“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9
For the past few weeks, I have been reviewing the work Loren Johnson has been leading, along with Ed Bressette, Toko Thompson, and the facilities oversight committee. This very important work provides our organization the critical information necessary to consider in caring for our capital assets. Historically, our facilities have been vital to our operational success, and it is imperative we do not neglect the care for them; too many YMCAs around the country have made this mistake and have paid dearly for this error in judgment. We have had to be very cautious with every expenditure we have made, which is a sharp departure from our past practices and another reminder of the impact this pandemic has had on our association.
Last week, I informed Loren that we had signed the memorandum of understanding with the City of Gig Harbor, initiating our efforts to raise nearly $7 million to build two turf fields, 125 parking spots, and restrooms on the City-owned property north of the Tom Taylor Family Y. It has taken two and a half years to iron out the details of the agreement with the City, which will give the Tom Taylor Y critical access to outdoor space. There were many times I thought it might be better to step away from the project as we certainly have more than enough to worry about these days. However, I only needed to remember the image of seeing Day Camp in the parking lot every summer as well as there being no space for youth sports to justify the decision to continue with the negotiations. Jessie Palmer has spearheaded the project for our Y and has been a great partner to me and our Y. Jessie had to engage with attorneys and engineers to carefully negotiate the details of this agreement, and it was his attention to detail that got us to this point. Jessie will continue to play a lead role in facilitating the fundraising efforts.
As part of the agreement with the City, we included an “escape clause,” which essentially allows us to walk away from the project without any liabilities; this clause comes into play in June 2023, which gives us two years to raise the funds required to proceed with construction. Jessie and I will comprise the core of the capital fundraising campaign committee, with key volunteers recruited to assist in the effort, along with Carol Kowalski and the staff of the Tom Taylor Y. In addition to this effort, the financial development team of Jessie, Carol, Toby Roberts, Kristy Kunkle, and Sam Williams will be coordinating our golf tournament on August 9. As an association, we determined that the golf event would be important to raise vital funds to support the work of the Center for Community Impact as well as bring people together for a fun event. We have not had any in-person events in over a year and it seemed like the right decision to proceed with this event. There has already been a great response from our community and a great deal of excitement for golf in August.
Both of these decisions – signing the MOU with the City of Gig Harbor and moving forward with the golf tournament – were very challenging. I was well aware of the fact that, in both instances, I would be leaning heavily on a small financial development team also being asked to raise critical dollars for our annual campaign, money that is vital to sustaining our organization. Furthermore, I was already beginning to weigh decisions to reengage our efforts to build the sports fields in Sumner (to support outdoor programming at the Gordon Family Y), as well as our efforts to complete the Names Family Y project (the replacement of the Morgan Family Y). Given our limited resources, considering any one of these projects would be difficult under the current conditions, but I also knew we had to begin moving forward as an organization. As heavy as this work felt, I knew each represented growth for our Y. After being down for so long, the prospects were too tantalizing. I also knew that in order to proceed with any opportunities for growth, I would have to add staff to our team, something we have refrained from doing as long as possible. It seemed we were now at an important juncture, especially in light of the steady increase in membership.
Expanding our Workforce
I have engaged with the leadership cabinet over the past few weeks to carefully weigh the decision to expand our workforce. Since we reopened our community centers back on September 7, 2020, and navigated the various challenges the pandemic has posed, we have been gradually expanding our operations. We currently have about 850 employees working in our Y, which is just 33% of our pre-COVID team. This week, we posted over 30 new positions, covering nearly every facet of our operation. (It is important to note that some of these positions are replacements for departed staff.) We view the new positions as being critical for us to meet the demands posed by the addition of more programs and services throughout our association. Kolanye Bykoff has helped us reach two very significant agreements with the Clover Park and Franklin Pierce school districts, which will require a good portion of the 30 new positions. These agreements, as well as one that is forthcoming with the Tacoma School District (and possibly others), offer us tremendous opportunities to impact thousands of youth and represent an opportunity to build a new model to interface with schools. Bringing the Center for Community Impact, Child Care, Outdoor Environmental Education, and our community centers together into a cohesive model presents an intriguing opportunity for us, and for the community.
In addition to mobilizing for our work with the schools, we will be adding to our current teams to not only better serve the gradual growth in membership, but also to be prepared for the June 30 full opening of our operations, as declared by the Governor two weeks ago. Brian Flattum worked with executive directors to determine which additional position was most vital to their team. We also made the decision to strengthen our facility teams, knowing we need help to care for our buildings. Furthermore, we determined it was necessary to solidify our current infrastructure, which includes hiring a junior accountant, a Salesforce director, a payroll assistant, a marketing position to facilitate campaigns, an IT operations staff to address all the IT needs throughout the association, and a staff person to manage the back end of program registration, virtual programming, and membership.
It has been a long and grueling climb for all of us. Adding positions when we are not quite there yet is challenging. Having the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) and the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) funding in our back pocket certainly emboldens us, but the number of needs we have is certainly far greater than those additional funds offer us. Looking around the association and seeing how much weight everyone is carrying, recognizing it takes a while to complete the process of filling positions, it felt that now was the right time for our association to post these job opportunities.
During our May board of directors meeting, the board agreed to increase the association’s employee retirement fund contribution to 6%, an increase from the 1% that has been in effect since June 2020; this increase will be effective in your July 15 paycheck. The board put a great deal of care into their decision, recognizing its importance to each of us as well as how much of a factor this is in our overall sustainability. Every single decision is considered carefully knowing how important it is to support each of you and still position our Y to continue its climb forward. I know how hard each of you is working and the deep commitment you have made to our Y, your community, and to each other. I am in awe of your devotion and honored to be on the same team. Thank you all.
#StayStrong #StayWithUs