Kate Morgans takes over reins of Boys & Girls Club
New CEO has been on the board since 2008
Kate Morgans, Boys & Girls Club CEO
Photo by Heather Young
Kate Morgans of Paso Robles was recently hired as the Paso Robles Boys & Girls Club chief executive officer. She served on the nonprofit’s board from 2008 through 2014. Morgans took over as CEO in December for Allen Reese, who left the position to run the Boys & Girls Club in San Clemente.
Morgans got involved with the Boys & Girls Club after she and her husband, Louis Hruska, moved to Paso Robles in 2008. They had owned a home in Paso Robles in 2004, she said, because they intended to move to the area in their retirement. However, their plans went off-track after they moved from Boston to St. Louis and then decided they should move to Paso Robles sooner rather than later.
“I have primarily a business background,” Morgans said, adding that working for a nonprofit is like running a business. “There are a lot of parallels that are well-suited to my background.”
Morgans is currently on the Cuesta Foundation Board and also been involved with the Paso Robles Library Foundation. She is also a member of Plymouth Congregational Church in Paso Robles. When she moved to Paso Robles, she worked in financial planning for Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. In 2011, she started her business, Adelaida Wealth Advisor. When she was hired by the Boys & Girls Club, she passed her business on to a husband and wife team.
Right now, Morgans said, the club is getting ready for its annual summer camps, which has been going on for many years in Paso Robles and is in its second year in Atascadero, and working on expanding its after-school program to Atascadero. In 2014, there were 45 children at the summer camp at Atascadero Bible Church open to children entering kindergarten through middle school. For the coming summer, Morgans said there will be 100 spots available at the Atascadero summer camp. The Paso Robles camp will continue at its location next to Flamson Middle School.
The expansion to Atascadero, Morgans said, is possible because of financial support given to the club by Must Charities. To further help the Atascadero expansion of an afterschool program, the Atascadero Kiwanis Club has promised to donate 75 percent of the proceeds of the Mayor’s Winemaker Dinner, to be held on Friday, June 26.
Morgan said that the summer camp pays for itself, with the cost for each child at $500 for the nine-week camp, which averages out to about $55 per week. The afterschool program, however, Morgans said, does not pay for itself. The club charges $20 per school year for each child and spends about $2,500 per child.
For more information about the Paso Robles Boys & Girls Club or to sign up for one of its programs, stop by the club at 600 26th St. in Paso Robles or call (805) 239-3659.
