Staff Newsletter | Tuesday, May 24, 2022
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9
Throughout these past twenty-six months, our philosophy has been consistent. We wholeheartedly believe we will persevere and evolve from the adversity we have been facing as an even stronger organization. Every single one of you has been extraordinary, exhibiting heroic resilience and maintaining hope for each other and for the people we serve. Watching you perform on Healthy Kids Day is a strong image that will remain with me for a long time; the energy and smiles you exhibited were infectious. Throughout this entire period, though, we have also been very honest with the circumstances we continue to face; our situation is still very challenging. In her report last Friday on the Staying Connected call, Megan Sala shared that though membership has increased significantly from the beginning of the year, growth has slowed in recent weeks possibly due to the onset of the warmer weather. (Prior to COVID, membership would typically tail off in the summer months; it is also possible that people are still not comfortable returning to the Y amidst the uncertainty surrounding the virus.) In addition, we heard from Scott Smith that marketing and communications is not letting up on its efforts to attract new members; they continue to work with operations to provide opportunities for prospective members to find health and wellness in our Y. Scott also announced that we have added Jess Myhre to our team as the new social media manager. Jess brings a great deal of experience and energy to engage our members through the various social media platforms, something we see as a powerful vehicle to influence members’ behavior. This is very exciting for our Y. We believe this will play a big role in engaging members and our community. Welcome, Jess, we are glad you chose our Y.
We have recently been discussing the issue of pricing, specifically whether or not we should increase our membership rates. It is a very hotly debated topic. As you have likely experienced yourself, wherever you are spending your money, businesses are charging more for the services and products they provide. The case for us to do so is clearly justified as the cost of doing business has increased dramatically. On the other hand, prior to COVID, the number one detractor to being a member of our Y was cost (as identified by our members upon leaving our Y). In addition, people are currently having to make difficult choices about how they spend their money, with inflation severely impacting all of us. I have been a strong proponent that we hold the line with our rates, not feeling this is the right time to do so. To help us make this decision, we will conduct a market study to assess what people are willing to pay for a Y membership. This is a difficult but critical decision for our Y, one we must be thoughtful in making. In my discussion with our board of directors, I shared with them that, as a team, we are continuing to explore alternative opportunities to grow our organization; this has been something we have been committed to from the onset of the pandemic, believing we need to use this time to discover new ways to engage our community. We have operated with the premise that human behavior was changing profoundly; we just have not seen exactly what form that will take, always believing, though, that people will desire the community we provide.
Our Child Care and Early Learning Centers are two areas we continue to work hard to grow. Recently, we have put more intention into our efforts to elevate childcare/early learning. Recognizing that attracting staff remains a barrier to our ability to offer more services, we have raised wages and offered new benefits, adding the opportunity for staff supporting these areas to have free childcare as a benefit of their employment. As part of the statewide YMCA youth network, Holly Tedford is able to access support in the development of quality curriculum that raises the quality of the program. In addition, the team is exploring other benefits we can offer families and school districts to strengthen our appeal as a provider. Currently, every child in our childcare program has access to the services in our community centers, but the team is exploring what more we can provide. We have seen other providers become more aggressive and seize more of the market; it is critical for us to respond. This is an important opportunity for our Y. It is exciting to see how we are working as One Y to harness our collective talents and elevate our overall performance.
Last week, I saw something incredible when visiting the University Y Student Center. Prior to walking into one of the multipurpose rooms, a member was using a tablet to select a workout from the YMCA360 library. It was amazing! A member was able to access a workout at a time when there was no in-person class on the schedule. Kate Hardeman also shared with me that she recently had an instructor call out at the last minute, unable to make it to class. The participants, on their own, gladly selected a class from the YMCA360 library and used it to guide their workout. This has been happening throughout the association now that we have the in-studio feature offered by YMCA360. Members have access to classes offered by our instructors as well as instructors from all over the country. This is a great value-add for our members. Bruce Caudill is in the process of taking it up another notch by adding large screens with better audio capabilities, something he says will greatly enhance the product. Annie Doyle and the virtual program team are focused on adding classes and expanding the schedule we can offer to our members, which will allow them to participate in live classes as well as on-demand content; this offers our members greater flexibility for their workouts. For the past year, Annie and the team have worked hard to improve production quality. Kenny Aye has been putting in long hours to perfect the editing, making each offering a first-class production. Eventually, we will be able to charge a fee for the virtual options as an alternative for putting one’s account on hold and maybe even providing services to corporations. We are getting closer and the in-studio feature allows us to take another important step forward.
We have been working hard for over two years, and we have learned a lot along the way. At each step, we have adapted to the challenges we face, continuing to be creative and discovering new ways of work that will enhance our programs as well as make us a better place to work. Chris Spivey tells the youth in his program: “Adversity does not define you, how you handle it does.” We continue to demonstrate tremendous resilience and fortitude in driving our Y forward, challenging ourselves to discover new ways of work that will strengthen our Y – for each other and for our communities. I am in awe of how you continue to show up to make this a better place for so many. Thank you for your devotion and dedication. You are making a big difference for our Y and for our communities.
#OneY #StayStrong #StayWithUs