ABOUT MARIA, TRUSTEE AND CO-FOUNDER

I was raised from a young age with boxing as a part of my heritage. My father boxed as a youth in San Francisco and also during his service to our country during WWII. He was a great contender and I am very proud of him. I have fond memories of watching boxing with my dad every Friday night when I was growing up. It was always a fun time. A mental picture I hold dear in my mind is watching my dad begin watching the bouts sitting in his chair, then as the fights went on, he progressed to the end of the chair, and by the time the fight was almost over, he was throwing punches from the end of the foot stool. I can still see my dear mother as she walked through the living room, shaking her head and smiling, as my dad engrossed himself in the boxing he loved.

Those, and many more memories of fun times with my dad, built in me the appreciation for the “sweet science”. If girls were allowed to box “way back then” I probably would have become a good boxer. My dad was a good teacher and we had fun “putting on the gloves” and mixing it up. My dad is the one who chose the name Dreamland Boxing.

As years passed and time went by, boxing was always a part of my life. I continued to enjoy the fights on TV. But until I met and married David, the “Sarge”, I never was able to get involved. After we were married for a number of years, we began discussing the possibility of helping others through the avenue of boxing. It was something that had to wait until I retired from the high tech world, but once I did, my husband’s vision became my own. We worked with youth on a small scale for awhile, providing a way for many young people, and older alike, to fulfill their dreams through boxing. We were successful, but there came a time when we knew we needed to open a gym that would provide a place to train and allow many more to fulfill their dreams and goals through boxing. We agreed to take our life savings, re-finance our home, and take a chance on opening up a place, non-profit, staffed with volunteers, who also wanted to give back to the sport they loved. We knew we had to try.

Today, our community has benefited because of Dreamland Boxing. It is a place for families, fun, exercise, competition, offered in a structured, disciplined environment that produces champions in boxing, and champions in life. Come join the Team!

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