Longtime BBB chief, nonprofit leader and outdoor enthusiast Doug Broten dead at age 75
Doug Broten, a longtime nonprofit leader and former CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central California, died Oct. 15, 2022, at a Clovis hospital after a long illness. He was 75 years old.
Douglas Clifford Broten is survived by his wife of 35 years, Eve Sproule of Fresno; stepson Brandon Sproule and daughter Branisia Sproule, both of Fresno; two grandchildren; and his brother Jeff Broten and sister Carol Starr.
Broten was born in Whittier in 1947 and moved to Fresno in 1965 to attend Fresno State. He served as the college’s student body president in the 1969-70 school year and earned his bachelor’s degree in social science and a teaching credential in 1971.
His professional career in management of local nonprofit organizations spanned 40 years and included serving as the executive director of the Older Americans Retraining Program; executive director of the Independent Living Center of the California Association of Physically Handicapped (now known as Californians for Disability Rights); and 25 years as chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau.
During his time with the BBB, Broten led technology adoption efforts for the organization, and in 1995 founded the Dispute Settlement Center. He also established a foundation to provide mediation through Small Claims courts in counties across the San Joaquin Valley and Inland Empire. That program was eventually expanded by the courts beyond business-customer disputes to include issues related to family law, probate and other cases. Broten also became a certified mediation trainer, training judges and attorneys as well as mediators for other BBB organizations.
Mr. Broten retired from the BBB in 2010 and in 2017 was elected to the Better Business Bureau Hall of Fame.
Friends and colleagues from BBB organizations across California and the U.S. sent expressions of condolences to Broten’s family.
“He was a real gentleman at all times,” said Warren E. Clark, president/CEO of the BBB of Upstate New York. “I’m not sure how deep they had to dig to find a picture of him with a sportcoat; he loved casual.”
Jane Rupp, president/CEO of the BBB for Utah and Northern Nevada, also recalled Broten’s fondness for casual clothes. “I remember Doug in his pants that could zipper off into shorts greeting everyone with a smile,” Rupp wrote.
“I count Doug as one of my earliest mentors and, more importantly, a dear friend,” said BBB Pacific Southwest president/CEO Matthew Fehling. “Doug was simply a wonderful human being. Caring, grateful and encouraging come to mind when I think of him.”
Broten was also a longtime advocate for progressive causes. Within a year of graduating from Fresno State, Broten was a board member for listener-supported radio station KFCF 88.1 FM when the station became a project of the Fresno Free College Foundation. He also served on the state board for Planned Parenthood, the Fresno State Alumni Association, the Fresno Advertising Foundation, and the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Both before and after his retirement, Broten indulged his love for the outdoors with many backpacking and cross-country ski excusions in the Sierra Nevada, including leading trips for the Sierra Club for many years. After retirement, he enjoyed kayaking on the San Joaquin River and leading hikes for the Sierra Foothill Conservancy.
Broten’s Facebook page is replete with photos of his outdoor travels with his wife, Eve Sproule, including numerous trips to Yosemite National Park and other areas of the Sierra Nevada range on the eastern flank of the San Joaquin Valley.
Daughter Branisia Sproule said her father was “always very positive, very optimistic and very encouraging” as she was growing up. “He always pushed the importance of education for myself and my kids as well,” she said. “He never missed anything – any of my soccer games or karate lessons. Even after I started college, he found a way to drive to as many games as he could; he was my biggest fan.”
Branisia Sproule added that she didn’t always appreciate his insistence on hiking excursions every weekend when she would rather be with her friends at the mall. “But I learned a lot of lessons while in the wilderness with him,” she said. “When things are hard and you’re tired, and you want to quit and feel like you can’t go on, he would say, ‘Just get to the next shade’ and then we’d move on from there.”
Memorial plans
A memorial gathering for Broten will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the Chapel of the Light, 1620 W. Belmont Ave. in Fresno. Friends will celebrate his life on Nov. 5 with a hike at 10 a.m. and lunch at 12:30 p.m. at the McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve, 2247 Auberry Road, Clovis.
Remembrances may be made to the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, P.O. Box 529, Prather, CA, 93651.
