Although Howard Birnbaum is gone, the spirit of his accomplishments at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club over the years lives on. Howard died on Thursday, January 9^th, 1986. Right up until the time of his death, he was very active in the club serving as the comptroller of all capital funds for the new building. Howie became involved in the early 70’s when he was approached to sponsor football uniforms for the Boys club 8^th grade team. Being a standout athlete at Aquinas, he was naturally interested in seeing a quality program developed for area youth. That isolated interest triggered his involvement.

In 1974, Howard was approached to become an active board member. Before long he was active in day to day operations and became an advisor to the staff and the problems they faced. Through the rocky periods of financial uncertainty, Howard was the financial wizard and fund raiser which enabled the club to survive.



In 1981, Howard was selected to head the Board of Directors. At that time he realized the need for a new building and became increasingly active in the financial planning for the project. That financial expertise led to the success of the building drive.

As evidence of his loyal support of the club through the years, Howard received several awards. They include the 1977 Backer of the Year Award, the Man and Boy Award, the Treasurer’s Award and the Chairman’s Award.