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DALLAS TWP. — Members of the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA gathered Friday night to celebrate another successful year of serving the community, and to choose leaders for the year to come.
John Morris IV was elected to take the reins as board president, succeeding longtime member and supporter Tom Maheady after his two years in the role.
In his State of the Association presentation before 104 guests in the dining hall of AppleTree Terrace At Newberry Estate, Executive Director Jim Thomas stressed the agency’s focus on providing service to children, adults and families regardless of their ability to pay, noting that the YMCA provided $1.41 million in services during the fiscal year.
Those services included summer camp (25 percent), membership (32 percent) and educational programming (43 percent).
The early learning, after school and youth programming, in particular, make a difference in the lives and educational development of area children, Thomas said, especially those from low-income families.
Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA had 4,570 members at year’s end. Among other key statistics, the year also saw 3,776 volunteer hours logged, 1,374 people participating in water-safety programs, 274 children enrolled in early childhood education programs and 136 children in its after school program.
Thomas praised the generosity of “the extremely generous donors supporting our mission” in making those programs possible.
Friday night also brought the election and re-election of the organization’s board of directors and board of trustees.
Board of Directors
• Kathi Bankes, Susan Elczyna, Kevin Engelman, Gerald O’Hara, Robert Piccone, Bud Reilly, John Riccetti, Jennifer Stull, John Vetashick and Michael Wood were re-elected to the board of directors, with with their terms expiring in January 2022.
• Joseph Borland was elected to a term expiring in January 2022.
• Angelo DeCesaris and Will Beekman were elected to terms expiring in January 2021.
• Mike Murray and Danielle Ader were elected to terms expiring in January 2020.
Officers for Board of Directors
In addition to Morris as president, the following were elected:
• Rose Mahler, vice president.
• Riccetti as treasurer.
• Bernard Popson as assistant treasurer.
• Lindsay Bezick as secretary.
Board of Trustees
• Greg Collins, Phil Johnson, Clayton Karambelas, Robert Mericle and Joseph Persico were re-elected to terms expiring in January 2022.
• Catherine Mihalick was elected to a term expiring in January 2021.
Honors and remarks
The evening also saw financial assistant Kathleen Lear-Herron, who has been with the organization more than a decade, honored as employee of the year.
“She is always willing to help someone out in any way possible and if she can’t, she makes sure you get the answers one way or the other,” Lear-Herron’s award stated. “Kathleen is a huge asset to the Y in more ways than most of us know.”
Friday’s gathering marked the organization’s 155th annual meeting.
“I like to think of the Y as being like a river that has been flowing steadily since 1863,” Maheady said. “It has been an honor to have been a steward.”
Morris, who said he has served under three different presidents, praised Maheady and those who had gone before for their accomplishments.
“I’m really excited to help keep it going forward,” Morris said.
