New Boys and Girls Club director New Boys and Girls Club director (July 07, 2004)

** Longtime head Jacqueline Glaster retires after 14 years.

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

Time was, your neighborhood Boys and Girls Club was a place to hang out, shoot a few hoops and play some games. It kept kids off the streets, but many parents wanted more.

In recent years, many clubs have added something new: a healthy slice of education. That's been an ongoing goal for Jacqueline Glaster, who's retiring after 14 years as executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. Now she's passing the torch on to her successor, Peter Fortenbaugh.

"Before, it was a place to not get in trouble," Ms. Glaster said of the institution. But in the last 15 years, the local club, which has branches in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Redwood City, has added academic options including tutoring, literacy training, science programs, and art and drama classes.

It's a development close to home for Ms. Glaster, a former educator who has taught in the Sequoia Union High School District and in the San Jose area.

During her tenure, the club also completely rebuilt its Menlo Park facility and forged partnerships with Oracle Corp. and Intel Corp. to boost its technology programs.

Praising Ms. Glaster, Mr. Fortenbaugh wrote in a press release, "Under Jacque's leadership, the club grew from a single-unit, $500,000 annual operation to a four-unit, $3.7 million annual operation with more than 2,000 members."

Ms. Glaster said she was ready to turn over the often-demanding responsibilities of a director, but that she would stay on as a consultant with the club. She plans to do community outreach.

"It's a wonderful job. You get immediate rewards, when you see what the kids are getting on a day-to-day basis," she said of working with the club.

New director Mr. Fortenbaugh has been the club's operations director for the past two years. He has a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University, and previously worked at a Web hosting firm as senior vice president of strategic planning.

In honor of Ms. Glaster's service, the club is planning to rename the gymnasium at the Menlo Park branch after her. A ceremony is scheduled for July 22. Call 322-8065 for more information.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.