Last night I attended the first citizens advisory committee meeting for the Gold Country YMCA. MaryJane Huenergardt (Volunteer YMCA Organizer) and Jay Lowden (CEO of YMCA of Superior California) met with community leaders from various business and non-profits, elected officials, and government employees in order to discuss the results of a community survey and discuss that which the YMCA does. The community survey should what most people in the community already know - our community is need of programs for our youth and elderly. I was struck by the answer to the question asking what organizations provide family programs. Twenty-percent of respondents indicated that they did not know of any such programs. In any event, here comes the YMCA to western Nevada County and a well-known organization dedicated to youth, families, and the elderly.
My wife and I are very active in the community, but the YMCA holds a very special place in both of our hearts. I spent my childhood years on the south side of Chicago where my uncle ran the YMCA at Govenors State University. While my uncle worked, my cousins and I spent hours and hours at the YMCA as children playing basketball or swimming. The time spent with my cousins and my dear uncle at the YMCA represent some of fondest memories of them. Unfortunately my uncle passed away in 1998 at about the same age I am now. During the meeting last night, I almost started crying when I thought about him and what the YMCA provided to me as a child. I am so happy to be involved with creating a local YMCA in western Nevada County and feel that I personally owe a debt to my uncle and the YMCA.
My wife, on the other hand, had a very difficult childhood the depths of which I sometimes do not understand. While I will not get into details, it is her firmly held opinion that the YMCA in Kentucky where my wife grew up saved her life. We are obviously grateful.
As parents, our daughters learned to swim at the YMCA in Valparaiso, Indiana. Our youngest attended pre-school there, and Kim and I worked out there. While I was in law school, going to the YMCA as a family (especially in the winter in northwest Indiana) was central our families health and to our shared quality time. The YMCA has always been an important part of our lives, and we feel a duty to the YMCA to help chart a path in western Nevada County.
As such, we are all in.
As was said last night, western Nevada County is compromised of doers. Once we have a concrete vision and formulate a path to achieve such vision, folks in Nevada County get things done. Yesterday was the first day on a path towards the success of the Gold Country YMCA, and I look forward to its potential greatness for our community.
My wife and I are very active in the community, but the YMCA holds a very special place in both of our hearts. I spent my childhood years on the south side of Chicago where my uncle ran the YMCA at Govenors State University. While my uncle worked, my cousins and I spent hours and hours at the YMCA as children playing basketball or swimming. The time spent with my cousins and my dear uncle at the YMCA represent some of fondest memories of them. Unfortunately my uncle passed away in 1998 at about the same age I am now. During the meeting last night, I almost started crying when I thought about him and what the YMCA provided to me as a child. I am so happy to be involved with creating a local YMCA in western Nevada County and feel that I personally owe a debt to my uncle and the YMCA.
My wife, on the other hand, had a very difficult childhood the depths of which I sometimes do not understand. While I will not get into details, it is her firmly held opinion that the YMCA in Kentucky where my wife grew up saved her life. We are obviously grateful.
As parents, our daughters learned to swim at the YMCA in Valparaiso, Indiana. Our youngest attended pre-school there, and Kim and I worked out there. While I was in law school, going to the YMCA as a family (especially in the winter in northwest Indiana) was central our families health and to our shared quality time. The YMCA has always been an important part of our lives, and we feel a duty to the YMCA to help chart a path in western Nevada County.
As such, we are all in.
As was said last night, western Nevada County is compromised of doers. Once we have a concrete vision and formulate a path to achieve such vision, folks in Nevada County get things done. Yesterday was the first day on a path towards the success of the Gold Country YMCA, and I look forward to its potential greatness for our community.
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