Message from the President

The recent rains in our region have reminded me more of when I lived in Washington State rather than sunny Southwest Florida. Rain was the norm there and sunny days were what we hoped for. The opposite here is of course the norm. The renewal of our natural resources by this rain has had an amazing effect on our environment. Perhaps it is this sense of renewal that spurred your YMCA on to a brighter future.

Summertime is often an opportunity for families to seek personal renewal, often by vacationing somewhere exotic or different. When I lived in the North, Southwest Florida was my family’s thoughts of exotic and different. When you live here – it’s called home. Many families this year made the decision to remain closer to home. An uncertain economy, high gas prices, and concern in airline travel had many families looking in your own backyard for summer plans. I heard many people mention they were taking a “Staycation” this year and enjoying our own community. This may be one reason our June membership Pay the Day campaign was a tremendous success in bringing new friends to our doors. 339 new memberships were sold during this period of time. That equates to close to 1,000 new individuals with us to enjoy the camaraderie of what it means to be part of a YMCA community. As many families have chosen to stay closer to home this summer, they have come to enjoy the programs and facilities of the YMCA. We welcome all our new members and invite you to get very involved in our programs. There is much to be excited about each week and many very special opportunities coming up in the fall.

Fall planning is certainly underway. New preschool programs will soon begin at Veterans Memorial and Sabal Palm Elementary Schools. The halls of the Naples facility will be welcoming an additional 44 children to its pre-school program in preparation for the opening later in the fall of the new Gaynor Child Development Center next door. By the time all is said and done, the Greater Naples Y will provide preschool programs for more than 325 children daily.

The Bonita Y is gearing up for a community wide special Fall Family Festival on Saturday, November 15. This will be a day filled with carnival type games, lots of food, special sport events, and lots more. You will be hearing more about this event as we get closer to the time.