The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County w/Jay Fisher
Jay Fisher has been working with the Boys and Girls Club for more than 30 years, and he's been here in Washington County since 1998. He joins me in the studio to talk about some of the great things the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County do and some of the fun events they put on throughout the year.
Learn more here: https://www.wcbgc.org/
Transcript
This show is about positivity, after all, and so When I have a conversation with someone that's really interesting or compelling and things run long, I'm not going to cut that short. And if I have a conversation that Says all it needs to say in ten minutes, I'm not gonna try and pack with filler. You don't need that.
Neither do I. So today's episode is with Jay Fisher of the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County. I've known Jay since I was a young pup in my early twenties working at the radio station. The Boys and Girls Club of Washington County is a tremendous organization that helps kids and families all over Washington County.
So my conversation with Jay went a little longer than fifteen minutes, but I'm gonna give myself grace. Just like you should, and I'm sure you won't even notice because Jay is fun and has a compelling story. And with that, here's Fifteen Minutes on the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County.
So Jay, the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County is obviously a huge asset to kids and families in our county and our area. How many kids does the Boys and Girls Club support?
[: irls Club has been open since:So there's a lot of different programs, a lot of different things that kids can do at the Boys Girls Club. We've served a lot of kids over the years. We probably serve about 500 kids a day after school, and uh, in the summer about 600.
[:Yeah, exactly,
[: [: [:And now we have Boys and Girls Subs at Rossman and Lincoln.
[: [:So. One thing that
[: [: [: [:There's a little extra cost for field trips, a little extra cost for sports leagues. But when we see kids, we know the kids and families pretty well and they They can give us, you know, some of their, uh, payroll and, and we can take a look at that. And so there are a lot of kids, about 28 percent of our kids, 2, 500 a year are scholarshiped in.
Sure.
[: [:We just run programs. We'll verify income if we need to, but everyone is invited and that's what it's turned out to be here. I've seen boys and girls who's been in them for over 30 years. It's amazing to me how many kids we've been able to serve and it's been all kids. And so that tells me that our programming is pretty good.
That, that's great. Kids aren't just being dropped off and babysat for it. Yeah, no,
[: [:So they understand the Boys and Girls Club. They understand the Boys and Girls Club concept. They're great role models for kids. Some have made it and, and some don't. Mm-Hmm. . I mean, I can tell you a story of a, a young boy who I knew, seven years old, Zach Bond. Zach spent every day at the Boys and Girls Club.
He ate at the Boys and Girls Club. He did his homework at the Boys and Girls Club. His mom was a great lady. And Zach grew up and became a football star. Oh yeah. And he played for the Badgers. He's a linebacker for the Badgers and now plays for the New Orleans Saints. Wow. So that's a kid who, you know, needed the Boys and Girls Club and grew up and now is a professional football player.
And I can remember when You know, Zach didn't have 50 cents for a candy bar. Surely, he can afford a candy bar now. And um, but then there's other kids, uh, who didn't make it. We deal with a lot of kids and a lot of kids from different backgrounds. We just try to put them in successful situations and hopefully help them grow into, you know, productive citizens for Washington County.
[: [:They're all school based, so just like the private schools, Catholic schools have their own leagues, the public schools are played through the Boys and Girls Club. So when I say school based team, you know, the, the 4th graders at Green Tree might be playing the 4th graders at Fair Park. All of our Washington County, Hartford, West Bend, Jackson, Kewaskum.
They all have school based teams, all the games are played at the West Bend Club, but thousands and thousands of kids over the years have gone through our basketball leagues, first through eighth grade. We have volleyball leagues, Set Start, and same, same thing, they're all school based. We have baseball leagues in the summer, and so, sports leagues is part of what we do.
But again, you know, not everyone wants to be the next LeBron James. And so, that's why we have art programs. That's why we have all kinds of different programs, trying to put kids in situations where they can succeed, and I think kids enjoy that and like that. Pigeonhole them. They have a chance to come into the Boys and Girls.
So pick a program, pick an area, pick where you want to go. We don't want you just coming there, hanging out, causing trouble. Right. But pick an area. All the areas are supervised by staff. And I think that's what made us successful. Our kids enjoy coming there. They meet friends there. They have fun there.
And we have issues, like anyone has issues. Sure. You know. Kids are gonna be kids. Yeah. Yeah. And it, it's. Let's just put them in a situation they can be successful, and I think we do that, and that's why we have the membership that we do.
[: [:And in Milwaukee, you know, that's all within a two block radius. Right. And that's what those kids knew. But they were so appreciative of the. What we did at the Boys and Girls Club, they didn't have much and so they were really appreciative of what we did and it was the same way in the Chicago area. I didn't get a chance as much to be with kids in the Chicago Rockford area because I was their executive director there.
ean, when we first started in: [: [:I don't think, in all the years I've been running Boys and Girls Clubs, I've never met a bad kid. Right. I really haven't. But, uh, It's the environment that a lot of kids come from that causes the trouble. Sure. The nurture
[:And then I MC'd the event and I had a, Weather guy from CBS 58, Chris McGinnis, went there, and I remember it was a big deal because he was a college runner, he, so he ran the 5K in like 17 minutes or something stupid, but somebody accused him of cutting the course because he was so fast, and then there was like almost a runner's brawl, um, and I, I just remember it was, it was pretty funny because they're, Two little guys that were, uh, upset because they both ran really fast and, uh, got competitive.
But the, uh, The 5K for Kids is one of your big, big runs. You guys do that in September, right? That's usually in June. Oh, June. Okay. That's in
[:The new Rotary used to do Seafood Fest. And on Sundays, it wasn't as busy at Seafood Fest as it was on Fridays and Saturdays. And so on Sunday, they wanted to have the run and keep it going. And they have been the sponsor now for, since the beginning, it's called the Silver Lining 5K for Kids.
[: [:And thousands and thousands of people have been in that run. And um, it has turned out to be a great fundraiser. We probably raised forty, fifty thousand dollars each year from that run. You Now it's a timed event Yeah. That you can qualify for. Oh, really? Marathon. Really? Yeah. So it, it's turned into a little bit more serious.
You can still walk and all that, but it, it's turned into a fairly, fairly serious run. And, um, uh, people want those rocks. We've Oh, yeah, we've given out rocks for years. So everyone knows about the rocks. They ask about that. But I'll tell you, we have a lot of sponsors of it now, and a lot of people have benefited and it, it's really well known and it's been around a long time.
But it, it wouldn't have been possible without. Silver lining actually stepping up and sponsoring and we just took that over and it's it's been awesome a couple years ago We had a chance to run the race at West Bend Mutual for their 150th anniversary through the prairie And so that attracted like 1, 200 runners and walkers.
And so that was really cool but Yeah, usually we just do it through the streets of West Bend, outside the Boys and Girls Club. I know you have a golf outing, right? Yeah, yeah, we do a golf outing with the Hartford Rotary, Boys and Girls Club, and the Hartford Rotary, and we do it at Washington County. That has been really successful.
We wanted to get together and do a special event. I think a lot of times people think of the Boys and Girls Club, and they think of West Bend. You know, they think of the Prescott Center in West Bend. But we need to make sure that people know we're all over Washington County, and so we try to have Uh, events like this Saturday, we're going to have the Glow Run that the Jackson Rec Department does.
We're helping out with that. We do the golf outing in Hartford at Washington County. We really try to have special events in each of the communities we're in. Again, I think when people think of the Boys and Girls Club, they think of that big, nice building across from Regner Park, but you know, it's much more than, than just that.
And so we have special events in each of our communities.
[: [: [: [:The faces have changed, but the idea and concept of it hasn't over the years. And last year, yeah, it was time for the Boys and Girls Club to give back to the restaurants. So what we did is we still sold sponsored tables, and we sold sponsored tables for 2, 000, and we gave 1, 000 to the restaurants. People were able to go to the restaurants, have chef tables for 10, and, um, We sold like twenty five, twenty six, something like that, chef's table.
So yeah, we were able to give twenty five, thirty thousand dollars back to local restaurants who've helped us over the years. And I think, I think that's, uh, some people ask you, well, it's a, how can a non profit do that? I think we owed that to those restaurants. If it is not for those restaurants over the years, there is no taste of Washington County.
