By Bob Hall, President and CEO

This has been a busy month at the Y with two major events. On February 7, we promoted our capital fund raising efforts at the Clark County YMCA with a Hard Hat Tour. We closed the facility early and invited guests in to look over our expansion and remodeling plans. About 100 people attended. We had a short presentation about the purpose and impact of the YMCA in the community. Trustees, Ruth Bennett and Carol Terrell did an outstanding job talking about why they belong to the YMCA.

Here at the Y, service is at the heart of everything we do. Our staff and volunteers do their best to model that spirit of service, both in and outside the Y, and we appreciate that. That’s why we’d like to take the time to recognize Corinn deWaard.

Corinn has recently been honored with the Kenyon T. Bement Award by the Rotary Club of Portland. This award is presented to a member of the Rotary Club whose contributions to the club and to the community exemplify an exceptional spirit of the Rotary motto: Service Above Self.

At the YMCA, our doors are open to everyone … regardless of ability to pay. Through scholarships and reduced fees, we can offer a wide variety of programs and services to kids and families in our community. Every year through our Strong Communities Campaign, supporters like you help us to do that.

On Saturday, February 4, we held our annual Campaign Kickoff event at the Beaverton Hoop YMCA. This event celebrates our many volunteers, board members and volunteer campaigners, and gets everyone excited about our Strong Communities Campaign.

As we welcome you to a new year, we would also like to welcome you to a brand new website, ymcacw.org. Here, you will find everything you need to know about the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette … everything from who we are to why we do what we do. All the information on our wide array of services is right at your fingertips. We encourage you to click around and take a look. Maybe you'll find out something you never knew about the Y. Maybe you'll find a program in your area that you didn't know we offered.