Layoffs Hit Boys and Girls Clubs

It's okay, because we will have that new County Jail going up which will be able to house all these future felons. No money for prevention, More money for detention.

What a loss for the WS Boys and Girls club. Bernard has been an dedicated loyal and wise asset to the club, he was a long term employee who has seen at least two generations grow up in the club and surronding area. He knows the families and takes pride in helping kids succeed. He has a heart of gold and his love for helping the youth can not be replaced. Once again a loss for the youth, a person who knows the history and knows families and not only knows the families but has helped and guided families. As the athletic director one is to question what will be left for the children, sports is a big part of the youth and can one person assist two clubs with the growing amount of children who present to the clubs on a daily basis. As a parent with children in the B&G Clubs I must question the decisions of Mike Rattray who lately have been making decisions that seem to be taking a loss from the clubs and their day to day operations. I see the immediate club staff working to keep the clubs operating and fundraising as if there is no "apparent" financial concerns, wonder if Mike is doing the same and has the same dedication as the club directors and all staff.

14 years dedicated service to the Westside and he get's the "legally complant" kick out the door? Real Class Rattay. Is this how you reward dedicated service? Bring Back Sal Rodriguez.

We all shouldn’t be surprise about this.Once Sal Rodriguez left SB Boys & Girls Clubs has not been the same. Laying off people who have worked for them for 14+ years is very sad Mr. Rattay. Big loss to the Westside Club, Bernard will be missed there

They're changing kids and families lives because of their lack of budgeting and looking for a quick fix. They don't know the daily impact he has on that community. Someone who has been working there for 3 years can't see the impact he's made over the last 14 years. He's helped a tleast two generations of families better themselves and the community. And to discontinue his impact because of poor budgeting is ridiculous... The direction of the boys and girls club is going in the wrong direction. It's sad to see because we grew up there. That whole front office is clueless as to what the Boys an girls club is about... They have no idea what they are doing.

This is a Damn Shame! This coming from someone that spent everyday day at the Westside Boys&Girls club as a Kid!! He made such a Huge impact in my life and other kids life that i grew up with!! That basketball program kept alot of kids out the streets... Cant express how mad i am right now!! This is a Huge Huge loss for the BoysClub and the Community around it... Like Hicksfam7 Said Hes helped two generations of Families and im sad that he wont be there for my Nephews or my Kids! The Westside Boys&Girls Club is going down Hill!!!

I can't believe they fired Mr. Hicks. He was such a positive, knowledgeable man. He was a tremendous asset to our community. I remember when I went to the club back when I was a kid. He is one of the few people from my childhood that was a huge influence in my life and someone I will always remember. It's a disgrace that rattay let this happen. It's embarrassing, and actually very disrespectful to Mr. hicks and more importantly to this whole community. 14 years dedicated to this program and you treat him like that? Is that the legacy you want to leave behind? You want that reputation? I think i speak for most of the community involved with the boys and girls club when i say this decision was an outright disgrace. All I can wish for the boys and girls club is good luck.. From the looks of it, it's a spiral of horrible decisions going downhill very fast. My two sons go to the West Side boys and girls club, but now with this decision, I question if this club is a place I want my kids to grow up. And that is not something I thought I would ever say/think. It's such a shame and makes me very sad that I would even have to question an organization that I hold very close to my heart and has been in my life for years. Shame on you Mr. Rattay. I wish Mr. Hicks the best in wherever this road leads him. He is a good man and deserves to be treated with respect. I'm sure his genuwine personality will lead him somewhere great, somewhere he can keep touching the lives of the youth.. Just like he touched my life and influenced me as a young girl.

Mr. Hicks was my basketball coach for several years in the 90s. For me and so many others, he had a tremendously positive impact on my life as a child. I will never forget the countless hours he put it just so our team could succeed and we could all have fun. This news upsets me as I know it does for many people. Bernard is the kind of guy that makes you want to give back and help others. He was absolute salt of the earth, and I hope things work out for him.

Managements job is to understand what the future outlook of an organization is in all aspects and figure out a way to meet the mission no matter what. If serving the kids of the community is part of the mission how is letting one of the most integral members of the team go doing your job? If anyone needs to be let go it is the management for their failure to find mitigations to a budget constrained environment. Plenty of people are figuring out how to maintain their organization or business in this different fiscal environment. Nothing is more important than children having a chance to experience positive and constructive outlets and Bernard is essential in creating this opportunity. His dedication can't be replaced by cuts and "adjusted job descriptions"!

All that being said, leaders of an organization have a tough job and are human and make mistakes...luckily you always have the opportunity to stand up and admit that mistake, then try as hard you possibly can to remedy the situation. However, it takes courage to do this..hopefully that courage is present in this situation.

