• Subscribe
  • Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Login
Community Rec
  • Topics
    • Community
    • Facility Development
    • Programming
    • Operations
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
    • Community Rec Leadership Summit
    • Webinars
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Community
    • Facility Development
    • Programming
    • Operations
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
    • Community Rec Leadership Summit
    • Webinars
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
Community Rec
No Result
View All Result
Home Column

Pressing Pause on the Party

Judi Christy by Judi Christy
May 13, 2020
in Column, Leadership
0
Akron Area YMCA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When 2020 began, we were ready for a year-long celebration.

Our Y association was eager to commemorate 150 years of serving the community. We contacted the local press, reserved billboards and displayed advertisements. We booked radio interviews and crafted cute PSAs. We tagged everything with a really cool 150th logo that was fun and brand-compliant. We started the festivities on New Year’s Day with a 150-minute workout when our Ys would normally be closed for the holiday.

We created banners and posters, and T-shirts with catchy sayings like “150 Years Look Good on Me.” We contracted for a special microsite, changed our donation message, and revised our thank you cards and stationery to reflect this once-in-a-lifetime milestone. We even order a slew of really fancy 150th anniversary pens.

Key activities like our 100-Mile Swim Challenge, Summer Stretch and Super Senior Series were revamped to reflect the 150-year theme, while we additionally added new things like a job fair promising 150 new jobs and a May promotion with a $1.50 start-up fee, instead of the normal $50. We stocked up on 150th anniversary clad water bottles and tote bags, along with all the posters, flyers and Facebook hoopla we could cram into the budget and timeline hyped for a year of “FUN, FUN, FUN.”

We formed a great committee for the 150th Anniversary Gala and had loads of planning meetings. We got a fantastic honorary chair, made a “save the date” video, booked the band, caterer and larger-than-life circus tent, as well as out-of-this-world set dressings to go with the catchy vibe of “The Sky’s the Limit.”  We even thought about making a really tall rocket ship.

Then, the sky started to fall.

COVID-19 took us by surprise. Like the rest of the country, we heard about it through news sources. But it wasn’t until the statewide order to shut down on March 16 that the reality hit and the trickle turned into a storm.

Our facilities were ordered to close, along with other gyms (gosh, we hate to be categorized that way), as well as our childcare centers, camps, alternative school and main office. We had to lay off our part-time staff, numbering well into the hundreds.

Four of our childcare locations reopened as Pandemic Childcare Centers and one branch became a respite for medical personnel. One camp assisted with EMT worker relief.

But the celebratory mood sparked in January was starting to fizzle.

Our big gala was set for August. We expected 500 people. We were only having a milestone event once in the lives of all our leadership staff and many of our donors, members and friends. This was the year — until it wasn’t.

The responsible thing to do was call it a day — or more accurately, a year. So what if we celebrated in 2021? Sure, we’d be 151 years old and not the milestone 150, but wouldn’t that be even better? We would have another year under our belts, being able to share stories of how we overcame obstacles in the unprecedented time of a pandemic.

Wouldn’t it be better to recap the work the Y has done in 2020 by meeting community needs, as we have so aptly done through world wars, depressions, recessions and goodness knows what else has come through our legacy?

We can address how our members stood by us and how our staff stepped up. We can show the progress we made in stepping up procedures to make sure the health and safety of everyone walking through our doors is the No.1 priority.

The story we will have to tell next year, when we do have time to celebrate, will be richer.

For the remainder of this year, we have a new chapter to write, and we will write it well. Besides, I’m fine with a party in 2021. The cocktail dress I planned to wear for this summer’s event no longer fits. Blame it on COVID-19, and working months and months without social distancing from my carbohydrate-clad kitchen.

In the meantime, I’ll save a space on my fridge for an updated invitation, thinking about it every doggone time I open the door to see if I really did finish that open bottle of wine.

 

Judi Christy is the director of marketing and communication at the Akron Area YMCA.

Tags: communitycommunity engagementCommunity Reccommunity recreationmember engagementoperationsYMCA
Previous Post

The YMCA of Greater Tulsa Reopens After COVID-19 Shutdown

Next Post

Best Self-Care Practices for the Pandemic

Judi Christy

Judi Christy

Judi Christy is the director of marketing and communication at the Akron Area YMCA.

Related Posts

Employee Onboarding
Column

Mastering Employee Onboarding

September 14, 2023
Matt McQuoid
The Last Word

Six Questions with Matt McQuoid

September 8, 2023
Sports League Documentation
Column

Be Prepared With Proper Sports League Documentation

September 7, 2023
Community Engagement
Column

Fostering Community Engagement With Universities

August 30, 2023
coaches meeting
Column

Running an Effective Coaches Meeting

August 23, 2023
donor relationships
Column

Charitable Giving and Donor Relationships

August 9, 2023
Next Post
self-care practices

Best Self-Care Practices for the Pandemic

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Exposure Guide + Media Kit

July/August 2023 Issue

July/August Issue
Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn

Contact us at info@communityrecmag.com

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us

The Current Issue

September/October 2023

The Latest from CO

  • YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg Opening Campus With Middle School
  • Mastering Employee Onboarding
  • YMCA of Greater Brandywine Offers Suicide Prevention Training
  • YMCA of South Hampton Roads: Experience the Magic

© 2023 Community Rec Magazine. Published by Peake Media.

No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Community
    • Facility Development
    • Programming
    • Operations
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
    • Community Rec Leadership Summit
    • Webinars
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Buyer’s Guide

© 2023 Community Rec Magazine. Published by Peake Media.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist