just a paycheck. Alana Lopez has been playing basketball since she was in third grade, and remembers looking up to the teen-aged girls who refereed the games. Years later, at age 16, Alana is the youngest ref in the Rancho Bernardo Girls Basketball League, and she has become one of those people the young players look up to.

Alana had her first refereeing job working for Don Ransom at the Ramona Branch of the Boys & Girls Club and from there, she moved to the Escondido Mitchell Branch. Most recently, Alana has been working under the supervision of Chris Williams and Andy Hadley. What does Alana have to say about her bosses at the Clubs? "They are the coolest bosses in the world." Enough said. "They treat her as an equal and with respect," says Alana's mom, Stacy. Respect that Alana has rightfully earned. She has gained the reputation of being a fair and consistent referee, which is no easy task for a 16-year-old who has to work with excited parents, coaches and players.

When Alana first began working for the Clubs, she thought that she would be the one "giving," but the outcome has surprised both her and her mother. Alana has received so much more from the Clubs: a sense of pride, responsibility and belonging. "After school, when she's not at home, she's at the Club," says mom Stacy.

It always wasn't this easy for Alana. In middle school, Alana went through a difficult struggle. Her mom was sick with cancer, and Alana was angry, frustrated and scared. She withdrew, and her grades began to suffer. When she didn't make the high school basketball team, the Rancho Bernardo Rec League gave her a place to play when she couldn't play anywhere else. Slowly, her involvement with basketball moved from being a player to refereeing in Ramona. After she started coming to the Clubs, her life started turning around. Her mom wasn't sick anymore, and she had a focus.

Stacy beams, " Alana is in a good place to make good choices; the Club has given her a sense of family. She has enough self-esteem to trust herself and not be swayed by peer pressures. She feels accepted, and knows that she has a place where she can be herself and be respected." According to Alana, the Boys & Girls Clubswill always be a part of her life. She has found a second home and will continue to keep giving back to the Clubs because she knows it will reward her 10 times over.

January 2004 marked the ground breaking of the new 4s Ranch Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. The diagram to the left indicates that the new club will be complete with an olympic size swimming pool and splash area. The new Club will also include a world class gym and new corporate office.

The new Club will be located in the new 4S development in the Northern San Diego Community of Rancho Bernardo. The new facility will be constructed entirely through generous donations of Newland Communities.

Responding to the need for more safe spaces and educational activities for young people after school, MetLife Foundation has awarded $2 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to establish new learning centers in more than 30 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, Encanto Branch is one of the sites selected to receive funding for a new learning center, which opened September 25th.

"We were delighted to receive the MetLife Foundation Leverage for Learning grant because it allows us to make education a top priority for the children we serve," said Danny Sherlock, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego.

The Encanto Branch never had a place completely dedicated to homework aside from the computer lab where it was difficult to set up homework sessions and other educational activities not related to computers. Thanks to MetLife Foundation and matching funds from the Boys & Girls Foundation, there is now a refurbished room complete with new school supplies, paint, lighting and furniture, that is solely designated for homework and other educational activities.

"We believe investing in the education of our nation's youth is an absolute must," said Sibyl Jacobson, president, MetLife Foundation. "We have chosen to make our investment in Boys & Girls Clubs because they have a solid track record of reaching disadvantaged youth and implementing education programs that significantly improve children's academic performance."

Volunteers from the San Diego chapter of NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors) treated 50 club members to an exciting day of deep-sea fishing. All youth who attended had a great time. For many, this was their first time on a deep-sea fishing boat. A Ramona member caught the biggest fish, a 12-pound Tuna. All but seven or eight members caught a fish.

The volunteers had a great time interacting with the club members. They also gave away 5 fishing poles for the most fish caught, biggest fish, etc.

Special thanks to Board member Scott Ashline for organizing the trip and his friend Tim McQueen for taking care of all the logistical details.

Danielle Kammann, a 12-year-old member of our Poway Club, is already making a name for herself as a country western singer.

Danielle has been singing all her life, and when she was four, she joined the Rancho Bernardo Children’s Chorus. This year, she won the North America Country Music Association International’s 2003 Female Vocalist in New Country for seven to 12-year-olds. The year before, she won the California Country Music Association’s Female Country Soloist of the Year for her age group (nine to 12).

She participated in an international talent search sponsored by the Boys & Girls Club of America and was one of only a few youngsters to perform at the Boys & Girls Club’s conference in Orlando. She has sung the national anthem at a Padres’ game and has sung at the San Diego County Fair, and she participated in tryouts for Star Search and American Idol. Even though she didn’t get to the finals of either show, she was happy just to have made it as far as she did. “It’s kind of slim, and there are a lot of good people across the country,” Danielle told a reporter for the Poway News-Chieftain.

The young singer’s favorite country stars are LeAnn Rimes and Martina McBride, but she has already decided she will “make history.” She said: “I’m going to try to be the ‘big one.’ I don’t want to be Martina McBride. I want to be my own person. I want to be Danielle Kammann.”

Danielle comes from a musical family, but her interests are not only music. The energetic young lady who plays guitar, as well as viola, cello and piano, enjoys her school studies and wants to learn lacrosse.

She already is thinking about going to college, but she is not sure if she wants to go to a New York music school or to UC Davis—“I’d like to be vet, too,” she told the News-Chieftain.

Anyone who knows Edna Sahm would describe her as a woman of elegance and class, but most importantly, of generosity. Edna has been involved with the Boys & Girls Club in Escondido for five years, and she continues to leave a lasting impression on the lives she touches.

Not only has Edna been an active Club board member with her involvement on the Board Development Committee, but she also donates her time and money to a number of other charities. Interfaith Community Services, Elizabeth Hospice, Escondido Humane Society, North County Serenity House and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido are just a few of the more than 30 organizations she has supported.

She has been honord as the “Queen of Grape Day” and as the “First Lady of Escondido.” Each year since 1998, Edna has funded scholarships for low-income members of the Club. In recognition of her charitable activities, she received the Inland Region’s Keystone Award in 2002.