Sandra W. Plant
After one month as executive director of the Telford Community Center YMCA, Debi Downing White is excited about making positive changes and moving the Telford YMCA forward.
“I want to be able to strengthen our position in the community and offer more programming for the needs of Madison County,” she said.
Her first focus is programming for families, she said. Already lined up is a pre-school movement class where parents with children ages 3 to 5 years participate together. In this class, the youngsters will enjoy time with a parent while learning skills and character values all at the same time, she said.
White has high praise for the people she is getting to know on her new job.
“We have a lot of good people who work here and we have lots of good members,” she said.
She is grateful to the Telford YMCA board and board chair, Jerry Gilbert, for “having the confidence to bring me here as executive director,” she said.
“We are looking for people that care about the community to serve on our board, people who want to work and help us,” White said.
All hands will be needed in the spring for the annual support campaign where funds will be raised for the PACE program that provides scholarships for membership and programs. PACE is an acronym for Providing Assistance in Christian Enrichment.
White said it is important for people to know that the Telford YMCA is here for the entire community, even those who are struggling financially.
She quoted the YMCA mission statement, which is, “To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.”
White said the words “for all” in the mission statement are very important.
“Although we are Christian based, the YMCA is for everybody,” she said.
White, a native of Maysville, comes to the Telford YMCA with 21 years of experience as a YMCA professional. She started her career with the YMCA in Maysville as membership and fitness coordinator. She decided on a career in YMCA work after, “seeing the positive difference that we make in lives every day.”
Her career includes serving as operations director at the Wilmington, Ohio, YMCA and as chief executive officer at the YMCA in Chillicothe, Ohio. Just before the call to Madison County, White served as executive director at the Clermont County YMCA on the eastern side of Greater Cincinnati.
White said she is happy to be back in Kentucky and near her family in Maysville. She purchased a home in Richmond and said she will feel really at home here after next week, when her two cats come to join her.
White is a graduate of Mason County High School where she was a cheerleader and a member of the golf team. She is a graduate of Ohio University with a major in communications management and recreation.
She enjoys group exercise classes, especially step aerobics. She is looking forward to getting involved in the community and has already visited a local Rotary Club.
The Telford Community Center YMCA is located at 1100 East Main St. in Richmond.
For more information on programs, memberships, scholarships and hours of operation, call 623-9356 or visit www.telfordymca.org.
