I read with great interest the Nov. 14 article about the South Everett Boxing Club and their difficulties (“The fight goes on”). I feel there is a need to fill in the gaps of this story with some facts which were not made available to Herald writer Jennifer Warnick when she wrote this story.
This club is one of the oldest and most successful boxing clubs in Washington. When it worked out of the South Everett Youth and Community Center (SEYCC) it was held in such high regard it was given a separate bank account for expenses and this account was maintained with the income generated by the boxing program. When it became obvious the SEYCC could no longer operate for economic reasons, a contract was signed with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. This memorandum of understanding agreed to the transfer of the physical property and a new van owned by the SEYCC. In June 2002, the Boys and Girls club agreed to pay the debt of the SEYCC – up to $34,000, including $13,300 owed to the boxing club, and would make a “good faith” effort to continue the boxing program. Instead, the Boys and Girls club locked out the boxing club immediately and as of this date has made no attempt to pay the debt owed to the boxing club (nor many of the other outstanding debts).
The South Everett Boxing Club was “out of money and down for the count” directly because of the failure by the BGCSC and its board of directors to honor the agreement it made with the SEYCC. I admire the work this organization has done with the youth of our community; I question the message of integrity they are sending these youth.
Thank you, Everett Elks Club, for giving the South Everett Boxing Club a home. If the BGCSC had honored its agreement, this would not have been necessary.
Jim Brauch
President
SEYCC
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