History
In 1966, Doug Hall, then executive director of the Carlsbad Boys Club, met with Dr. Charles Clark from Encinitas. Dr. Clark was representing the Encinitas Optimist Club and was interested in starting a Boys Club in the San Dieguito communities. The Encinitas Optimist and the San Dieguito Kiwanis service clubs had joined together in an effort to establish a youth program for the seven communities in the San Dieguito area: Encinitas, Leucadia, Olivenhain, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, and Rancho Santa Fe.
In February 1967, Dr. Clark, President of the Board, asked Doug Hall, who had been acting as a consultant and Executive Director (though an arrangement with the Carlsbad Club), to be the permanent Executive Director of the new San Dieguito Boys Club. After much deliberation and discussion with his family, Doug accepted the position. He would hold this position for the next 25 years, and be instrumental in the success of the Club for over 45 years.
Boys & Girls Clubs of San Dieguito Timeline
- 1966 First club opens in Encinitas in a donated temporary building
- 1969 Lomas Santa Fe Drive Branch opens in Solana Beach
- 1971 Griset Branch opens in Encinitas
- 1973 Gym at Griset Branch opens
- 1978 Gym at Lomas Branch opens
- 1985 Del Mar Branch opens
- 1987 New pool at Lomas Branch opens
- 1990 Allred Branch in Carmel Valley opens
- 2001 Polster Branch in Carmel Valley opens
- 2003 BIG EI8HT Middle School Sports starts
- 2004 Coast Volleyball Club becomes part of the BGC San Dieguito
- 2005 Carmel Valley Montessori School opens
- 2006 La Colonia Branch in Eden Gardens opens
- 2007 Lomas Branch is remodeled and the new Harper Branch and Pardee Aquatics Center opens
- 2007 Youth Arts Academy opens at the Polster Branch in Carmel Valley
- 2008 Positive Place Montessori School opens at Griset Branch in Encinitas
- 2009 Center for a Healthy Lifestyle opens at the Harper Branch in Solana Beach
- 2011 La Colonia Branch includes a Teen Mentoring Program year-around
- 2012 A new clubhouse is added at the La Colonia Branch to expand the program for youth and teens
- 2014 Center for a Healthy Lifestyle’s Kitchen & Garden Project at the Griset Branch in Encinitas is completed
- 2014 Bulldogs Basketball Program forms
Today, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Dieguito is one of the most successful Clubs in the country impacting more than 13,000 youth throughout San Diego. We still have an obligation to those generous and benevolent leaders of the past and to the youth of the future to assure our mission continues to thrive and to provide our youth with a successful approach to the future.
