Changes coming to Auglaize/Mercer Y operations, official says

CELINA - Big changes are planned for The Auglaize/Mercer Counties Family YMCA facilities.

Joshua M. Sullenberger, YMCA of Greater Dayton senior vice president, this week laid out to Celina Rotarians a new vision for the local branches that likely will entail more affordable fees, expanded activity offerings and a much-needed equipment upgrade.

But whether the local branches will be permanently absorbed and supported by the YMCA of Greater Dayton remains to be seen, said Sullenberger, who oversees the operations of 10 branches, a resident camp and 54 child care centers in the Dayton.

Sullenberger explained that local YMCA officials had been pursuing a new CEO but found the candidate pool to be slim. Instead, they turned to the Dayton organization.

"What we're seeing is unless the people are groomed from within the movement in that community, people aren't moving into small, independent CEO roles like they used to 20 years ago," he said.

The least stable parts of the national YMCA are the independent facilities such as The Auglaize/Mercer Counties Family YMCA facilities, he said.

"When you're trying to staff two facilities and you look at the deferred maintenance on keeping those buildings nice, when you're depending on just what you have right there, it can be tough," Sullenberger said.

That's where the YMCA of Greater Dayton may be able to help with its larger pool of resources and expertise, Sullenberger said.

"You don't have to have an HR director. You don't have to have a marketing director. You don't have to have an IT support person. We have all those positions and things that we can help with," he explained.
  Typically under Dayton's model, eight operations are doing well while four are struggling.

"The idea is to have some that are doing well to take care of those (that aren't) and allow us to do some mission work that we can't do when we're just trying to keep the lights on," he said.

The six-month agreement with the Dayton organization can be renewed as far out as two years.

"I would tell you it doesn't take two years to figure this out," Sullenberger said. "It either works in a year or it doesn't work. Right now the early signs are I think it can work."

Sullenberger and other officials are evaluating whether they can make enough improvements and build ample relationships to justify the Dayton organizations' permanent merger with The Auglaize/Mercer Counties Family YMCA.

"That's what we want to do. That's our goal," he stressed. "We're not here to just be here for six months. That's of no benefit to us, and it's really of no benefit to the communities that these Y's are serving because six months from now you'd be right back to the same position you were in."

Since taking over in August, Dayton officials set out to meet with 50 community leaders to share their vision and gather experiences and perceptions of the local YMCA.

So far, they've heard good things and not-so-good things, while learning that some don't even really know what the YMCA is all about, Sullengerger said.

"That's the one we can fix real easy," he said about the latter. "We can get these Y's back on the radar because we've been here three weeks and we've already seen the good things that are happening. (We've) just got to tell more people that story."

The biggest gripe he's heard is that membership is too expensive. Officials are looking to determine the right value for membership here, Sullenberger said. But four years ago in Dayton, he helped convince the board to drastically reduce membership rates to attract new members, a strategy he said has paid off exponentially.

"We think we're a charitable organization, and if we're not accessible, then we're really not a charity, so we have to fix that," he said.

Within 60 days of the rate reduction, membership grew by 7,000 units or $2 million.

"I tell you the dollars just because people can relate to that, but for us it was serving 7,000 more families in our Y's to get the mission of the Y out there and to be an access point to people in our community," he said.

Also, effective Oct. 1, local members will no longer be charged additional fees for exercise classes, Sullenberger said, pointing out officials are looking to double the number of classes, using every bit of building space, to about 40.

"We want you in the building," he said.

Under new management, the Silver Sneakers program has been reinstated, with 115 new senior members in just a few weeks.

"Most folks with a Medicare Advantage program now have an endorsement on their insurance called Silver Sneakers. It allows them to join the Y for free if the local Y will allow that program," Sullenberger said.

The YMCA is reimbursed a predetermined, negotiated rate per visit. But the program is a success only if Silver Sneakers make regular visits, he said. So officials are looking to develop a full calendar of active older-adult programs, including fitness classes, card games, Bible study and other activities.

Officials are also looking to increase access to the local YMCA corporate memberships through payroll deductions.

"We need a couple big membership wins to kind of help change the dynamic of this Y," Sullenberger said.

Moreover, officials heard that the local branches are good, clean facilities but are a bit behind the times in terms of equipment. The Dayton organization, he said, replaces cardio equipment every three to five years and strength equipment such as free weights every 12 years.

They're eyeing significant improvements locally.

"We're in the process of trying to put together an entire deferred maintenance list for both facilities, everything from rooftop units to treadmills, ellipticals, all those things," he said.