25 Years Of History Has Made Wellington Boys & Girls Club What It Is Today
Story by Deborah Welky
You’ve probably seen the building going up on Wellington Trace. You probably know at least one child who uses its services. But do you know how the Wellington Boys & Girls Club got its start? Dennis Witkowski does, and so does John Herring. Their dedication, together with that of other longtime residents, is the reason the club exists. Long hours put in by the likes of Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County CEO Mary O’Connor and volunteers Sandy Abouzeid, Mike Noto, Sharon Martinelli, Ed Portman, Julie Kime, Eric Giles, Pat Evans, Juan Cocuy, Edward Becker and others are the reason Wellington has one of the most well-known, best-attended, compassionately financed facilities in Palm Beach County. “It’s amazing, the growth that we’ve
Officials, donors and board members turn some dirt to break ground on the new club last May. PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ
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seen,” said Witkowski, who has chaired the boards of directors for both the Wellington club and its Palm Beach County parent organization. “When I first came to Wellington, there was only one club in Palm Beach County, and it was opposite the airport. Today, there are 11.” That tremendous expansion began right here in Wellington. “Wellington was the location of the second club, thanks to the passion of [early developers] George de Guardiola and the Vadia family,” Witkowski said. “They were familiar with the club from Miami, and they wanted to have one here. They were instrumental in getting one here, as was John Herring.” Prior to the Wellington Boys & Girls Club, youth sports programs such as
baseball and basketball were run by parents. There was no community-run recreation program because there was no Village of Wellington. “The challenge at the time was that Wellington hadn’t been designed for young families,” Herring explained. “It was anticipated to be a retirement community, for the most part. So all of a sudden, we had a ton of young kids. I formed a not-for-profit group called Youth Athletics of Wellington so we could request money for baseball and soccer through the Rotary Club and other service organizations.” Gould Florida, then Wellington’s master developer, granted the group use of a 5-acre parcel where the pond at Wellington High School now sits. Four baseball fields were quickly mapped out, but a building was an unheard-of luxury. But it didn’t mean