The Gingellville Community Center has closed its doors to karate instructor Bill Snyder, after claiming he was speaking of religion in his karate classes and soliciting funds as a “non-profit organization” in his own name on a website.
Snyder began teaching karate at the center on Waldon Road about seven years ago and has been a trustee at the center for three. On Nov. 10, the center’s board voted to have Snyder kicked out of the facility.
“My job is to follow the laws and protect the center,” said center manager Pam Hutchinson. “I have to deal with government entities. What (Snyder) did is against our bylaws…we are a (non-religious) and non-political center. We don’t want people to feel excluded because of (religion).”
The center alleges Snyder was involving the Bible and Christianity in his karate classes, as well as putting religious language on a website he ran, www.backkick.com, concerning the karate program. The site also calls the program a “non-profit organization” with donations to be sent to Bill Snyder at his personal PO Box address.
According to Hutchinson, the center’s board members began investigating Snyder after they received complaints from a parent that he was teaching Bible verses in his karate classes.
“They’re trying to keep themselves from lawsuits, but I’m considering suing them for what they just did,” Snyder said of his dismissal from the center. “The underlying reason is, I was naive and I was only there to help the karate program and the kids. I played Santa Claus there for the past seven years.”
Hutchinson doesn’t deny that Snyder had a positive impact on the children at the center.
“As far as the karate itself, he was a good instructor,” she said. “We did get a lot of children with emotional problems and abusive homes…I would send them to him, and he helped them, he truly did.”
Snyder said he never taught Bible study during his karate classes, but admits that occasionally his status as a Christian affected his teaching practices.
“We’re not teaching church, we’re not teaching Bible study,” he said. “We’re teaching karate, but I’m a Christian, so I am influenced in that way.”
“”As a trustee, he’s to uphold our bylaws,” Hutchinson said. “We had some parents complain so we looked into it. We discovered his website, and on the bottom of each page, it says a ‘non-profit organization,’ and lists a (address) that happens to be Bill’s personal PO Box.”
According to Hutchinson, all the pictures used on the website are clearly from the community center, although it’s name is never mentioned.
“We sent an email to the webmaster and were told the location (of the karate school) was the center,” she said. “The US Department of Treasury does not license us to solicit funds, it is federal law that no person can operate (a non-profit) for private interest or benefit.
“No check can be made out to one particular individual,” Hutchinson added. “He had been warned at the Sept. 8 board meeting to stop what he was doing (talking about religion in class). He chose to take it further.”
Snyder said he put “non-profit organization” on his website because technically the karate school is a community center program, and they are a non-profit organization.
As for his website, Snyder said there’s nothing on there asking people to “please give us money.”
“I teach karate for free,” he added. “I don’t do these things to benefit myself. I’m living in poverty. I want to get kids off the street.”
Hutchinson said the center’s attorney has advised them to distance themselves from Snyder.
“Because it was our program, and he put the center in jeopardy and opened us up to a possible charge of fraud,” she said. “It wasn’t that he was not aware.”
Snyder said he has had people “coming out of the woodwork” with offers for space to teach his classes since news of his dismissal from the center became public.
“Churches are offering their gymnasiums,” he said. “I’ve had about 115 people in the program, 70 percent are children. I’d like to see (the community center) close the door…they need to be shut down there.”