Over the course of a month, so much happens at the WCY, so many snippets and vignettes call out to be written about. And I get caught up in the tempests of the day and forget to write them down. Most of the time, they are comments from people who feel the WCY has made a difference in their lives. Today, I am thinking about the ways our community makes a difference to me and the WCY: The push and pull of serving others. Most often, I notice, we get as least as much back as we give. So long as we are open to accepting those gifts.
I don't know that I have ever written about what drew me to the Y. It's a long story for another time, but the Cliff's Notes version is that I wanted to make a difference in a community, to be part of something larger than myself. (And I am pretty large, ba dum bum.).
What I have found at the WCY are people who feel the same way I do. So many people go out of their way to smile and say hello, to offer a helping hand, to try to make me laugh.
Virgil Fowles was one of those people.
I met him on my first day at the WCY. The Membership Director at the time, Bruce, walked me down the halls to introduce me to people and Virgil was sitting at a round table, facing the corridor so that he could see everything that went on. He watched everything and had a word for everyone who passed. He was one of the "End of the Hall Gang".
Because we were in the midst of COVID panic, unsure how it spread (remember wiping down groceries?) and we wanted to give people who came to the WCY as much space as possible, we moved the tables at the end of the hall into the Teen Room. Virgil didn't like that. He couldn't preside over the hallways from there! He let me know.
I learned that he not only drank coffee and swam at the Y daily, he also attended almost every AOA trip, helped prepare AOA luncheon meals, and viewed staff and other members as some of his closest friends.
When I arrived, he was 84 years old. He had the energy and sharp wit of a... well, he could talk circles around me, and I was 54. I saw him almost every day. I learned that his daily greeting - "Here comes the boss!" - was meant to elicit a smile, and that he didn't hold it against me that I was a "flatlander". He often shared stories about people at the Y he'd known since they were little or about delivering the mail back in the day.
Even when the pool was too cold, the headlines were glum, or his cat wasn't doing well, Virgil had a good word to say. He brightened my day.
Virg was dedicated to the WCY. Before our building was built, he and his family helped keep the "Y without Walls" going. When the facility opened, Virgil joined immediately. According to our records, which are, admittedly, imperfect, he started his membership in 2001 when the building was built and has kept it up continuously since 2005. He gave generously to the WCY throughout his life and in his death.
Virgil understood what it means to be a part of a community. He gave of himself, AND he accepted the help of others. I miss him when I walk down the hall.
Last month, more than 200 of you shared your feedback (more giving!) about the WCY in our six-month survey. The responses continue to be strongly positive, a little more so than last time. You noticed the steps we have taken to make the WCY more open, clean, and welcoming. You also gave us suggestions about what we can do better. One of the overarching themes was "more" of the things you like such as Yoga (and other classes), youth programs, time in the Therapy Pool, and open hours for the facility. Another was the wish for better communication across all programs. A third theme had to do with pricing and finding more insurance companies to subsidize the cost of membership.
All three of these give us areas to think about as we plan and budget for 2025. We want to be your community hub for healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility and having these specific requests/suggestions help us know which directions to look.
We continue to feel headwinds in finding and compensating staff, cost increases in occupancy costs such as insurance, utilities, and deferred maintenance of this almost 25-year-old building; however, I am working with the Board of Directors to develop a longer-term plan so that we continue to be the go-to community hub for the next 25 years.
Thank you for your engagement and commitment to us and to the community.
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