Bill Pollakov has been our "Secret Santa" for the past three years now. Bill is the founder of "Bikes for Kids" and each year donates bikes for our members.

Bill invites the children to his home for a party and the surprise at the end is that each kid gets a bike. This year 70 of our members have been invited to the party. Additionally, Bill has generously donated 200 more bikes for some of our other members who might not otherwise have one. Thank you Bill Pollakov!

Chargers players Quentin Jammer and LaDainian Tomlinson are making this a special season for Club members.

For the second year in a row, Quentin Jammer has purchased a block of tickets to all the home games. The tickets are distributed to the various Greater San Diego Clubs. Members also get a free hot dog and soda with their ticket.

But Quentin doesn't just want to bring the kids to the games, he wants to get to know them and spend time with them. The week after some of the games, Quentin makes a special visit to the Club to visit with the kids who attended the game and any other kids who are at the club that day. He takes time to talk and play with them and sign autographs. Other weeks, he takes the members who attended the game out to a special dinner.

LaDanian Tomlinson is also giving back to the community. He hosted 30 members from the Encanto Branch at the October 3rd Chargers game. He then took them out to eat after the game. LT has been doing this for at least 3 years!

Titan Corporation and Hands On San Diego joined forces to provide a much needed facelift to the Clairemont Club. The Clairemont Branch was in much need of a major landscaping renovation. The goal was to remove weeds and overgrown plants; remove hazardous trees, remove graffiti, replant additional plants, repair sprinkler heads, etc.

The result: Titan Corporation got all the supplies (estimated at over $10,000) donated for the project and brought out 34 volunteers. They worked very hard on September 25th to get everything done.

The transformation is amazing! We would like to thank all Titan volunteers who helped out and recognize the following who provided supplies and services:
   • Pacific Waste - Dumpster & trash disposal
   • Custom Logos - Titan logo garden gloves
   • The French Gourmet - Lunch for Volunteers
   • Valley Crest Landscaping - 100 new plants
   • Initial Tropical Plants - 4 potted plants (indoor/outdoor use)
   • Titan - Volunteers, beverages, breakfast and bathroom supplies

This year the Mitchell Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego celebrates 50 years of service to the Escondido community. On February 9th the Club held a celebration filled with fond memories of years past and excitement for the many years ahead.

Alumni were inducted into the Club's Hall of Fame bringing the grand total of inductees to 46. Recording artist Anisha "Nee Nee" Gwynn, Tony Gwynn's daughter, was among the many who were honored that night for being exemplary members of the Clubs, proving that the Boys & Girls Clubs DO make a difference. Congratulations Boys & Girls Club of Escondido for being such a great member of the community for 50 years and counting!!!

While utilizing the best resources available over the years to serve our youth, Club facilities have aged and renovation is urgently needed to serve our youth at several sites, including Logan Heights (William J. Oakes- opened 1941) and three other branches located in Linda Vista (opened 1955), Clairemont (opened 1961) and Encanto (opened 1973).

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego have proposed a major development campaign of $7.5 million for the revitalization, enhancement and expansion of four Boys & Girls Clubs' facilities to better serve San Diego's youth. Of this $7.5 million, $1.85 million is to cover the cost of facility renovation of four Club branches, $500,000 for program expansion at those branches, $3.9 million for the construction of two new Teen Centers in Encanto and Linda Vista, and $1.25 million for an endowment earmarked for facility maintenance.

Major contributors to the campaign to date include the Payne family, Mr. & Mrs. Art Rivkin, Todd & Mari Gutschow, Bob Burkett and Tom Hazard to name a few.

Not only will buildings be renovated, but also programs will be enhanced to allow more participants. Currently many of the Clubs' popular programs are filled to capacity. However, through innovative, state-of-the-art programs, opportunities can be provided that will serve more youth in existing facilities.

The campaign, co-chaired by Jim Oliver and Sharon Payne has raised $5 million to date. Contributions can be paid over three years.

In 2003 the Boys & Girls Club was fortunate to partner with Foresters™ at our annual Christmas Tree Lane event; and we are happy to announce that they will be back again in 2004. By helping to sell tree tickets at the event, they aided our organization in raising over $140,000 through matching funds.

A financial services organization inspired by helping children, Foresters™ offers products, such as life insurance and investments. For 130 years, Foresters has operated on the principle that the growth and prosperity of individual families is linked to the communities in which they live.

Foresters investment in communities goes beyond traditional corporate giving. It invests time, money and resources to raise funds and strengthen non-profit children's organizations, such as Children's Miracle Network and Prevent Child Abuse America, while Foresters members and staff volunteer locally.

With close to one million members, Foresters operates in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. We are delighted that Foresters will again sponsor Christmas Tree Lane in 2004 and encourage Boys & Girls Club members/supporters to help support this partner and good friend to our organization and community.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego has re-opened its completely refurbished swimming pool at the Club's William J. Oakes Branch in Logan Heights. Thanks to several generous donors, the pool was re-opened in time for the summer months.

"We are so excited to have this facility open to our community's kids. Most of these young people don't have access to a pool during the hot summer months and thanks to the help of Bruce Dunn, owner of Mission Pools, our members will be able to cool off and have fun all summer long," said Area Director Holland Conneely.

Club management and major donors participated in a re-opening event for the facility. They got to see first hand the results of their support. Club members, who participated in the opening, had the first chance to swim in the refurbished pool and were treated to refreshments.

Rick Greenwood has been involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs ever since he became a member of the Escondido branch when he was in the 4th grade. After graduating from Escondido High School he attended Palomar Junior College and worked part-time as the Athletic Director of the Vista Boys' Club. The more involved he became with the club and the kids, the more Rick realized that he was meant to make a career for himself at the Boys' Club.

In 1969 Rick returned to the Escondido Boys' Club as the Program Director while attending San Diego State University. In 1970 he earned his degree in Park and Recreation Administration and in 1971 became the Executive Director of the Fallbrook Club. Rick stayed at the Fallbrook Club until 1983 when he accepted the position of Regional Service Director for Boys' and Girls' Clubs of America, Southwest Region in Richardson, Texas.

Rick has received many honors during his career including the National Contribution to the Profession award.

Jeff started his service as a member of the Board of Directors of Ramona before the merger and has continued to be one of the most generous members of our board. In 2000, he served on the task force that resulted in the successful merger of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ramona and Escondido to create the Boys & Girls Clubs United.

In 2002, at the time of our most recent merger, he was appointed to the Inland Region Board of Directors. He currently sits on the Board of Governors and recently finished his term as Chairman of the Inland Board of Directors. In 1998 Jeff was awarded the Sparkplug Award for his enthusiasm and consistent involvement with the Clubs. He also won the Person in Youth Award in 1999 while on the Ramona Board and in 2000 he was named a "Kid For Life", a fitting title for all who know him. Thank you Jeff for all you do for the Clubs!