Partners fight to save program

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 9:59 a.m.

The Board of Trustees at Nevada Partners will meet today in a further effort to resolve the potential financial crisis that looms for its youth boxing program at the North Las Vegas facility.

Steven Horsford, the chief executive officer at Nevada Partners, said Wednesday that he hopes the boxing program can be saved.

"I can't give you any information on what may happen (at the Board of Trustees meeting) ... but no decision has been made to close the gym," he said. "I and the board will do what we can to preserve this very important program."

The situation at the gym came to light and was somewhat gravely portrayed by gym operator Richard Steele in a story in last Thursday's Sun. Steele said he had been told that he and the fighters who use the gym would have to be out by April 1 if no additional funding could be found.

"Everything I told you was the truth," Steele reiterated Wednesday. "I'm not retracting one word. Nothing has changed; if anything, it's only gotten worse.

"(Horsford) is trying to say he didn't tell me those things or that I can't say them in public, but if we need money, what better way than to go through the press?

"The best thing I can hope for is that (the board) will say it can't take the gym from us and put 200 kids out in the street."

Horsford said "Richard Steele is an employee of Nevada Partners ... who is telling people the negative side" of the situation.

Horsford also said the Culinary union's involvement in the process was overstated in the initial Sun article.

"The union has no ownership, managerial or oversight of Nevada Partners," he said. "The Culinary union hasn't done anything; they're not kicking the kids out."

Horsford also outlined the gym's financial history and explained the funding mechanisms by which it operates.

"The boxing program at Nevada Partners was initially funded by the Lincy Foundation in 1993," he said. "In October of 2001, the Lincy Foundation's role with Nevada Partners changed. The board resigned and a new board was appointed.

"A financial commitment to fund the boxing program was then made through September of 2003. At that time, we asked the Lincy Foundation for continual funding and were notified that they would not consider long-term funding but would quarterly, which will take us through March 31 of next year."

He added that grant proposals made to entities such as United Way and public and private foundations have yet to bring more than a limited, positive response. He blamed ramifications of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in America for the "reduced" response by those charitable organizations and foundations.

He also said the boxing program at Nevada Partners, which increased its size by adding a youth program that had been running at the Center Ring gym in North Las Vegas last year, might yet be saved via donations, fund-raisers or by reallocating money from other programs within the Nevada Partners sphere.