This is a disgrace to the mission of the Boys and Girls Club and a slap in the face to all of MIKE RATTRAY's predecessors of all the YEARS, DECADES, and GENERATIONS of hard work that went into building the community that Santa Barbara is today. All of the dedication, and genuine love for the community has been tarnished in 3 meaningless years when Mike Rattray took over. Anyone that has a job knows that a job TITLE is just that. Bernard had a TITLE of the Athletic Director. Despite research showing how beneficial participation in sports is to the development in children for reasons other than physical fitness, Bernard was not only an 'Athletic Director' he did everything that Mike Rattray is claiming to 'adjust' in a meaningless job description. Athletics is only one of many methods that Bernard uses to promote academia to close the gap of social disparities among economically disadvantaged families. If Mike Rattray took the time to really assess his programs and staff, he would know Bernard's sole focus was not on Athletic programs. Mike Rattray would also know the powerful impact Bernard had on not only the children that went to the Boys and Girls club, but to the community as well. How many times has Mike Rattray been recognized as a community leader?? How many people even know who he is in the community before he made this uneducated, ignorant and disgraceful decision to lay of Bernard Hicks? You cant operate a successful community-based non-profit when you cant connect with the community. Bernard Hicks did just that, which is clear why he was described as 'the public face of the Westside Boys & Girls Club for the past 14 years'. He has also been recognized as a Santa Barbara community HERO. That kind of recognition doesn't happen by mistake.

It is rather ironic how Mike Rattray claims that the goal of the Boys Club is to 'reduce the academic achievement gap that perpetuates the cycle of poverty' when the Westside club has the most children enrolled, yet the least amount of staff. How does Mike Rattray realistically believe that goal will be achieved by laying off the ONE staff member that had the relationships built, time dedicated, and pure genuineness that could acheive that goal? How can Mike Rattray justify making that decision when he himself has had absolutely no positive impact with the ridiculous decisions he has made. Its a disgrace what he has done, and will residually continue to do which is diminish any opportunity these children had while Bernard Hicks was working there.

POOR DECISION, AFTER POOR DECISION.....these decisions that Mike Rattray keeps making really has me questioning his true motives, and goals for the boys club. You let go of the person who has been there the longest, who should be looked upon as an assett, as a source of direction and input. Not someone you just dispose of without even a weeks notice. Is that even legal? Is that how you repay loyal employees that do all the work while you set at your desk and focus on "Job Descriptions"??? Hmmm.....

I have an idea. Lets have Mike Rattray go out to the community, interact with the children at the west side boys and girls club and see how much success he has at even maintaining a conversation, let alone have the ability and skills to influence, motivate and empower one single child.

I agree with Love_805 whole heartedly. Youth sports not only teach youth valuable life lessons, they also occupy their time with something positive. I was fortunate to grow up in a good area but I still saw friends who had too much free time on their hands getting in trouble and heading in the wrong direction in life. These poor decisions made early in life can have a lifelong impact. Bernard teaches these valuable lessons and provides this positive alternative to “just hanging out”. This situation is truly unbelievable and needs to be fixed!

You mean to tell me you couldn’t do some more fundraising or something in the Santa Barbara area to save these jobs and help the kids?!?!?!?!?! Try harder! This isn't just some business. It is a vital service to the local community and Bernard Hicks is key to its effectiveness.

This seems so ridiculous and unnecessary. The kids are the one that suffer in a situation like this. The kids felt that he was genuine and really cared. He made kids that were possible on the wrong path want to turn their life around.

Here's another theory: there is finite amount of fundraising you can do in a community. In hard times, that amount is even more limited.

So just up the road from this club our community has been fundraising about $5 million for an ice rink (for kids who have "nothing to do" in Goleta and Santa Barbara, despite having an ocean, skateboard parks, bike paths, public tennis courts, etc.)

Just imagine how much of that ice rink fundraising chipped away at fundraising for the boys and girls club. I'm just sayin'

The more I read here the less I think of Mr. Rattay and his objectives. Maybe the Board of Directors should look into this matter and review who it is that the United Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara should terminate and who they should keep. Positive influence to the Community:
Bernard Hick: Thousands of kids and families in 14 years.
Mike Rattray: ZERO. Soiled reputation of B and G Club.

This CEO has done nothing but bring this organization down. Everything I read and with talking with community members and even staff at the clubs, this guy makes decisions behind closed doors and never involves anyone in the decision process. We have some great people and great staff who work at the clubs (Hicks is one of them) who have been working for years and have great connections with the youth and our community. This CEO would rather eliminate those people rather than utilize their skills and connections during tough times. The Boys and Girls Club serves our community and should respond and answer to the needs of the community. Unless community members speak up and ask to be heard, we will always have Dictators like this CEO who will call their own shots and never listen to our needs. If you really care about our Boys and Girls Clubs and are outraged by this recent incident (along with others) please voice your concern to the United Boys and Girls Club Board:
http://www.unitedbg.org/directors-and...

This is repulsive. The CEO of the UBGC of Santa Barbara is a monster. He never spends time in the clubs and doesn't interact with the youth of our community. He speaks down to his staff at the clubs and degrates them on a regular basis. I have walked into clubs after he has left and see how upset staff have been. He doesn't understand the clients that are being served nor does he seem to care. I was in one of the clubs while he was speaking with someone about the neighborhood and he miss spoke about the demographics in the community. It was offensive to hear him speak of the community as if he knew what he was talking about, but know that everything that he was saying was incorrect.

He does not know or care what the needs of our community are. He is destroying the Boys and Girls Clubs. He is running them into the ground, and I agree that the Board of Directors needs to take some responsibility in letting such a tragic thing happen. I can't believe that they all were ok with the decision to let go of Bernard Hicks.

The community needs to demand a change in Leadership for the boys and girls Clubs if we want this organization to be saved for our children and their families. The Board of Directors should be embarassed for letting this happen to the clubs and the kids. disgusting!