If it's not for, you know, Jeff and Sarah, Jeff Spirits, there is no taste of Washington County. You've got to have those vendors come in. And you've got to have those vendors with the wine and the beer and the restaurants. And so it was our chance to give back a little bit. And so now we're excited to have it back December 1st.
We're getting sponsored tables coming in. I don't think ticket sales will be. An issue. And so, um, trying to get some restaurants and, and, you know, we're very, very privy and understand, you know, what restaurants have gone through. We're being careful with that. We have some restaurants that obviously want to come back, but we also have some restaurants that have been around a long time.
They've been in tastes that have to think about it. You know, staffing for everybody is a huge, huge issue, not just here in Washington County, but in the country. And, um, uh, that's probably one of the biggest issues not around, uh, Not also around the country, I mean, but, um, at the Boys and Girls Club, you know, staffing is a issue, and so these restaurants have those issues as well, so it's really nice if we want them to come to Taste of Washington County on a Wednesday night, but then, uh, how are they supposed to open the restaurant?
[: [:We're trying to get some of the teenagers from the Boys and Girls Club to help serve to kind of offset if we can get one, one kid at each restaurant or two kids to help serve that evening and they can provide their food, we're going to certainly do that. And we haven't done that in the past but, you know, hearing some of the stories from the restaurants and the lack of staff and people not walking through the doors even, even to interview or to talk to, um,
[:There's a now hiring sign in pretty much every window in Washington County and everywhere, really, right now. Everywhere. Yeah,
[: [:So, what can people expect for those who haven't gone to Taste of Washington County? What do you expect when you're there?
[:in Washington County for kids who, who need help the most. And so that's probably the coolest part of it. When you walk into it, you know, you're going to see wine vendors and you're going to see beer vendors and, and a lot of them on the outside of the room and the inside of the room, you're going to see 20, 24 restaurants that are going to provide samples of all their beer.
Best things, and they're all Washington County restaurants, so you're going to see that. You're going to see a live auction, you're going to see a silent auction. The event starts at 6 and is usually wrapped up by 9 p. m. The live auction starts at 8. 15, there's usually 8 or 10 live auction items. There could be leases on cars, there's been Vail trips, there's been trips to Scottsdale, there's been sports packages with Bucks and Packers type stuff.
Great. We're really fortunate to sponsor tables over the years. We've always sold 35 or 40 sponsored tables. And, uh, if you've ever had a chance to watch the live auction at Taste, it's a really neat thing because there are some really, really generous people who bid on our items. And, and that's another thing.
I don't know if I've ever been, I've worked for Boys Girls Subs a long time. We have 30 board members. We have 16 board of trustees. I don't know if I've ever worked in a more generous community than Washington County. I think if you do your job as a nonprofit, now you got to do your job. You can't just Wendell dress it.
d Girls Club for years. Since:Obviously, we talked about membership. How do we keep it low? 50 a year. We still have to raise the money. Our budget is About 1. 3 million to run all these clubs each year, and so there are some generous people, whether they're board members or community leaders or board of trustees. If you do your job here in Washington County, and, and, uh, TASTE or just overall, Boys and Girls, of anything we do, if we do that first class, we do our jobs, people really do take care of nonprofits here.
Yeah, for sure. I've
[: [: [:So, uh, Taste of Washington County, tickets are, are limited when they go on sale. You said November 1st? Yeah,
[:Sure.
[: [:And so I'm sure it'll be a cool event, a nice event. And we have a wonderful committee that plans that and puts that together. I mean, it's a lot of work to put that together, but, um. It sure is a fun time, even if I didn't work for the Boys and Girls Sub, I would tell you, still go to Taste of Washington County.
Sure. There's been a lot of fundraisers I've been at, even if it is the Boys and Girls Sub, I would tell you, yeah, don't go to that. Taste of Washington County is, uh, one that I for sure would go to.
[:You'll have fun. Good work, Gail. You'll
[: [:Without you two, I don't think we'd be where we're at, and we appreciate that. But again, for all you do for West Bend, and the Boys and Girls Club, and all the families in this area, it's a great honor. asset to our community. I don't know what we'd do without it and we appreciate that.
[:I've, the 9 11 memorial is something that, um, You know, I really felt compelled. You need to help with that. Yeah, that's personal stuff.
[: [: [:
