BY SAM WATERSTONE
Whether serving as a volunteer leader for the Boys & Girls Club of Mid Central Coast, organizing the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade, or attending an event for a local nonprofit, Tim Murphy’s passion for giving back is unmistakeable. For more than two decades, Tim has contributed a tremendous amount of his time, money, and energy towards philanthropic endeavors in the Santa Maria Valley and throughout the Central Coast.
Tim will be honored for his many years of services to his community at the upcoming Celebrate Philanthropy Luncheon on November 4 at the Santa Maria Country Club.
“Like most people, I’m not doing it for the honors, but it’s always nice to be acknowledged or recognized,” Tim said. “Part of the goal is to get other people to volunteer and be philanthropic, and I think when they see what other people are doing, maybe they think ‘I should be doing that or doing more.’ I think [Celebrate Philanthropy] really promotes the whole idea of philanthropy and volunteerism.”
Tim has volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club of Mid-Central Coast (BGCMCC) for 25 years, serving in various leadership roles including Chair and Vice Chair of the Board, Resource Development Committee Chair, and Foundation Liaison. He also started the organization’s charity golf tournament in 1999 and managed the event for two decades before handing off leadership duties to Greg France, a 2018 Celebrate Philanthropy Honoree. The event has grown drastically since its inception and is now one of the biggest golf tournaments in the Santa Maria Valley, raising around $100,000 a year for BGCMCC.
“In these roles, Tim has shared his wealth of knowledge and passion with those in his sphere of influence,” said Jeremy Deming, former CEO at BGCMCC. “It’s estimated that Tim’s influence has raised more than $3 million for the organization since he joined the Board of Directors. He inspires others by example, always showing up and making commitments of his time, treasure, and talent.”
Tim and his wife Katy were inducted into the Jeremiah Milbank Society (a private giving society for major donors within the national Boys & Girls Club movement) in 2015 and have been annual members since. Katy, a former agricultural instructor as Cal Poly, is also very active in the Santa Maria community. She has volunteered with the Santa Barbara County Fair for 40 years and has served as the event’s livestock auction coordinator for the past 15 years, overseeing the sale of over 1,000 animals with more than $2 million in proceeds.
Professionally, Tim was the president and co-founder of Apio Produce in Guadalupe, one of the largest shippers of broccoli in the United States and a leader in packaging innovation under Tim’s leadership from 1980 to 2002. He originally got involved with the Boys & Girls Club while living and working in Guadalupe, helping to launch a Boys & Girls Club at the Community Center adjacent to Guadalupe’s historic LeRoy Park. He remains involved with the Guadalupe club, which has focused on school-based programming over the past several years while the Community Center undergoes an exciting renovation project set to be completed in early 2022.
The same year he joined the Board of the Boys & Girls Club, Tim also began volunteering with the Santa Maria Elks Lodge. He served on committees for the Elks Rodeo and the Elks Parade for 15 years, before taking over as the Chairman of the Elks Parade a decade ago – a role he still holds today.
“The Rodeo Parade is a major effort. It is put on by an all-volunteer committee, and we wouldn’t have the parade without them,” shared Tim, constantly expressing gratitude for his fellow community volunteers. “We raise money from sponsors and donors, and it goes to pay expenses, and any proceeds left over we donate to various youth groups. We’ve given out about $100,000 over the last 10 years generated by the parade, in addition to staging a free annual parade for the community.”
“What they found in their community was that there are a lot of little expenses that fall through the cracks for families with kids that had to go up to San Francisco or down to Los Angeles for cancer treatments, so they formed Jack’s Helping Hand to assist them with gas cards, hotel rooms, special devices or wheelchairs,” Tim explained. “They’re also building an all-access park on the Nipomo Mesa for kids with disabilities.”
As a longtime friend of the Ready family, Tim has been a major supporter of the organization for years, participating in their annual auctions and charity golf tournements. This is yet another example of Tim’s commitment to his community and his passion for serving youth in need.
With his decades of volunteer work, remarkable leadership, and love for his community, Tim truly embodies the spirit of Celebrate Philanthropy, and was be recognized at the upcoming Celebrate Philanthropy Luncheon on November 4, 2021. Celebrate Philanthropy, which is organized by the Santa Barbara Foundation, recognizes individuals, couples or families who, through direct service or financial support, have demonstrated outstanding civic and charitable work in the Santa Maria Valley. This year’s event was held outdoors at the Santa Maria Country Club.
“You look back and see the others recognized [at Celebrate Philanthropy], and it’s a pretty great group of people,” Tim reflected. “Santa Maria is an amazing community – I’ve gone to various events and seen so many people donating money and volunteering time. It is a very, very giving community.”
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