In The Last Word, we sit down with an industry expert to share their wealth of knowledge. In the 2025 January/February issue, the conversation features Chris Johnson, the president and CEO of the Countryside YMCA.
1. How did you get started in the community recreation industry?
CJ: I was the executive pastor of a church that met in our local YMCA. In our community, the Y is the shared gathering place for all groups, ages and backgrounds. It was important to find ways to partner to serve our community so that our church and Y could fulfill our missions. When the CEO role opened, I saw it as an opportunity to engage even more deeply.
2. What’s been a key to your team’s success? What are you most proud of?
CJ: I’m very proud of how our staff and YMCA responded in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We had two primary goals — to serve well and to reopen better than we closed. We’ve talked for years about the Y being more than a gym and swim, and we felt the pandemic was our chance to prove it. I believe the community better recognized our overall value post-pandemic because of the way we cared during and immediately post-closure.
3. What has been one of the biggest accomplishments of your career?
CJ: I consider being selected for this role as president and CEO of the Countryside YMCA as one of my biggest accomplishments. Because I had been in the community and serving in the Y for nearly 15 years, the board knew more about me than just the resume, interviews and recommendation letters. They had seen my life, commitment to my family and to our community first-hand and chose to trust me with the leadership of this incredible organization.
4. What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career?
CJ: I’ve made some radical career field changes along the way. In each case, there’s the challenge to merge well. You’re learning a new environment and profession and trying to introduce yourself as a leader at the same time. Having the patience to learn well and the courage to lead when you know you’re still learning is difficult.
5. What is one lesson you’ve learned that other community recreation professionals can learn from?
CJ: Visit other places. It’s so easy to get caught in your own paradigm and space. You begin to limit your own creativity by the constraints you see every day. When I visit other locations, it sparks new questions and new thoughts.
6. Tell us one fact about yourself others may not know.
CJ: I’m part of a group called the CITY Movement. Our goal is to help churches and YMCAs find more ways to partner. It often starts with a conversation about renting or sharing space but can grow into much more than that.
