Wednesday, August 8, 2007

A Message from Director Dan



August 3, 2007

Dear Swim Team Reunion Attendee:

Thanks to all of you for attending the Huntington YMCA Swim Team Reunion. I hope you enjoyed the event. We felt the reunion was a success with 100 people attending the reception at the YMCA on Friday Night, 450 swimmers for the Glen S. Hummer Huntington Mile and 250 people attending the banquet on Saturday Night. A special thank you goes out to Anne and Lynn Pittenger, as well as all the people who spoke at the banquet.

We do have T-shirts left over from the event. If you did not get one at the banquet, please let us know and we will get one to you. Also, the DVD is currently being put together and should be mailed to you in late August.

The Huntington YMCA does have a new website, www.huntingtony.org. Please take a look at our site. We will update the website with pictures of construction of the new YMCA on a regular basis.

Fundraising is continuing for the construction of the new YMCA. Currently, the Y has raised $7.1 million, but needs $9 million to build and equip the new facility. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the campaign. Members of the swim team have contributed close to $500,000 for the new facility, which enables the YMCA to construct the Glen S. Hummer Natatorium. If you have not contributed yet, you can download a pledge card from the new website as mentioned above.

Finally, details are still being put together for a history/memory magazine. The magazine would be approximately 32 pages and would include a history of the Huntington YMCA swim team, historic pictures, pictures from the reunion, select reflections from swim team members and a profile on Glen S. Hummer. The cost of the magazine would be approximately $20.00. We are trying to determine the need for such a magazine. Please e-mail me at the address below and let me know whether or not you would be interested in purchasing a magazine.

If you have any questions, please contact me at the YMCA, 260-356-4200 or via e-mail at ymcadan@kconline.com.

Sincerely,

Dan Akeley

Executive Director
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Still Needing Nickles and Dimes (and more?)



From the new Parkview Huntington Family YMCA website linked at the right of this page:

The mission of the Huntington YMCA is “to provide programs in a Christian environment that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all people.” We would like you to help us expand our mission to build a legacy for our community.

By making a contribution to the Huntington YMCA, you will have a direct impact on Huntington County. Your investment will help build a modern full-service facility, which will serve area individuals, and most importantly, our youth and their families. This facility is projected to complete in 2008.

YMCA staff and volunteers work very hard to meet the programming needs and services of Huntington County. We build great relationships with our members and program participants. The time to build a new full-service facility for the community is now.

Parkview Huntington Hospital has donated 7 acres of land between Crestview Middle School and the hospital. This site is large enough for future expansion needs, easily accessible from most all areas of the community, and is located in the middle of one of Huntington County’s projected growth areas.

Every person that donates will be permanently recognized in the new facility—no matter how big or small of a gift!!!

Giving Levels:

Founder: $100,000 and above
Builder: $50,000 to $99,999
Benefactor: $25,000 to $49,999
Patron: $10,000 to $24,999
Leader: $5,000 to $9,999
Friend: $2,500 to $4,999
Community: $1,000 to $2,499
Supporter: $999 and under

Why build a new Huntington YMCA?

*The YMCA will once again, become the gathering place for the community. Huntington will be considered a better place to live with great wellness and recreation facilities and programs.

*The YMCA is a beacon of light. All people can prosper through programs and activities that the YMCA provides. Our mission and character development programs make a positive impact.

*Building a new YMCA will help improve the financial picture of the YMCA. With more financial resources, the YMCA will be able to do more mission work.
The current YMCA facility is 76 years old and is no longer a functional facility to carry out programs of today and tomorrow.

*YMCA membership has grown 67% in the last 3 years. As membership and programs continue to grow, a new facility is needed to expand with the demand. A new facility will help the YMCA expand its programs and services to the entire community.

