Doug Johnson: Why the sale of our Boys & Girls Club property should outrage this community
Letter to the editor
I grew up in this club. Like thousands of other kids in this community, the Boys & Girls Club on NW 51st Street was where I spent my childhood — summer programs, after-school programs, baseball, basketball, and football from age 5 to 14. That building, those fields, those programs shaped my life and the lives of Gainesville youth for 50+ years.
In 2003, I founded Reeling For Kids, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit built specifically to support this club. Over 22 years, we raised more than $2 million for the Boys Club of Alachua County — including a 100%-funded $600,000 sports field renovation in 2017 and a $50,000 roof contribution in 2023.
In 2020, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Alachua County board transferred all operations to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, a Jacksonville-based organization. The idea was a mutual benefit: Alachua County would gain access to expanded grant opportunities under a larger organization, while NE Florida would advance its expansion mission. Win/win. It was agreed to, and every piece of property — including the NW 51st Street facility — transferred to the NE Florida Boys and Girls Club (Jacksonville) for $0, debt free, along with $180,000 to assist with the transition. The understanding was clear, and specified in the acquisition agreement: the property would remain 100% dedicated to Alachua County programming, including the Sports Program.
Six years later, that promise is being broken.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida has listed our property on the open market for $2.5 million — treating a cornerstone of our community like a line item on someone else’s balance sheet. Provisions outlined in the acquisition agreement and deed are being ignored. This is a betrayal of everything our community was promised.
Think about what this property has meant to Gainesville — youth tackle football, flag football, 7v7, Buchholz lacrosse, basketball, Special Olympics, summer camp, after-school programs, and more. This was not a struggling outpost. This was a thriving hub built with private donations, grant funding, public trust dollars, and the unwavering support of this community. For many children, it was a safe haven and a place to connect with positive role models.
Now, this Jacksonville-based organization is quietly attempting to liquidate $2.5 million from our neighborhood — from a property they received free and clear — and redirect those proceeds away from Gainesville. They then plan to ask our City for a classroom to operate out of. That is not the Alachua County Boys and Girls Club mission and never has been. Our kids deserve more than a classroom. Meanwhile, they continue soliciting local funders like the Children’s Trust of Alachua County and the Community Foundation of North Central Florida for overhead costs. We did not hand over that property so it could be flipped for their profit.
This is personal for me. And it should be personal for all of us.
If the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida wants to discontinue the Alachua County mission, then hand the keys back to the Boys & Girls Club of Alachua County board, and we will take it from here.
I am calling on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida to immediately remove this property from the market and honor the provisions of the acquisition agreement — including continuation of the Sports Program.
I am calling on local political officials and the Children’s Trust of Alachua County to make clear that these actions will not be tolerated.
I am calling on a local law firm to take this case as a service to the community and demand that this organization adhere to the provisions in the acquisition agreement and deed that prohibit this sale.
And I am calling on you — our neighbors — to join this fight. Please contact the director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, Paul Martinez, at PaulM@bgcnf.org. Join the Facebook page “Save Our Boys and Girls Club” to stay updated and add your voice.
This community is watching. We will not stay silent while something we built together for 50+ years is sold out from under us.
Doug Johnson
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Amen! Doug, we’re behind you on this!
David, your family has been a beloved pillar in our community, steadfast in supporting and funding youth sports across two generations. I was shocked to hear about the betrayal by that organization. That property and the legacy it holds for Gainesville must be preserved for future generations. I believe a local civic-minded law firm should step in to stop this threat. I urge the residents of Gainesville to recognize the critical importance of defending this legacy.
I’m with you Doug. This is so well written and spot on. I support you and the board 100%. I to ask one of our Gainesville elite law firms take this pro Bono for the community. This is just the sort of thing that we do as neighbors and it’s for our kids. Make it happen please.
I concur, however the girls and boys Club in southeast Gainesville has suffered the same fate.
CG, it would help to elaborate a little more. If this is the case then we need to bring awareness and get this out there too. Do you know what city district it’s in? Kids first Gainesville!
Hard to make money when everything is for free there. The events they host everyone trashes the businesses and the parking lots around there every single time. Blunt smoke in the air, yes at kids events…take it back to the SE if you see what I’m sayin…
Then feel free to help volunteer at these events. It is run based on grants and donations. I’m sure they would love to have more volunteers to help with all of this. If you have time to complain, you have time to help.
No offense but how is a volunteer supposed to help with all the blunt smoke in the air and people throwing trash everywhere? Sounds like a problem that the executive committee should be investigating … Or do you just want more people to be there to pick up after the folks that can’t act civilized?
Volunteers can volunteer to work the event help raise funds, and request ASO.
Everyday after school at BHS we would race to be the first to get in the game room to play Golden Eye on the N64 in the game room, or pick the first teams for the basketball games.
Man o man, what would we have been doing, if the Boy’s Club was not there.
Please join the group save our boys and girls club. There’s a list of emails.
Was there a clause in the contract written that since it was free that they could not sell it for 100 years or something like that ? More to the story than we are hearing.
I was shocked and sad to hear of the sale of the property. All 3 of our boys learned to play sports there and my husband coached there for many years. This is despicable and Jacksonville has no business selling this out from under future generations of Gainesville’s children. Shame on them and a little gullible of us to believe they would do anything else with the property other than profit themselves at the first opportunity.
Look into Kevin Carrico JEA text messages.
Save this location for the youth of Gainesville…it is the heart of many people’s childhood!
Email sent to Jacksonville!
I joined NWBC in the mid 70’s. Great memories that I’ll carry with me my entire life. Not only did many of the areas finest athletes pass thru those gates, but it also gave kids a safe place to go, no matter the color of their skin, religious beliefs or socio-economic status and on many occasions, it kept many on the right path. This is truly sad to hear.
Several commenters have expressed a desire for an attorney to jump in pro bono and stop this sale; highly unlikely to happen without a demonstration of organized support and a willingness to put some skin in the game.
A better chance of getting something done would be to quickly organize a group of past and present Club users, ESPECIALLY those involved in fund raising and direct support–any legal challenge will need to show “standing” in the matter.
While organizing, someone should go before the county commission, formally notify the commission of what is going on, and request they instruct the county attorney to review the original land transfer covenants to determine if the county’s interests are being violated.
This sounds to me like a good set-up in that Club users will cycle through the local organization, age out, move on, and stand around wringing their hands moaning “woe is us, there’s nothing we can do” when the time comes while the Jax bunch calmly walks away to the bank.
Due to the nature of the Club’s purpose there is never a long-termed standing group to protect their interests.
Thank you Doug, for your passion and insight for our Boys and Girls club. As a board member for over 20 years, I have personally seen the great work our club has offered. I attended in the 1950′ and 60’s. It was a great place to enjoy sports and learn team sportsmanship. Today we help thousands of kids each year . It’s really an unsung hero for our community. Today they can become a productive and confident person thru the skills they learn. I believe in this community and we’ll keep our club here , with your help. Thanks again Doug for your time and energy, you’ve always had our back.