The Boys and Girls Clubs of Laredo will reopen Aug. 3. The three clubs – Benavides, Lamar Bruni Vergara, and Northwest – have been closed since March 11 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The date was announced last week by Boys and Girls Club by assistant executive director Kevin López at the annual meeting of the organization’s board of directors. He assured them that the clubs were cleaned and sanitized.
At that meeting, Wilfredo “Willie” Martinez Jr. took over as the new president of the board. Martinez, a native of Puerto Rico, has lived in Laredo 19 years and is a banker.
Other officers for 2020 are Andrew Carranco, first vice president; George Beckelhymer, second vice president; Joey Tellez Jr., third vice president; Marisa Santos, treasurer; Ramon Zertuche, secretary; Toni Ruiz, parliamentarian; and Joe Arciniega, past president. New board members are Manuel Garza, Priscilla Pantoja, Tony Martinez, Alfonso I. Arguindegui, and Victor Vasquez Jr.
Presidential Awards for 2019, as announced by outgoing president Arciniega, went to C.Y. Benavides III, Tellez, and Martinez. Benavides is the mainstay of the annual Wine Tasting, which had another successful year in February just before the Pandemic halted large gatherings. The 2021 Wine Tasting Gala is scheduled for Feb. 13 at the Laredo Country Club.
Executive director Hector Noyola’s financial report noted a $328,000 budget shortfall because of the Pandemic. The 39th annual raffle, the organization’s major fundraiser that nets more than $200,000, has been postponed.
Arciniega shared strategies to raise funds. “We’re not going broke, we’ve always taken good care of donations. We just hit a COVID roadblock. We’re sending a letter to potential donors to explain our situation,” he said. Board members viewed a marketing video produced by Gene Belmares of Liquid Studio.
Arciniega reminded board members the club is celebrating its 75th anniversary. “We have to make big plans for that,’’ he said.