One of the two indoor pools will have zero entry area, which will make access available for everyone. The other pool will be large enough to be utilized by swim teams, including hosting meets. In addition, different water features will be in the pools, which will make swimming fun for all ages. The gymnasium will be large enough to expand the Kim League Youth Basketball Program, as well as start a volleyball program for youth and adults. Basketball tournaments will also be a possibility. The Fitness Center will be expanded with additional cardio machines and new free weight equipment. The existing Matrix and Youth Equipment will be moved to the new facility. A suspended 1/11 mile indoor track will also add to the fitness activities available to members. The Aerobics/Dance Studio will have floating wood flooring and mirrors for the participants. With a new facility, many additional programs will be added as well to keep up with modern fitness trends and needs of the community. The Child Watch Room will be large enough to accommodate many more children with separate areas for infants, toddlers, and youth.
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Welcome

Hello fellow Hummer alumni. We each have memories of the huge influence Glen S. Hummer had on us all. The Huntington YMCA is still conducting a continuing funding campaign for the marvelous new facility which replaces the one we all swam in and more since the team began in 1933. This space is for us to meet and/or meet up again. There were 250 at the reunion on June 16, 2007, coinciding with the newly reestablished Huntington Mile at ole Lake Clare in which many of us swam again. All are invited and welcomed to submit reminiscences here (click on "comments" in the section below.) See some of you, again we hope, at the 2010 Glen S. Hummer Huntington Masters Mile. And visit us on facebook too at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/group.php?gid=100802262318&ref=ts



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Huntington YMCA Building Program

Note: To donate to the fund-raising campaign for the new YMCA (and its Hummer Pool) contact:

Dan Akeley, Executive Director, Huntington YMCA, 607 Warren St., Huntington, IN 46750, 260-356-4200, ymcadan@kconline.com

From The Herald Press12/18/06

Goal: $8 million; In hand: $5.4 million; Yet to raise: $2.6 million

It will take $8 million to build a new YMCA, and that's the amount the Y's fund-raising committee has set as its goal. With the $2 million gift from Parkview Huntington Hospital - seven acres of land worth $450,000 and a pledge of $1.55 million in cash from the hospital's Community Benefit dollars - the capital campaign committee now has $5.4 million in hand, said Dan Akeley, the YMCA's executive director.

That $5.4 million, which includes pledges that will be paid over the next five years, came in as the result of a campaign that began in May as YMCA volunteers contacted potential major donors, Akeley said. That leaves the YMCA with $2.6 million yet to raise. Some of that will come from additional major donors, Akeley said, but the Y hopes to raise $250,000 from people throughout Huntington County who are everyday users (or former users) of the facility. An effort to reach those people will begin in late January and continue until June, Akeley said. YMCA volunteers will begin with personal contacts and later use phone calls and letters to solicit donations.

From The Herald Press, 12/18/06

The inside story: Nearly double the usable space

By CINDY KLEPPER, City Editor

The new Parkview Huntington YMCA will encompass about 52,000 square feet, all on one floor, with two pools, two basketball floors, and an elevated walking track. By comparison, the current facility has about 30,000 square feet of usable space on three levels, one pool, one basketball court, and no dedicated place to walk - although it does have numerous nooks and crannies that may have had a function when the Warren street building opened in 1930, but now serve no useful purpose.

The new building was designed by Moake Park Group, a Fort Wayne-based architectural firm whose work can be seen in the Parkview Huntington Hospital building as well as the Jorgensen Family YMCA in Allen County. Moake Park's design for the Huntington YMCA was intended for a 14-acre site north of Huntington that the YMCA board originally planned to purchase, said Dan Akeley, the Y's executive director. The building and parking areas would have occupied only seven acres of that site, Akeley said, and can be moved to the Parkview site practically unchanged. "The floor plans will basically be the same," Akeley said. "It worked for both sites." The remainder of the original 14-acre site would have held a soccer field, two retention ponds, and a fitness trail. At the new site, retention ponds are already in place outside the YMCA's seven acres. Although there's no room for a soccer field, there's a possibility of additional property being made available for soccer sometime in the future. In addition to surveying members about what they wanted in a new facility, YMCA board members checked out features of other recently built YMCAs.

"We learned a lesson from the Jorgensen YMCA," Akeley said. "They have one pool, and if someone has an accident in the pool, they have to shut down the whole thing." The Huntington Y board decided to go with two pools, side by side. "If somebody has an accident, we can just shut the one pool down," Akeley said. The smaller pool will have a "zero," or sloped, entry making it accessible to people in wheelchairs and others with limited mobility. It's water will be warm enough to be comfortable for swimming and aerobics classes. The second pool will be large enough to be used by swim teams and can also be used to host meets. The gym's two basketball courts can be separated by a curtain. A fitness center will include both free weights and cardio equipment, and an adjacent aerobics/dance area will feature floating floors. A walking track, one-tenth of a mile long, will be suspended around the perimeter of the gym, fitness center, and aerobics/dance area. An expanded child watch area will be located next to two preschool rooms.