After raising 30,000 kids, it's goodbye for local Boys & Girls Club's father

Step through the double front doors at the busy Ballard Boys & Girls Club and you'll run smack into Bob Wenman.

Not Wenman personally. After 38 years of practically living at Boys & Girls Clubs, he's getting harder and harder to spot. Retirement will do that.

But he's there in the bold letters that label the gym floor, which became "Bob Wenman Court" after he lined up the donation to refinish it last year. He's there in the baseball field he meticulously tended and the blue fliers he posted for fall and winter sports sign-ups.

That's him, too, in a framed photo collage showing some of his best Halloween costumes — construction worker, little old lady, blind referee, SpongeBob SquarePants.

And, of course, he'll be there in person at center stage Saturday when he's honored at the club's annual barbecue and auction, and a scholarship fund is created in his name.

To earn this attention, all this 65-year-old Aberdeen native did is devote the bulk of his adult life to creating a safe, vibrant, enriching atmosphere in which youngsters could learn about sports, life and themselves.

Or, as his wife of 40 years, Gloria, says, "I always tell people he didn't raise three kids, he raised about 30,000."

Her estimate is probably not far off. Wenman went to work as physical-education director of the Wallingford Boys Club after graduating from Central Washington University with a recreation-administration degree in 1970.

After a few years there and at the Greenwood club, Wenman came to Ballard as the club's director in 1978, when the facility was little more than a bare-bones gym with a leaky roof and a few cramped offices.

Today, the Ballard club has 1,800 members and its expanded two-story building has day-care space, a homework room, a conference room, a computer lab, a game room and two kitchens.

In 1986, Wenman took a step down the organizational ladder to become the club's athletic director, swapping administrative work for more time coaching, reffing games and working directly with the kids.

"It was the best move I've ever made and the best move the club ever made," Wenman recalls.

As a kid, he was the one to organize neighborhood baseball games or marbles matches, "so I've been here doing just what I did when I was 12 years old."

Those who know Wenman say it's the little extras that set him apart: posting team photos, creating a display to honor "players of the game," handing out trophies he created from donated parts.

Mark Hendricks, who replaced Wenman as club director and still holds the job, says few people outside the club realize the extent of Wenman's commitment.

"The job is fun, but the hours can be a killer for your family," Hendricks said, noting that the club is busiest after school and in summer, cutting into Wenman's time with his own daughter and two sons.

"The biggest toll was on my mom," said Zach Wenman, 31, the couple's middle child. "She's the one who had to sit us down to dinner, ask us about our day and break up any fights or whatever."

But even though Zach Wenman remembers many evenings he went to bed before his father's car pulled into the driveway at 9:30 or 10 p.m., "He always made up for it somehow. I'd see him in the mornings for breakfast, and we had time with him on weekends. And he always made it to our games and major events."

Over the years, Zach heard so much about the value of the clubs and his father's accomplishments that he, too, was drawn to the organization, and is now education director of the Kirkland Boys & Girls Club.

As much as Bob Wenman enjoyed teaching children how to play sports, he says his most satisfying moments have come years later, seeing those kids turn into responsible adults.

Jason McNair, a board member of the Ballard club, can attest to the fact that Wenman didn't just run games, he helped raise young men and women.

"I grew up with a single mom. Bob was the guy who taught me how to throw a baseball," said McNair, 31, who started going to the club when he was 6. "Bob was just kind of like an uncle that was always around. If there was anything going on, you could talk to him about it."

Now, McNair's 7-year-old son, Jayson, plays basketball and baseball at the club, one of many youngsters whose parents were also coached by Wenman.

In retirement, Wenman will have more time to travel, and is already working on the "Honey-do list" his wife had waiting for him, painting the carport and getting ready to take out a juniper hedge.

But don't be surprised if — after a well-deserved break — he shows up at the club occasionally, maybe to help coach.

"That's one thing I'm missing already," he said. "I love my wife and everything, but she doesn't have the energy of a roomful of 50, 60 or 70 kids."

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222