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Boys & Girls Clubs selects longtime employee as next leader

By John Larson

Tacoma Weekly
jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: November 22, 2007

By John Larson

Tacoma Weekly

The Boys & Girls Clubs have been an integral part of Rick Guild's life since he was six years old. The organization is almost as important to him as his family, said Guild, who will soon assume the top management position with the organization. Guild has been chosen as the next president and CEO as of Jan. 1.  

Guild was born in Tacoma in 1951 and joined the South End branch in 1957. He fondly recalls learning to play softball from Jack Murphy and Cy Davis.

While attending Mt. Tahoma High School, Guild worked part time at the club as a lifeguard. He became the aquatic director while attending Tacoma Community College.

After he graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1974 with a degree in social welfare, he went to work for the state as a social worker in a group home for juveniles. After two years he returned to the South End club, taking a job as program director. In 1978 he became branch director, a position he held until 1997. He had several promotions before becoming chief operating officer.

There have been numerous changes to the organization over the years. When Guild was in high school, girls were allowed in the club on Monday evenings. Eventually they were allowed to become full-fledged members, and "Girls" was added to the name in 1980. In 1997 the independent clubs in Tacoma banded together as an organization. A few years ago they expanded outside Tacoma, becoming Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.

Guild said at times in the past the organization suffered from a lack of leadership and direction, which changed after Gary Yazwa, the current president and CEO, was brought in.

Guild recalled meeting his best friend at the South End branch. Guild's father was a machinist, while his friend's father had a professional job. Both men belonged to the parents club and helped to build a new pool at the club. This ability to bring together children from white-collar and blue-collar families is one of the club's strengths, according to Guild.

When Guild was a youth, the club provided an opportunity for white and black youth to interact. Now he sees a similar situation for children born in America to interact with children from immigrant families.

The organization does more than offer the sports and activities Guild participated in as a youth. Now education and training are stressed just as much as swimming or basketball. "When I was a kid the clubs had woodshops. Now we have technology centers," Guild observed. "That is the world our kids will work in."

Yazwa thinks Guild is the perfect choice to lead the organization. "He is the homegrown kid who knows the community," Yazwa said. "Our organization is built from within. We look to give opportunities to our staff."

Yazwa noted Guild was the first person he promoted when he arrived. "He has earned it," he said of the new promotion. "It is time for him to run the ship. It is a good move at the right time."

Yazwa will continue his involvement with the organization as foundation president and campaign director. He said the transition for himself and Guild has been planned for some time. Yazwa looks forward to being able to focus on raising funds.

"Operations takes a lot out of you. It needs its own focus," he remarked.

The organization is now operating in three counties. In Lakewood it has its new Gary and Carol Milgard Family HOPE Center. (HOPE stands for Home of Opportunity, Possibility and Empowerment). It plans other HOPE Centers in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, South Hill, Parkland/Spanaway, Kitsap County and Mason County.

The organization's fundraising goal is $60 million, and it is 75 percent of the way there. About $10 million will go towards and endowment. Guild noted they consider themselves stewards of money donated by individuals and groups. "We can't lose that trust and respect," he said.

Yazwa doesn't want to be dependent on one stream of revenue, such as government grants or foundations. In recent years a focus has been put on individual donations, which have gone from 3 percent of revenue a few years ago to 33 percent today.

"I hope to spend more time in the communities we are growing into," Yazwa said.

Community leaders in each of the cities slated for a HOPE Center have been recruited to lead fundraising efforts.

"Our board has really helped guide our direction," Guild said. "They are very conscious of being a high performing organization. We want to be the best Boys & Girls Club in the nation."

"A good board is what separates the elite organizations from the average organizations," Yazwa added.

He also gives credit to the employees. "Our staff makes the whole thing go round," Yazwa said. "They are the heart and soul of the organizations, not the buildings."

Guild is grateful for the opportunities he has received from the organization, from the values he learned as a youth such as trust and loyalty to the career advancement he has experienced as an adult. "I always want to learn."

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