With plenty to offer this summer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hernando County has come a long way from the fall, when "some discrepancies" were found in its accounting.
By BETH N. GRAY
Published June 14, 2004
SPRING HILL - Are the kids sacked out in front of the TV? Complaining of nothing to do?
They might consider checking out the activities this summer at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hernando County. The once-troubled youth organization is offering an expanded list of programs at the clubhouse on Applegate Drive and trips afield.
"It's all about keeping them busy and having fun," said Yvonne Krajcovic, who took over as executive director in January, bringing a fresh and active agenda to the club, established in 1999.
For instance, on Tuesday, 47 members fashioned fishing poles from sticks and strings, then dipped them into Hunter's Lake, a short walk from the clubhouse. It was the first of five fishing jaunts planned for the summer session, which continues through July 30.
The club is open to youths ages 6 to 17, with programming geared to age-appropriate groups.
To tempt teens, whom some local social services professionals say are underserved outside school, the club serves up the Fitness Authority. It focuses on football, baseball and field hockey, with playing fields on site.
Another program, Remember to Read, also offers age groupings for daily one-hour sessions of noses to the page. It will culminate in kid-produced skits based on the readings. Included will be a visit to the nearby Little Red Schoolhouse branch of the Hernando County Library, where youngsters will learn how to use library materials and obtain borrowing cards, Krajcovic said.
Then there's Let's Just Play, "playing and having a good time," the director said. But even that program features enticements to preclude the I-don't-know-what-to-do attitude.
"We're making games we played when we were younger, things you don't have to buy," Krajcovic said. With crayons, markers and chalk, the children are drawing board games on paper, then putting them into play.
"Make your own" is a premise Krajcovic fosters in the club's endeavors. Youngsters can have fun without spending money and hone their creativity as well, she said.
During free time, members can descend on the air hockey table or chase kickballs, gifts to the club last Christmas. Also available are five computers for game playing and learning.
Learning is an integral part of the club's offering.
"We have speakers come in, all geared toward educational issues," Krajcovic said.
Scheduled to accommodate working families, the club opens at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and operates until 6 p.m. The director noted that THE Bus, Hernando's public transit system, stops at nearby Lakewood Plaza on Commercial Way, within easy walking distance on a sidewalk to the clubhouse. Several teens rode the bus to the center last year, Krajcovic said.
Member fees include $25 registration per family, $45 per week for the first child, $40 for each additional child and a onetime activities fee of $25 for the summer's four field trips. The outings, with transport by chartered service, will be to the Fun Zone, Spring Hill Lanes, Weeki Wachee Springs/Buccaneer Bay and Rogers Park. Membership space remains available for all age groups, Krajcovic said.
The club had been in danger of closing last fall because of unexpected financial shortfalls. The community rallied to help the club with donations of money and supplies, and it remained open.
Most recently, Exit Realty gave the organization $1,000, which will be applied to operations, Krajcovic said. On June 23, at its official grand opening, 84 Lumber intends to present a check for $840 to the club, she added.
Carol Freeman, treasurer of the board of directors, said of the club's finances: "We're doing pretty good. We still need to rely on community donations."
The organization received a $36,000 grant this year from the state Department of Education, she said. The club's yearly budget is a bit more than $50,000.
Grants from other sources - a mainstay until last year, when former executive director Julie Rodriguez did not apply for them - have not yet been pursued, Freeman said. She said the transition from one director to another "hasn't been made totally."
If the club can hire another person, it will free up some of Krajcovic's time to look into additional funding, Freeman said.
The executive director, the only full-time employee, is assisted by two part-timers at the clubhouse.
As the financial crunch came to light in September, the board of directors ordered a preliminary audit of the books, which had been kept by Rodriguez. The independent audit revealed what Freeman labeled "some discrepancies," and the board asked the Hernando Sheriff's Office to investigate.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joseph Paez said last week that the investigation is continuing. Such investigations are lengthy and protracted, he said, because the Sheriff's Office not only must go through financial records, research transactions and piece together what occurred but also call in accountants to assist in interpreting the data.
Paez could not say how soon the investigation might be completed, though Freeman said the board of directors is anticipating a report by summer's end.
Because of the ongoing inquiry, Paez declined to comment on whether criminal charges are anticipated. But in October, Eddie McConnell, president of the club's board of directors, said the case "has made a turn toward the person who was in charge of funds, the executive director," referring to Rodriguez.
While Freeman, a lawyer, is concerned about possible errors in the past, she said she is focused on the present and the future.
"We're definitely on the right track," she said. "We're getting healthy."
LENDING A HAND
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Hernando County is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The group is always in need of donations. Among its needs: fishing tackle for one of its summer programs. Anyone wanting to make a donation may call executive director Yvonne Krajcovic at 666-0068.
