OXNARD : Recreation Official to Retire at Year-End

Bedford Pinkard, a community leader who has worked for the Oxnard Recreation Department more than 30 years, has announced his retirement as a recreation supervisor.

Pinkard, 61, of Oxnard, will leave the department at the end of the year. As recreation supervisor, he is responsible for La Colonia Youth Boxing Program, which he founded, and other neighborhood recreation programs.

“I’m just going to redirect my energies to other things,” Pinkard said. He has no plans yet, but said he wants to continue working with young people.

Part of the reason he is retiring is because more youth programs are being cut each year, he said.

“When it comes to cutting the budget, youth programs are the first to go,” he said, adding that he wants a chance to see what he can do for youths without the department.

Pinkard began working as a part-time playground supervisor in 1951 and left two years later when he was drafted. After serving in the Army for two years and attending college in Los Angeles, Pinkard returned to Oxnard in 1959 and has been with the department since.

Pinkard also has been a trustee of the Oxnard Union High School District since 1973 and chairs the citizens advisory committee for the California Youth Authority.